Chamber to host first prime time event
By Laura Collins
Published in News on July 4, 2010 1:50 AM
The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce will have its first-ever Prime Time event.
Prime Time, which is taking place July 27, will feature businesses new to the Chamber of Commerce and business members who helped recruit the new members during its membership campaign.
"150 members helped recruit 160 plus new members," said Steve Hicks, Chamber director. "One of the consultants suggested that we have a type of business expo and a business after hours combination for those people who have participated in the (campaign)."
The event is only open to the Chamber's 700 members with only the new members and those who helped recruit them setting up displays.
"It's a business after hours network type of event but we're going to invite new members and members that helped recruit those members to display tables and booths to present business," he said. "What it will actually be is a business to business type of expo, not a business to public type of expo."
In the past, the Chamber has had an annual business expo where chamber businesses could set up tables and displays and the public was invited to learn more about area businesses. The expo was typically followed the next day with the military procurement card trade show.
"Both of those events needed some work. We were doing OK with it, but we were not getting as many participants as we wanted to on the business side. We weren't getting the vendors that we really wanted there," he said. "We're taking a look at how we can improve those and will probably have them later in the year, later in the fall."
One thing that's at the top of their list, Hicks said, is finding a good venue for the expo.
"We haven't been able to find a place big enough to have that type of expo where you can have a large number of participants promoting their business and a large number of the public with adequate parking and those kinds of things. It's just been a struggle in the past," he said. "What we're hoping is that as time goes on, the community will finally have a place of some kind to be able to do those kinds of things."
Prime Time will be from 5-7 p.m. July 27 at the Berkeley Mall. It will be held in an empty location next to Radio Shack near Sears. Similar to other Business After Hours, food and drinks will be available.