Kofi Armah is an account executive for Lamar Advertising and has represented the company at the annual Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at the First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro for the past five years. He told Talk Business & Politics on Wednesday (September 14) that he is enjoying the networking opportunities the expo offers.
“I definitely get some value out of being involved…getting leads,” he said. “Overall, it’s a good experience.”
The event is advertised as the largest event of its kind in the Natural State. The theme for this year’s event was “Salute to America.” Many vendors and attendees displayed patriotic colors and themes at their booths.
It has been held since 1990. Newly hired President of Arkansas State University, Dr. Todd Shields, gave the keynote address at the luncheon and was surprised by the turnout. He said he was impressed with the connections between local businesses, his community and his A-State.
“I am amazed at the scale of this,” he said of the expo.
Business expos, which are usually held in April, have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chamber CEO Mark Young told Talk Business & Politics. The 2023 Expo he plans to hold in April. Vendors, Business He spoke with leaders and attendees and it was clear that the event needed to be moved back in the spring.
Vendors ranged from large corporations operating in northeastern Arkansas, such as Ritter Communications and St. Bernards, to small, family-owned businesses. He has booths at banks, real estate companies, internet his providers, healthcare companies, and many others.
The morning session allowed vendors to network and interact between booths.There was general participation from 1:00 p.m.
In 2020, the event was canceled due to the pandemic, Young said.
There are 5,000 participants each year. There were about 200 vendors this year, according to Mandy Cook, the chamber’s vice president of operations and his director of membership.
In 2019 there were 265 vendors. Cook said the goal is to have 275 vendors open next April, bringing attendance back to his 5,000 mark. Young and Cook said they didn’t know how many people would attend the event, but it was in the thousands.
The atmosphere was much better than last year, although it was affected by COVID and being held in September.
“It was a really nice, steady crowd,” said Young. “We’ve seen so many smiles…it’s great to see things back to normal.”
