article courtesy of The Morning Sun

More than 60 local businesses (including MY1043 & AM 830 WMMI) will be showcased Thursday at the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Expo.

Join MY1043’s Tina Sawyer & Shawn Powers around the “In a Snap” Photobooth, taking photos with you & hanging out & having fun.

MY1043 & AM 830 WMMI, will also have your chance to win passes to Cedar Points’ Hallo-Weekends, along with lots of other fun & surprises, along the way!

“The people have a lot of fun and they know they get a lot of exposure to not only the other businesses that are there but also the local community,” said Bret Hyble, president of the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce.

The day starts with a breakfast from 8-9:30 a.m. in the Comfort Inn Conference Center in Mt. Pleasant with keynote speaker Mark Winkelman, president of Better Made Snack Foods in Detroit. This is open to the public, however registration has closed.

“We look for some outside sources and for people that have interesting success stories about their businesses and we hope they’ll be able to share that with our community and businesses,” Hyble said.

Later in the day, the expo hosts a business-to-business networking event for vendors from 3-4 p.m. then it opens free to the public from 4-7 p.m.

There are a variety of vendors, from food vendors to computer companies to Central Michigan University Athletics, he said.

An annual trade show and networking event, it is designed to give local businesses and the community the chance to see the latest and greatest in the Mt. Pleasant Area market place, according to the Chamber’s web site.

Chamber members can grow their professional network, meet customers, introduce the Mt. Pleasant community to their products and services, and share what’s new with their business.

The local community has attended the event more over the last few years.

Attendance has risen in the last four years, Hyble said; more than 450 people attended last year’s expo.

Attendance from the local community has risen over the last four years. Well over 450 people from the community visited last year.

“It’s an avenue or an arena where they can do it person-to-person,” he said. “I get feedback from our membership and people that attend and they say they get strong follow up from the people who attend.”