Lansing - There was plenty of traffic at the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave.
And most of it was from feet.
The 14th annual Lansing Business Expo was held Tuesday. It’s mid-Michigan’s largest business expo.
The event is a business-to-business trade fair that allows area businesses to showcase their services and products, and is sponsored by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“It is kind of a homecoming for the business community,” said Suzanne Thelen, spokeswoman for the chamber of commerce.
Door prizes and seminars on improving the marketing, finance and technology were all part of the expo.
Thelen said the chamber of commerce gave out prizes like duffle bags, sporting chairs and some cooler packs.
“Other people gave out things like a TV, an office chair, a massage and $100 savings bond,” she said.
Businesses such as telecommunication services, insurance agencies and caterers all set up elaborate booths with displays and pamphlets for interested customers.
Thelen said at least 200 businesses showed up.
“It allows them to meet new contacts and, also as a community, it is a bonding experience,” she said.
But those aren’t the only reasons a business will set up a display.
Thelen said another reason to come is to meet the competition.
Patti Reeser, associate manager for TDS Metrocom, 2525 Jolly Road in Okemos, said the company wanted to the general public to know it has an alternative to AT&T Corp.
“We have been providing local phone service for the past 25 years,” she said.
Granger Container Service, Inc., 16980 Wood Road, had a booth draped in brown camouflage with a toy bow and arrow shoot.
“We have a public landfill and we have electrical plants,” Earl Aungst, a sales representative, said.
Aungst said the plants take the methane gas away from the landfills.
“This is the first year we had a game and people just loved it,” he said. “We have had 2-year-olds up to people I didn’t want to ask their age and be impolite.”
The Peacock Road Tree Farm, 11854 Peacock Road in Laingsburg had stuffed animals and holiday decorations. It was the first year the farm was at the expo.
“The farm has reached the size that it could have a booth here,” owner Diana Carpenter said.
She said the farm is not just somewhere a family can find its Christmas tree.
“We are open for hay rides and private parties,” she said.
J. Eagle a massage therapist from Creative Wellness Holistic Health Center, 2025 Abbott Road in East Lansing, said its clients are from the Legislature.
“We serve a large part of Lansing,” he said. “A lot of people sit in meetings with (Gov. John Engler) and can’t wait for a massage.”
