Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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| New location, other changes are in store |
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Sunday, February 28, 2010
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
This year’s sold-out Fast Track trade show will feature a new location, changes designed to give the first night a more professional atmosphere and more than 20 first-time exhibitors.
Fast Track 2010, the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce’s 16th annual trade show, will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Commonwealth Centre in Martinsville. It will feature 148 booths decorated by local and regional businesses and nonprofit organizations ready to show their best to the community, said chamber President Amanda Witt.
After several years in the former Bassett-Walker plant off Rives Road, the show will move to the Commonwealth Centre, which once housed Tultex Corp. in Martinsville. The show hasn’t been held there since major renovations were done, including the installation of a clock tower and elevator at the building’s front.
“The location is phenomenal,” Witt said. “I can’t say how nice the Clock Tower building is. I think folks will be shocked if they haven’t been inside since it was the Tultex mill, or since the last trade show” there.
The show will begin Tuesday with VIP night, an invitation-only night for exhibitors and their guests. Again this year, VIP night will feature Taste of Martinsville Henry County, in which 14 restaurants and caterers will offer food samples. Alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and water also will be available.
In years past, the Taste exhibitors were placed together in one area of the show. However, this year they will be scattered throughout the booths, Witt said. That is designed to keep people moving throughout the show rather than concentrated in one spot, she said.
Also new this year, each visitor will be given a punch card for food. Taste vendors will punch the cards when they offer samples. That means visitors will be allowed to sample each vendor’s food only once, Witt said.
“We tell (the food vendors) to prepare a certain amount so everyone can have a taste,” she said. “It’s not supposed to be dinner.”
This way, there should be plenty of food for everyone at the show to taste fare from each food booth, she said.
Also this year, VIP night will have a dress code for the first time. Visitors will be expected to wear business casual attire, such as khakis, suits or other nice clothes, Witt said. No jeans, T-shirts or sweatshirts will be permitted unless exhibitors need to wear them in their booths.
Also, children under 18 will not be permitted at VIP night this year unless they are working in a booth.
Both changes are designed to make the evening more professional, Witt said.
“We want VIP night to maintain a business feeling,” she said. “… It truly is the business-to-business night.”
The idea of VIP night is to offer exhibitors and their guests a chance to make connections through what the chamber calls “intense networking.”
The changes were suggested by a committee of exhibitors after last year’s show, and Witt said response has been positive.
“So far, all I’ve heard from exhibitors is that it’s great,” she said.
VIP night will begin this year with a speaker. Richard E. Cripps, chief investment officer of Choice Financial Partners Inc., will talk about equity market outlook and portfolio strategies. His talk was arranged by Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Martinsville, Witt said.
Things will change on Wednesday. For the second night, the show will be open to people of all ages, and there will be no dress code. Admission will be $3, and children 7 and under will get in free.
As in years past, awards will be given to exhibitors Wednesday in three categories: manufacturing/distribution, service and nonprofits. Exhibitor’s choice and best in show winners also will be named.
Among the 124 businesses and 14 Taste participants this year will be many longtime participants and 22 who are taking part of the first time, Witt said. The largest portion, 55 percent, will represent the service sector while 39 percent will represent nonprofits (including schools and governments) and 6 percent will represent manufacturing and distribution.
That breakdown “mirrors our business community here,” Witt said.
Although the area’s economy has struggled for some time, Witt said interest in the show has not waned. This year there are slightly fewer exhibitors than last, but that is because there are fewer booths in the new location, she said.
“We are sold out, so we’re really excited about that,” she said. Because of the recession, some shows in other areas “are having a hard time selling out,” Witt said. “So that says a lot about our community. It’s a strong testament to what our exhibitors and members feel they receive from the show.”
For-profit exhibitors pay $500 per booth while nonprofits pay $350. Sponsor booths are $1,500. This year’s sponsors are Ameristaff/MEDRequest, Boxley, Carter Bank & Trust, EMI Imaging, The Lester Group, Norris Funeral Services, S&K Office Products, the Virginia Workforce Center, and Gardner, Barrow, Sharpe & Reynolds PC.
CenturyLink is the major corporate sponsor, and the Martinsville Speedway is sponsoring VIP night.
Kimbanet will provide wireless Internet service that all exhibitors may use.
Because this year’s show will be on the third floor of the Commonwealth Centre, car dealers will not be able to take vehicles inside, Witt said. However, vehicles will be on display in the parking lot. John Deere tractors will be taken up via a freight elevator, and another popular draw — animals — will be included again this year in the Martinsville-Henry County SPCA’s booth.
New this year, the Henry-Martinsville Health Department will offer free H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines both nights.
Last year, it was cold inside the trade show site, but Witt said that shouldn’t be a problem this year. She advised visitors to dress in layers so they may take off clothes if they become warm.
There should be enough parking for the hundreds of visitors expected each night, she said, but she encouraged visitors to carpool if possible. Trade show visitors will not be allowed to park in the Taco Bell lot nearby, Witt said.
Police officers will provide security, and there will be two elevators for those who don’t want to take one of four sets of stairs.
“We plan to have a really great show with a lot of accessibility,” Witt said. |
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