‘New And Improved’ EXPO 2003 Offering Early Bird Specials
Area businesses are being offered an opportunity to be exhibitors at an “even better” EXPO 2003 and to save $20 if they sign up soon.
The annual business exposition will be held Tuesday, Oct. 14, at Vance-Granville Community College, and several changes have been made for this year that promise to make the event bigger and better, organizers say.
EXPO is organized by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, the Granville County Chamber of Commerce, the VGCC Small Business Center and – back this year after several years absence – the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.
Participation by the Franklin chamber and Franklin County businesses is one of the major changes occurring at EXPO this year. “We’ve been on our own for several years, conducting our own exposition and, while we did well, our Board of Directors decided it was time to partner again with EXPO at Vance-Granville,” said Mattie Kemp, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.
“We share many members with the Henderson-Vance and Granville chambers, and we see businesses going beyond their normal reach for customers,”
Kemp added. “They see the need to extend their horizons, and they see the value of joining in EXPO. We’re excited.”
Hours for the 2003 EXPO will be extended. It will last from 1 to 7 p.m. this year.
In addition, from 12 noon to 1 p.m., there will be an Industrial Relations meeting and lunch held for human resources directors, safety directors, purchasing agents and senior management people in area industries. A speaker will talk to them about labor issues during lunch, and then they will mingle with the business exhibitors.
“I think it is very significant that we are bringing in these industrial representatives,” said Greg Griggs, president of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce. “This adds a whole new element to EXPO.”
While showing products and services to the public has always been a major focus of EXPO, the interaction of business operators with other businesses has always proven to be quite fruitful, said Diane Finch, director of VGCC’s Small Business Center. “This year, we’re including a Business After Hours for the last two hours of EXPO, from 5 to 7 p.m., which will bring even more business operators to the event to see what’s going on around the area,” she said.
Until July 25, businesses who are members of the chambers of commerce in Vance, Granville and Franklin counties and who sign up to be exhibitors at EXPO 2003 will qualify for the “Early Bird Special.” This will give them a booth at the exposition for $195, a $20 savings from the price after July 25. The cost to non-chamber members is $380.
Those who sign up early also will receive a packet of key tips for marketing their businesses at an exhibition, Finch pointed out. “We believe this will help them make the most of their EXPO experience,” she said.
Greg Griggs summed up what he thinks the changes to EXPO this year will mean to businesses that choose to be exhibitors. He said, “By bringing more activity to the sight at Vance-Granville and by broadening the reach of EXPO by adding Franklin County, we are providing more bang for the exhibitor’s buck.”
