Lacombe and District Chamber of Commerce staffers are pleased with how the annual Spring Trade Show and Market turned out this past weekend.
The event was held April 19-20 at the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportplex.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Wendy Buyar, the chamber’s interim executive director.
“We’ve had a great turn-out. We’ve had such a variety of vendors. We had a vendor appreciation event, and the vendors were also asked what they liked best about the show. Almost everybody said it was also the variety of vendors. We had some from Edmonton, from Calgary, Red Deer — lots of Lacombe vendors, too,” she said.
“The dollar donations at the door are also all going to our scholarship fund as well.”
Besides the marketplace, other popular highlights this year included the hiring and recruitment portion of the trade show which was sponsored by Clirico.
That section was all about helping connect job-seekers with employment opportunities.
Other sponsors for this include Sobeys, the Coffee News, and Zed 98.9
Representatives from Employment Placement & Support Services, the Lacombe Employment Centre, and the Career Assistance Network were on hand to chat with those looking for more information.
“We’ve had lots of businesses inside the trade show that are hiring, as well as the organizations here who are helping people to find employment,” she said.
Another big hit was the pet adoption section, sponsored by Wag’s Holistic Pet Nutrition, which featured several local rescue operations including Paws and Claws Animal Rescue, Saving Grace Animal Society, the New Chapter Animal Rescue League, and Old McDonald Kennels.
“It’s really to see people who haven’t connected over the past year, have the chance to connect here at the trade show. That includes our businesses or our visitors connecting as well,” she said.
Buyar said the event is also a key way for new businesses to reach out to the community and build awareness.
Lisa Vornbrock agreed.
She has recently launched a new business called Age Gracefully Wellness Spa in Lacombe.
“It was an interesting concept to come here before we have even opened our doors, but it’s really important for me to continue to build the relationships within the community, and for them to know that we are here,” she explained.
“I’m also excited that the community is excited about our learning components because we have an Age Gracefully Academy as well,” she said.
“We cover the whole concept of living better longer.”
In other news, the chamber recently hosted an evening focused on how businesses and non-profit organizations can better communicate in order to support each other more effectively.
This event was held on April 15 at the Lacombe Memorial Centre and featured guest speaker Linda Wilson of CoreQuest Inc. and a dinner.
“She gave a talk on the importance of volunteerism in the community, addressing local businesses and organizations about how one (attracts) volunteers,” said Buyar.
“She also talked about the importance of volunteerism, and how it comes back to you; how it does benefit your bottom line.
“We did some projects that evening too where the businesses and the organization worked together, coming up with different ideas and learning from each other.”
It was also an opportunity to identify how best to approach businesses for things like funding, sponsorship, and donations, and also for community organizations to learn more about expressing the kinds of needs they have.
Looking ahead, the next chamber after-hours event will be held at Wolf Creek Botanical on April 30.
For more information, visit www.lacombechamber.ca
