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Businesses tout services at expo
expo
Southeast Auto Service assistant service writer Porcha Carew speaks with attendees at the fourth annual 2010 Liberty Business Expo. Attendees were encouraged to visit vendor tables to collect information about buying products from local businesses. - photo by Photo by Seraine Page
On Tuesday, business owners and consumers mingled during the fourth annual 2010 Liberty County Business Expo hosted by the Chamber of Commerce at Bethesda Church.
The event allows business owners and consumers to meet and learn about stimulating the local economy. This year’s event was titled “Shop, Save, Support.”
“We want the community to see that there are lots of local businesses that offer the products and services that they sometimes travel to Savannah or out of this area for so why not spend locally and support our community?” said Leah Poole, interim chamber director.
Fifty-two vendors — from florist shops to counseling centers — displayed booths with company information, business cards and products to sell.
For every $100 spent in locally owned, independent stores in Liberty County, $68 of it returns to the community through payroll, taxes and other expenditures, according to the Chamber of Commerce Business Expo advertising flier.
Southeast Auto Service assistant service writer Porcha Carew said she was grateful that her employer, a Liberty County business owner for five years, allowed her to come out to the event.
Carew said the owners, Andrew and Charlene Parlett, are both active in the community and encourage employees to do the same.
“A lot of these people in this room are customers, so it is nice to see them outside the office,” Carew said of the networking she did during the day.
As a resident and employee in Liberty County, Carew encourages people to stay and shop locally.
“When you shop in Liberty County from your local vendors, it keeps the money here,” she said. “It will take the small businesses banding together [to get people to shop here].”
For those who doubt there is enough business in Hinesville, Papa Murphy’s owner Bob Hoersting believes the opposite.
Hoersting opened the “take ‘n’ bake” pizza joint here eight weeks because he had residents driving into Savannah to get the restaurant’s food.
“We had a number of people in Hinesville reaching out to us,” said Hoersting. “We had people driving an hour for our pizza.”
The owner said he came to the expo in hopes of meet other local business owners and to create awareness of the new pizza joint. During the expo, the owner and an employee baked 20 pizzas to cut for samples.
Hoersting said he was impressed by the drive of board members on the Chamber of Commerce to get business leaders involved with the community.
“After being here only eight weeks, I’ve been struck by how active the Chamber is,” Hoersting said.
During the expo, business owners were also offered a variety of classes conducted by the Fort Stewart Central Contracting Office, Small Business Development Center, Georgia Tech and SCORE.
The classes were aimed to help businessmen and women learn how to conduct business with the federal government.
Classes topics ranged from selling to the government and Fort Stewart to new Small Business Administration rules for women-owned small businesses.
Poole said the classes were successful and the first one filled up all 32 spots.
Club Stewart and Shane’s Rib Shack also provided food throughout the event.
“I hope this is the first of many [expos]. My hope is it will get bigger and bigger every year,” Carew said. “We can’t get the big businesses here if we’re not willing to spend here.”
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