Chamber’s small business expo succeeds for many

Published 11:45 pm Friday, October 31, 2014

Special to
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — The River Region Chamber of Commerce hosted its first small business expo with co-host, St. Charles Economic Development Department, Oct. 9 at the Edward Dufrense Community Center.

Attendees enjoyed browsing the tables set up by various businesses throughout the River Region during the first portion of the event.

“The first Small Business Expo held by the River Region Chamber of Commerce ​was very beneficial to our campus,” said Penelope Freeman, business department head at South Central Louisiana Technical College.

“I made several contacts to further our Business Training Programs. It was a great venue to get the word out about training programs geared toward Business Training and the cost effectiveness of having it here close to home. We can’t wait for next year; we are expecting it to be bigger and even better than the first one.”

Businesses of many different types were represented at the Expo. Perry Waguespack, table vendor with Preferred Home Mortgage, Inc., said the expo was a huge success.

“I think we got great exposure and, as a result of it, we got three loan applications,” Waguespack said.

The Conversations and Cocktails portion of the event was a chance for the vendors, attendees and St. Charles parish officials to chat and make meaningful connections.

“The atmosphere was fun and bubbly, and it appeared everyone was having a great time,” Waguespack said. “I made a few good connections that I am exploring right now as a result of the expo and networking event.”