Chamber Business Show Has Record Number of Exhibitors

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jan 28, 2000 by Allen, Paul

SYRACUSE-The Chamber Business Show broke a record this year for number of exhibitors, with more than 350 companies showcasing their businesses in 370 exhibitor booths, according to Jim Horsman, president of CenterStage Events, the show's producer.

For the fifth year in a row, booth space was sold out.

David Cordeau, president of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, notes, "For a lot of the small and mediumsized businesses in Central New York, this is their one shot of getting visibility in front of the local market in this type of format. As a result, there's been a huge demand for companies that want to be involved in the show."

Holly Berlin, director of communications for the Chamber, adds, "This is the premiere business show. It has become the place to be for businesses all over Central New York. It's a glaring omission if your company is not there. This is easily the largest business show in upstate New York, and possibly the largest in New York State."

The eighth annual Syracuse Chamber Business Show took place at the Convention Center at the Oncenter in downtown Syracuse on January 27.

Gerald Gallagher, executive director of the Oncenter, characterizes the show as "a networker's paradise. Not only was it an opportunity for people from the business community to come in and interact with other area companies, there was a tremendous amount of positive interaction that went on between the exhibitors at the show."

In addition to exhibits, there were seminars on businessrelated topics and video presentations from national speakers, including "Guerilla Marketing" by J. Conrad Levinson and "The Communication Revolution" by Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.

"Who Wants to Be a Thousandaire?" was a game-show-like contest held by the Greater Syracuse Services Corp., the group employee-benefits division of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce. Twice during the day, contestants were chosen from business cards collected at the Chamber's group employee-benefits booth. Contestants were asked questions about Syracuse history, weather, sports, and local personalities and got a chance to win as much as $1,000.

Music greeted entering visitors, featuring jazz artist Ronnie Leigh, radio personality Phil Markert (WTLA AM 1200), and area singer, Letizia. Other performers included an a cappella quintet, Street Comer, and the acoustic band, Rush Tattered and Friends.

Ground Hog Job Shadow Day was part of the show, an event co-sponsored by Junior Achievement, Partners for Education and Business, the Onondaga School-to-Career Partnership, and the Chamber. More than 200 students joined exhibitors in their booths to help distribute marketing materials and learn how businesses market themselves.

Joe Vargo, executive director of Partners for Education and Business, says, "In the business that we're in, trying to create opportunities for students to experience the world of work, we thought it was a great opportunity for students to see what goes into another aspect of what makes businesses successful--marketing and networking. We think the Chamber Business Show is a great venue to include students and the community at large in that event. It provides us the opportunity to place students in a naturally occurring business show."

Major sponsors for this year's Chamber Business Show included Adelphia Business Solutions, BlueCross BlueShield of Central New York, The Business Journal, Dreamscape, Eagle Newspapers, Park Outdoor Advertising, Pilot Communications, the Syracuse Newspapers, Village Office Supply, and WSTM-TV3.