I ventured out the the 2008 Mahoning Valley Home Builders Association annual show on Saturday (4/12/08). This year the show was in North Lima, Ohio just off Market Street on a side road called Industrial Drive. I arrived at around 7:45 p.m. and visited the show for about an hour. Bob Knuff from Knuff Photography had a booth set up for his business. Bob and I discussed photography and how it has changed over the past ten years. Bob gave me some insight on how the framing process works and as well showed me some nice examples he personally created. Jon Arnold from J. Arnold and Associates Investment Specialists had a booth set up right next to Knuff Photography. Jon has Pneumonia and could not make an appearance (I hear through the grapevine Jon is on his way to a nice recovery now). There were a few specialists that work with for J. Arnold and Associates presenting his booth that were pretty knowledgable about todays market andf the economy. These two booths had a remarkably nice set-up. The entire building was filled with booths from businesses in our Valley. The show had a pretty diverse group of area companies. There were booths set up for everything from heating duct specialists to Insurance Agancies. The building was well lit and organized pretty well. I was concerned it may be too hot, or too cold inside but the temperature was just right. Temperature at these trade shows seems to make a huge impact on how long folks stay. As I said the temperature was perfect and the whole building (as big as it was) was well ventilated. The conversation I had with area business owners at the show made me happy that I decided to atteneded this year. I will most likely set up a booth for one of my own businesses next year (valleypurchases.com or webfreight.org) if I can reserve a spot in time. Josh, Becky, and Terry at the Mahoning Valley HBA had a nice turn-out. Thanks Guys. Glad I went to check it out.

Ian Billen, President of Valleypurchases.com
President of webFREIGHT.org
MVRP Organizational Grand Chairman
http://valleypurchases.com