Commerce
BY TODD SHIMKUS
How many of your business cards can you
fit in your purse or jacket pocket? That’s the
one question you should ask before coming
out for the Saratoga County Chamber of
Commerce’s annual Business-to-Business Expo,
on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Held at the Saratoga Springs City Center,
this expo is the region’s biggest B2B meet-up
with as many as 150 exhibitors and hundreds
of attendees. Each exhibitor and attendee is
there looking to exchange business cards, to
share information about their products and
services and to be introduced to prospective
new customers and clients.
The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce’s
Business Expo provides exhibitors and
attendees with opportunities to win a wide
range of door prizes too. The Expo also features
a wide range of local restaurants with amazing
hors d’oeuvres and desserts as well as cash bars
situated throughout the entire show floor. No
one who attends the expo will go hungry nor
should you go thirsty either.
With nearly 2,500 members, the Saratoga
County Chamber of Commerce is a visible and
vocal advocate and promoter of businesses of all
sizes representing dozens of sectors. As a result,
the exhibitors and attendees at the Business
Expo are also diverse with operations across
Saratoga County and a wide array of products
and services. The Expo also includes a number
of exhibitors who are not necessarily selling a
product or service but participate to network
with attendees that might become new vendors
in the future.
We believe our Chamber is the best
at opening doors and closing deals for
organizations located in Saratoga County or
looking to business in Saratoga County from
the Twin Bridges to the Town of Day. This
annual Business Expo is our most popular event
of the year because it is all about business to
business networking. Past exhibitors often seek
to renew their participation the evening of the
Expo because they walk away with solid leads
and appointments to talk more with the people
they meet up with at this event.
The Expo opens exclusively for exhibitors
from 3:30-4:30 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., the exhibitor
floor opens to everyone until 7 p.m. Chamber
members can attend for free. Not-yet-members
with a business card can attend for just $5.
The general public pays $10 to attend. Pre-registration of attendees is not required.
Instead, everyone who wants to attend is
encouraged to show up at the City Center.
The presenting sponsor for the 2015 B2B
Expo is Iannello Andersen PC. The gold
sponsors are the Adirondack Trust Co. and
Adirondack Technical Services. These sponsor
companies will have preferred exhibitor space
just inside the entrance to the expo.
In addition, the Silver Sponsors includes:
Blue Shield of Northeastern New York; Bouchey
Financial Services; Bouchey & Clarke; Cap
Com Federal Credit Union; Digital Express;
IMC; Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership;
Saratoga.com; The Saratogian; SEFCU; Spa
Dot Net; The Wesley Community; Brown
Coach Upstate; and Williams Center Plastic
Surgery Specialists. Exhibitor space is limited
to approximately 150 companies and always
sells out.
For more information on the xpo or about the
Chambere, visit www.saratoga.org. You can also
follow us on Twitter at @saratogachamber or
myself at @toddshimkus for news and updates.
We hope to see you at the City Center whether
you decide to exhibit or to simply attend. And
please don’t forget to bring plenty of business
cards with you.
Shimkus is president of the Saratoga County
Chamber of Commerce.
Photo Courtesy Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce