The Hobart Chamber of Commerce welcomed the Region to County Line Orchard on Thursday, where they hosted their annual Business Expo. Featuring the best of businesses across Northwest Indiana, attendees networked, learned, and showcased what makes the Region a great place to live and work.
All kinds of businesses and organizations set up informative and visually striking booths in the halls of County Line Orchard. From Hobart Schools and Meals on Wheels, to Community Healthcare and Journey Senior Living, every business showcased their best to the community and participated in different networking events.
“Everyone here is so excited to share what they offer with the community,” said Lisa Winstead, Executive Director of the Hobart Chamber of Commerce. “This year we brought the expo back to the County Line Orchard, one of the Region’s biggest tourist attractions that draws in hundreds of thousands of people to our community. What better place to give people the opportunity to see all these businesses under one roof?”
The expo started with a luncheon and presentation led by Speros Batistatos, President and CEO of the Southshore Convention & Visitors Authority. The businesses then got a chance to do a bit of “speed networking,” basically speed dating for a business. Kevin Kosek, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for REGIONAL Federal Credit Union and Business Expo Chairman, loved engaging with his fellow business leaders from around the Region.
“Why wouldn’t you be excited to come here,” Kosek said. “You get to see all these people who have the same goal in mind – networking and growing their business. For the community members, instead of getting in their car and driving all over the place, they can just come here and go booth to booth and find out everything they could ever want to know. That’s a win-win for everyone.”
Even local nonprofits, such as Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana were in on the fun. Jodi Bella, Business Development Manager at Meals on Wheels, set up shop and situated herself right next to a giant fork and explained the details about how the nonprofit helps make the Region a better place.
“We’re always appreciative for any chance we get to expose Meals on Wheels to the community,” Bella said. “There’s a lot of misconceptions about what we do, so any time we can go out and explain one-on-one what we do is great. Being a part of the Hobart Chamber gives us a lot of opportunities to get out in the community and even recruit some volunteers.”
Throughout the day, the Hobart Chamber collected donations for the Humane Society of Hobart Inc., accepting everything from dog treats and cat litter, to funds that will help pay for rabies vaccines and spaying or neutering procedures. Altogether, the event not only brought businesses and community members closer together, but helped make a direct impact on animals in need.
