Southside Show-Biz Expo – Recap & Thoughts

If you didn’t attend Thursday’s Southside Show-Biz Expo sponsored by the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce, you missed one of Danville’s showcase events. Let’s do a recap and some thoughts about the trade show.

• The expo was held at the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research, and we can’t stop telling people about how terrific this place is. From hosting technical conferences to having events like this, the Institute is a polished location that can be adapted to any needs that are required. The staff is super-friendly & super-competent in all aspects of their jobs. The Institute offers some of the fastest internet access in the region, and the exhibitors were able to use that to make their displays even more interactive. The Institute had their own booth at the Expo and were able to get some more of the word out about what they do.
• Laurie Moran, president of the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce, is the perfect spokeswoman for the Chamber. She always has a kind word for everybody and is the type of person that has never met a stranger. Although she tried to deflect the credit of the expo’s success to the exhibitors, her exuberance and attitude is also a key factor in the success of the Expo and the Chamber.
• With over 70 exhibitors at the show, people were able to learn about businesses in the region that they had never heard of. I had always heard of Captain Copy but had no idea of the depth of services that they provide. After talking with the owner, Tim Hilliard, I found out that his company is more than a print shop. They’re able to provide graphic artistry services to meet any customer’s needs at reasonable prices.
• Some of the vendors created displays that were visually awesome. Bobby Carlsen Photography‘s set-up featured the best of Bobby Carlsen’s professional work and caught every eye of every visitor that walked by. He’s one of the most taleneted professional photographers that I’ve ever seen.
• There are so many more exhibitors that we’ll be featuring more in the coming weeks on SouthsideCentral.
• The Expo is an event which is for the general public as well, which is a fact that a lot of people don’t know. The daytime session is open to the public and over 1500 people attended this year. The evening session is for the Chamber members and that’s where the networking reigns supreme. Both the main and the top parking lots of the Institute were filled and late arrivals had to park all the way at the back near the research center. I’m not complaining at all, because that’s a great problem for the Chamber to have. 🙂

If you haven’t figured it out by now, the Southside Show-Bix Expo was a terrific success and we strongly urge everybody to attend next year’s edition!