Regional Expo Sees Steady Turnout in Third Year at BJC

While the volume of exhibitors slipped, other indicators Thursday were upbeat at the third annual Regional Expo, organizers said.

An estimated 1,000 people turned out for last year’s expo, put on by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County and held in the Bryce Jordan Center.

By the final hours of the 2011 version late Thursday, CBICC Vice President Jean Gerber said the turnout appeared a bit better than 2010 levels. A number of exhibitors, in interviews, said they were pleased with the showing.

‘Most of this is about marketing, not direct sales,’ said Larry Miles, of Vigilant Security Inc. in State College, a repeat exhibitor. ‘We want all the businesses in town to know we are still here.’

The overall number of exhibitors at this year’s show was 147, down from 171 last year. Some exhibitors declined to return because they didn’t have the staff available to organize a presence, according to organizers.

An outgrowth of an earlier, more localized show, the Regional Expo is known formally as the Central Pennsylvania Regional Business and Industry Expo. Showcasing businesses from across several counties, the show aims to give the businesses a chance to promote themselves to other businesses and consumers.

Exhibitors on Thursday included a broad cross-section of operations, ranging from nonprofits and medical companies to candy makers, car dealerships, caterers and media groups. (StateCollege.com was among the event’s media sponsors.)

Other features included six business-oriented workshops, each centered on a different subject. At one, Russ Lawrence, an author and senior business adviser at the Industrial Modernization Center of Pennsylvania, spoke on how companies can maximize innovation.

‘Innovation drives wealth, drives productivity, drives prosperity,’ Lawrence said. ‘It drives the standard of living.’

But U.S. business can do ‘a zillion times better’ in innovating, he went on. He encouraged business leaders to draw out their employees’ creative capacity and position workers to share their ideas openly.

An organizational attitude that fosters individuals’ creativity can built a great long-term advantage, Lawrence said.

‘They’ll be creative if you set them up for it,’ he said of workers. ‘ … I think there’s a feeling among everyone in business that if you’re not coming up with new ideas, you’re toast.’

StateCollege.com Managing Editor William Derrick attended the expo and snapped a number of photos, posted in the gallery above. Links to related content are posted below.

Related content

• Upcoming Regional Expo Puts a Spotlight on Local Business (Oct. 21, 2011)

• Agenda for Regional Expo Released (Nov. 2, 2011)