By JESSICA SIEFF

Edwardsburg Argus

The Edwardsburg Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for what will be the village’s first business expo, to be held Sept. 30.

Barbara Wright, treasurer for the chamber and lead chairwoman for the event, said she hopes bringing the businesses of the village to the forefront will create an opportunity for residents to invest their money locally.

“As a chamber we’ve decided that we’ve got to do something to promote and support the businesses in our local area,” Wright said.

The expo, she added, will hopefully “give them an opportunity to put themselves out there so that the general public knows they exist.”

According to Wright, there are more than 250 businesses in the Edwardsburg and Union area “and many of them I had never heard of.”

Wright got to thinking that if she wasn’t aware of what was available to her in when it comes to business services, much of the public might not know either.

The chamber is currently taking registration forms from area businesses.

“We are hoping to start seeing responses by the first of September,” she said.

At the expo, local businesses will have a booth where they’ll be able to tell the public more about what they do and give them information about their business.

Wright said local food service businesses have been asked to supply finger foods for the event and even Edwardsburg Public Schools is getting in on the process.

“We are involving the business class from the high school as well,” Wright said. “So they understand another aspect of the business world.” Students will be volunteering as servers during the expo so they can interact with businesses and members of the public.

During chamber meetings, Wright said, one common discussion topic has been how businesses can bring revenue back into the local economy.

The diversity of businesses and services in Edwardsburg is something Wright said might come as a surprise to many.

“I had no idea,” she said. “It’s everything from your local supermarkets to your little restaurants, to mom and pop kind of places to your banking, your hairdresser, your insurance companies … It’s just unbelievable.”

The chamber is hoping to make the expo an annual event.