Business news

■ The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce next meets at noon Dec. 16 at Froso’s Restaurant in Soldotna. A spotlight on giving presentation is planned. RSVP to 262-9814.

■ The Kenai Chamber of Commerce next meets Dec. 17 at noon at the Kenai Visitors Center. A presentation on the business climate with a new administration by Rebecca Logan, General Manager of the Alaska Alliance, is planned. RSVP to 283-1991.

The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska received a donation of $25,000 from Tesoro Alaska Company for student missions. For eight years, Tesoro has fully funded 25 simulated space missions to Kenai Peninsula area fifth and sixth grade classes. CLCA’s vision is to have every school in Alaska experience the wonders of education through its simulated space missions, e-Missions, workshops, and outreach opportunities each year. As a direct result of Tesoro’s generosity, approximately 6,000 students have received an exciting STEM educational opportunity that they otherwise would not have experienced. Together, CLCA and Tesoro will assist in encouraging students to pursue higher educational goals and opportunities that will better prepare them to successfully compete in the 21st Century global market place.

The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for their 2014 Awards. Do you know a business that should be Business of the Year? Small Business of the Year? How about someone that has Customer Service that goes above expectations?

A full list of award categories and descriptions can be found at soldotnachamber.com or by calling 262-9814. The deadline is Wednesday.

The Alaska Small Business Development Center is offering a Record Keeping for Taxes class on Jan. 7, 2015 in Soldotna from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The class is targeted for small business owners who need basic guidance on how to set up, maintain and prepare their financial records for the tax season. Trainer Jim Duffield will cover the following topics: 1) Setting up a sound record keeping and filing system; 2) How to keep track of your business transactions; 3) Business requirements of the IRS; 4) Filing of source documents; 5) Computer or manual bookkeeping- what will work best for you and what is available; 6) Financial Statements you may need; 7) How to maximize your business tax return. There will be time for questions, brief discussions of covered and non-covered topics, and any other financial issue that is of concern to attendees. The cost is $75 and deadline for online registration and payment is Dec. 22 by 5 p.m. The Alaska SBDC accepts cash or check or payment by card, veterans can contact Bunny Kishaba for a scholarship ticket.

The Alaska Small Business Development Center is offering a Benefits of Budgeting class on Jan. 20, 2015 for people to learn methods to Monitor-Measure-and-Manage the amount of cash moving through their businesses. Establishing budgets is the vital element that keeps every business financially healthy. The $75 workshop will be held from 12:30-4:30 p.m. and will guide you through this process. Register online before Jan. 12 via the website http://aksbdc.ecenterdirect.com. The Alaska SBDC accepts cash, check, or you may pay by card using our safe Upay option. Veterans, contact Bunny Kishaba to see if our Veterans Scholarship Fund is still available.

For more information, go to www.aksbdc.org. If you have any questions, call Bunny at 260-5629.

The U.S. Small Business Administration – Alaska district office has announced the opening of SBA’s online portal and is ready to accept nominations for its 2015 National Small Business Week Awards, including the annual Small Business Person of the Year award.

SBA has been following the mantra – Smart, Bold and Accessible in the way the agency conducts business. This is now the third year SBA has been using the online portal submission process, a great and smart improvement from years past. The improved dedicated web portal http://awards.sba.gov provides all the guidelines and has made it much easier to submit and track submissions of nominees for National Small Business Week.

All nominations must be submitted online, postmarked or hand delivered to the SBA no later than 3 p.m. EST, Jan. 5, 2015. In addition to the portal, nominations can also be sent directly to SBA’s Alaska District Office.

For contact information and other District Office information visit online at www.sba.gov/ak, call 800-755-7034 or visit in person at 420 L Street, Suite 300, Anchorage, Alaska.

Have you opened a new business, moved to a new location, hired a new person or promoted an employee?

Send us your information at news@peninsulaclarion.com, fax it to 907-283-3299, or drop it by the Clarion at 150 Trading Bay in Kenai.

Questions? Call 907-335-1251.

Business announcements may be submitted to news@peninsulaclarion.com.

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