I recently was part of the Becker Chamber Business Expo as entertainment (Caricatures) and have been doing so for the last several years. I can’t help but be a little sad about the state of affairs at the Expo — most notably, the shrinking of vendors and attendees.

 

I remember years ago when the fieldhouse was packed from end-to-end with booths and people lined up at the doors in the freezing cold, just bursting to get into the building and get their goodies. One time, I was placed along the wall just to the right of the doors and when the place opened — people lined up from the first booth all the way down to the last hoping to fill their bags with pens, calendars, keychains and the such as they learned more about each company they visited.

 

The Expo staff has moved me around the fieldhouse to different areas to accommodate the long lines and keep the traffic flowing and for the last few years I’ve been placed along the south wall, just inside the doors.

 

The crowding has not been a factor the last two years.

 

As a matter of fact, for many years before this year I had to keep my booth open after the 2 p.m. end of the Expo just to oblige the long lines waiting to get their free picture drawn.

 

This year, there were only a few I had to turn away at closing time before the event service people started tearing down the curtains and stacking chairs and tables to clear the room.

 

From what I’ve heard, the reason some of the past exhibitors have not participated the last couple years is because they can’t afford to pay employees to “man” the booth for the four hours the Expo happens. Some, I heard, also feel they don’t get much of a return for the cost of paying for a booth and paying their employees to justify having a spot at the Expo.

 

I also heard that the Annandale Expo (which is held in April) continues to flourish year-after-year and their building is usually completely filled up with vendors despite the fact the Annandale Chamber charges just $5 less for members to have a booth. The main gym holds 80 booths and the commons area has enough space for another 30 spaces. Their Expo also runs one hour longer.

 

So why is theirs flourishing and Becker’s diminishing?

 

That’s been a question I’m sure the Becker Chamber members and board have been asking themselves for the last few years. How do we get those vendors who no longer participate to come back? How do we get people in the community excited about the event where they’ll be clamoring to get inside the doors at 10 a.m. like they used to?

 

I can’t help but wonder why local Chambers of Commerce can’t be a city entity and be on the city’s budget? Say for $10-20,000 a year? The city, of course (and its citizens, I’m sure) would be very interested in area businesses flourishing and to see the cultivation of the industrial, commercial, professional and financial resources of Becker. If the chamber had a city budget, maybe they could use that money to reduce or eliminate the booth costs for each vendor or spend money to bring in some quality entertainment like a professional sports star or a comedian or special performer that would attract hordes of people?

 

To me, working at the Business Expo has been a delight and a privilege but it saddens me to see it dwindle. The Chamber Board and several businesses in the area are wracking their brains to come up with ideas to enhance the Expo for the upcoming years.

 

I encourage those of you citizens to do the same. What could make the Expo that much better? Any ideas?