Rolling Meadows hosts first business expo Saturday
Rolling Meadows is hosting its first business expo Saturday to connect local business owners with residents and one another.
The Rolling Meadows Business & Community Showcase, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Rolling Meadows High School, has more than 35 participating businesses and community groups registered to date.
"The Showcase is set up so local businesses can network and show their services and products to residents and other leaders," Martha Corner, the city's new business advocate, wrote in a memo to the city council. "This is a great way to shop and learn about Rolling Meadows businesses in a relaxed environment."
The event has been in the planning stages for at least a year, as part of a renewed city effort to improve communication with the business community. Part of the strategy included the hiring of Corner last year to focus on business retention and attraction efforts, and handing out awards last month to businesses who donated money or products to at least one community event or program in 2017.
Businesses that will feature their products and services at the expo range from big to small, and from professional service companies to retailers. Each business that pays a $40 registration fee gets a 6-foot-long draped display table ($30 is reimbursed after completion of the event). Many plan to give out flyers, samples and other tchotchkes.
The community showcase is free and open to the public. The Carl Sandburg Junior High School Orchestra will perform at 11:30 a.m., and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Patterson will perform throughout the event.
Businesses that registered have been invited to a private networking event from 10 to 11 a.m., before the doors open to the public.
Registration for businesses interested in participating ends Friday. To register, visit rmconnect2018.com.