This year, the EXPO was offered as its own event for the first time. In past years, the EXPO was combined with the Chamber’s annual meeting, which took place on Feb. 28.
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“We have always surveyed event goers in past years in order to find out what people like and don’t like,” Schutte said. “Some things that we kept getting were that people wanted the EXPO to last longer and be a little later into the year because of weather.”
The event featured 35 Chamber member exhibitors and was expected draw up to 400 people.
Melissa Tuttle, a chamber ambassador, said the EXPO is a good opportunity to promote local business.
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“It’s great. I remember going when I was a kid with my family.” Tuttle said. “You can deal with local businesses and support our local economy.”
Vendors attending the event included schools, banks, apparel businesses, and healthcare sectors, according to Tuttle.
Katalina Remusat, director of business relations with First Diversity Staffing, an employment agency in Springfield, was ecstatic to attend this year’s EXPO.
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“This EXPO is the greatest. It’s a great chance for all of the businesses to come together for the Chamber, get connected, (and) see what the community is doing,” Remusat said.
This year’s EXPO also featured speakers for the first time. Tanya Menon of the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business discussed “Communications to Move People,” while Bridget Flaherty of LORE Culture presented “How Stories and Storytelling Impact Business.”
The EXPO takes place every year and is free and open to the public.
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