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The White County Business EXPO was held on July 26, 2011. This was the eleventh year the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted a Business EXPO. With 107 booths the 2011 EXPO was the second largest in the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce's history. Businesses from sectors including manufacturing, food services, law, medical, financial services, non-profits and many more gained exposure from their fellow exhibitors and attendees. Held at the Ganus Center on the campus of Harding University, the event kicked off with a By-Invitation-Only featuring guest speaker Jeff Hankins, President of Arkansas Business Publishing Group. Mr. Hankins discussed the state of the economy and the impact on the state and White County. “Arkansas unemployment has reached 8.1 percent —the highest level in 24 years,” Hankins said. “This economy can’t truly take off until we get more people back to work. No jobs, no spending.” Hankins said construction, manufacturing and government jobs are suffering, while professional, business services, hospitality, education and health care jobs are up. The closing of the Yarnell’s plant also puts a damper on economic recovery in the county. However, Hankins said he’s thinking positively about the future of business in White County. “What I see overall is a thriving business community and a growing city and county,” Hankins said. “The Fayetteville Shale Play helped because it gave many individuals disposable income they didn’t have before, so they’re buying things they couldn’t previously afford.” Spending, health care and education are what Hankins said drives the local economy. “It all starts with health care and education,” Hankins said. “Harding University has grown to 7,000 students, so those students and their parents spend money in Searcy. The growth of the White County Medical Center also provides good health care jobs and when people come in for care, they eat in restaurants here and shop at stores here, so Searcy is a good regional draw for those things. “White County is one of the bright spots in the state for all of those reasons.” The coveted title of "Best-In-Show" was decided via the chamber's Facebook page. This was the first year the chamber used a social media to plug into the event and after a close race Steven the Magician took home the title. Sassy Sweets took home the prize for "Best Product Display". Missy Mikkel, Sassy Sweets, was the lucky winner of the By-Invitation-Only Event Grand Prize, a Dell Inspiron Duo. Joe Harris, U.S. Small Business Administration, took home the EXPO’s Grand Prize a 42" Plasma TV. Thank You to our 2011 White County Business EXPO Gold Sponsors including Absolute Care Management Corporation, Arkansas Federal Credit Union, Bryce Corporation, Entergy of Arkansas and ORR Nissan. Silver and Bronze Sponsors included Arkansas State University-Beebe, Cintas, Classic Fare Catering, KFFB 106.1, Cool 104.7 and Crain Media. We would also like to thank Premium Refreshment Services for donating the drinks, Wal-Mart Distribution Center for the 42" Plasma TV, the businesses that participated and the EXPO Committee for all their hard work. A special thank you goes to Jo Ford, Belinda LaForce and Lakin Cathey for volunteering all day at the event. To view photos from the event, click here to visit the chamber’s Facebook page.
* Excerpts from Jeff Hankins were taken from the July 27, Daily Citizen Article written by Kyle Troutman. |
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