EXPO 2010 celebrates 20 Years of Supporting Local Businesses
Approximately 600 area residents visited EXPO 2010, the annual business exposition for Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties, which was held Oct. 12 in the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center . As in years past, EXPO was organized by the VGCC Small Business Center, Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce, Granville County Chamber of Commerce, Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of Warren County. This year’s event marked the 20th anniversary of EXPO.
Some 40 businesses and agencies from the four-county area showed off their products and services while offering information to potential customers and other exhibitors. Several new participants joined others who return to EXPO year after year. Linda Justice said that she had represented A.B. Hair Carpets of Norlina at every EXPO since the first event. Among the first-time participants was Amedisys Home Health and Hospice Services of Franklinton. Representing the company, Rebekah Hanline noted that Amedisys serves all four counties that EXPO also serves. “We appreciate all the sponsors and participants who, for two decades, have made EXPO an annual tradition that showcases our local businesses and supports economic growth,” said VGCC Small Business Center director Diane Finch.
The first EXPO, then officially known as the “Four-County Show & Sell Business Expo,” was held in the VGCC Civic Center on May 10, 1990. The idea for an exposition was conceived after the Civic Center was completed in 1989. “With the addition of the Civic Center, we saw an opportunity to do a business expo that would help businesses in our area similar to the exhibitions in Raleigh and Durham,” Danny Guin, who was then director of the VGCC Small Business Center, said at the time. That first event was an unqualified success, and EXPO has been held at the same location in every subsequent year, except for 1995, when a similar event called a “Business Exchange” was staged instead.
Each year, several area businesses sign on as sponsors to help assure the success of EXPO. Franklin Regional Medical Center and Wake Electric were the event’s Gold Sponsors. Silver Sponsors included CenturyLink, the School of Graphic Arts, the Henderson-Vance County Economic Development Commission, Granville Health System, Waste Industries and Farm Bureau Insurance. Media sponsors included The Daily Dispatch of Henderson, The Butner-Creedmoor News, Oxford Public Ledger, The Franklin Times, The Warren Record, WIZS Radio and WLUS Radio.
For information on EXPO or the Small Business Center , call Diane Finch at (252) 738-3240.
Above: From left, VGCC Adult High School Diploma coordinator and Warren County Board of Education member Roberta Scott talks with Linda Justice of A.B. Hair Carpets at EXPO 2010. Justice said she has represented the Norlina-based business at every EXPO since 1990. (VGCC photo)
