Imagine a place where one could grow their business, engage with the community, and have a whole lot of fun, all at the same time. This is exactly what could be found at the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Grow! Expo” event!
Businesses from across Lake, Porter, La Porte, and Newton Counties came together to showcase their products and services in a professional - but fun - environment at Patrician Banquets Hall in Schererville. The 70 participating businesses each set up a vibrant and engaging booth and offered visitors everything from food and wine tastings, to games and raffles, to dance demonstrations and professional headshots.
As a whole, it was all about businesses helping each other grow and establish greater visibility within the community they serve.
“The ‘grow’ theme is new to us this year,” said Sue Reed, President and CEO of the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce. “It’s all about growing our businesses, our network, and our community.”
From 1-3 p.m. the event was open exclusively to businesses and business people. This allowed for the participants to speak candidly with one another about how they can mutually benefit from each other’s services. For some, it was a way to showcase some of their lesser-known services designed specifically with business in mind.
“We are mostly known as a residential painting company, so we have tons and tons of homes that we paint for in Northwest Indiana,” said Jessica Shilling, Commercial Marketing Associate at CertaPro Painters. “But we also want people to know that we paint businesses as well, and that we offer some really great solutions for getting the job done quickly, and it looks great!”
Franciscan Health, represented by LJ Mattraw, also was showcasing the health centers’ business options, such as their corporate fitness center memberships.
“[This event] is a great way to be involved with the community and get to work with other businesses in promoting health and wellness to the masses to keep our communities healthy,” Mattraw said. “Those who come by our booth can try the gym for seven days, and we are raffling off a 30-day membership.”
Kyle Anderson’s place of employment, ICU Outdoor Advertising, was not present at the event, but he came by regardless.
“I wanted to see if anybody needed some signage - new companies, existing companies,” Anderson said. “I’m newer to the company and I’m just trying to get it going.”
The doors were opened to the public at 3 p.m. with the same offers and excitement from during the business-to-business portion.
“It’s been great! I’ve met a lot of nice people, [received] good information, and I found out about a lot of new places that I hadn't heard of before,” Anderson said. “It’s definitely been worth it, and I’ll definitely come again.”
To learn more about Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce and the ways that they are helping over 650 businesses across Northwest Indiana, please visit their website.