Daily Press Writer
MONTROSE — Community members and businesses gathered Friday for the ninth annual Uncompahgre Valley Business Expo with a wide range of goals in mind.
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Sixty-seven businesses, from local banks to construction companies and colleges to the community theatre, set up booths around the Montrose Pavilion Friday morning to showcase what Montrose has to offer.
Doors opened at 10 a.m. and the place was busy into the night’s event, “Evening at the Expo,” which offered hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and a $2,000 drawing for Flairmont Furniture.
Financial consultant Scott Feddersen has set up a booth for the past five years and said it is “more of a social event” for him.
“My main purpose is to visit with people,” he said. “It’s a worthwhile event for all businesses because of the exposure and the cross-sections of the community.”
He said the chamber does a great job at a low cost to participants. The Montrose Daily Press also sponsors the event.
It is free to visitors, but there is a charge to set up a booth. Chamber members pay $180 and the cost is $280 for non-members.
Keehfuss said it is one perk to being a chamber member.
Pamela Brim, area clinical administrator for Volunteers of America, said it was the second year VOA set up a booth. Last year she realized it was a great way to be recognized, but this year her group had a different agenda.
“We also realized it was a great place to promote employment,” she said, adding that in two hours she talked with more than 30 junior and senior high school students.
“It’s a different perk,” she said.
Steven Crepinsek, 17, visited the expo with classmates from the Computer-Assisted Drafting class at Montrose High School to see what jobs are available in the area.
“There are a lot of different things here,” Crepinsek said. “It’s a pretty good feel of what’s around the community.”
Bridget Bollinger, coordinator of School-to-Career Partnership, was also there to talk to students, letting them know there is money available for college.
“It’s out there,” she said.
The partnership benefits from the expo by getting a small amount of booth fees. Keehfuss said it would receive $960 from this year’s event.
Many other businesses grabbed people’s attention with free gifts, demonstrations and drawings.
Keehfuss also announced door prizes every half hour.
Mesa State College announced this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year during Evening at the Expo.
The award went to Chaco Inc., a Paonia businesses that started selling its sport sandals in 1989. Now it has more than 100 employees and 1,500 retail outlets, according to its Web site.
A Chaco representative was not able to attend the event to accept the award.
Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com
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