Iola EXPO back on track

By ANNE KAZMIERCZAK Register Reporter
This year’s Iola Chamber of Commerce Business Expo wil be the first since the Neosho River flooded Riverside Park and the Community Building there in July of 2007.
Although the building reopened to public use in May of 2008, the Expo, traditionally the last weekend of January, had no where to go before then and was canceled. This year, the date has changed, but the venue returns.
“It’s usually the last weeknd in January,” said Chamber of Commerce head Jana Taylor, “but the SuperBowl is then, and we didn’t want to compete with the SuperBowl.”
So, in deference to that great event, the Expo has been bumped up a weekend, to Jan. 24 and 25.
Iolans will find a wide array of businesses present, from non-profits like the Allen County Historical Museum and ACARF to traditional Expo attendees like Kitchens and More and Western Auto.
In all, Taylor said, there should be as many booths as in years past, or possibly more.
“I have new people adding booths every day,” she said.
In addition, the event should be far easier to maneuver through.
The old floor of the Community Building was concrete with an elevated wooden basketball court - a situation that “wasn’t handicap firendly,” said Parks Dept. Receptionist Kristy Sutherland. The new Taraflex flooring, however, is all one smooth, cushioned level — easier on the feet and bones as well as friendlier to the mobility impaired.
The flooring is a synthetic layered sysytem.
“It’s pretty thick plastic,” Sutherland said.
According to the company’s website, it’s layered vinyl, reinforced fiberglass and closed-cell foam “to provide shock absorption, help fight fatigue, deliver consistent ball bounce, and protect against skin burns.”
It’s certainly more comfortable than the old wood or concrete floors, Sutherland acknowledged.
The businesses representatives who spend two days standing during the Expo will probably appreciate that as well.
That single-level surface will provide more usable square footage, as well, said Taylor. Before, merchants had to work around the edge of the concrete. Now, booths can be rimmed around the building, as well as having a center grouping, wihtout needing to allow empty space for the elevation change. Traffic flow will be easier for patrons, she said. Merchants will set up in the earth-toned “Little Theater Room” as well as the new gym.
In all, there will be over 13,000 square feet of vendor dispalys, Taylor said.
“They always have goodies — freebies and promotional items,” Taylor said of the vendors.
Specials this year will include a masseuse offering chair massages and the Chamber’s daily give-away of $500 in Expo Bucks, credit that can be used at any of the participating vendor locations.
Also planned is a computer raffle, Taylor said. Tickets should run a buck a piece, or six for $5 she said.
It’s all with one purpose in mind: “The idea is to promote Iola business not only to our own local people but also to those outside the area.”
Attendance in years passed surpassed 2,00 visitors over the course of the weekend, Taylor said.
“We do publicize the event,” she said. The Expo has been promnoted from Yates Center to Fort Scott and Ottawa.
Food will be available this year, too, thanks to the new kitchen added during remodeling.
“We had an area before that was a concesion,” Sutherland said, “But we didn’t have freezers or a stove.” Sutherland said the new kitchen will be a boon to all the events held at the center, form community ball games to weddings and family reunions.
“We have a dodge ball tournament on the 31st and they’ll use the kitchen at that,” she said.
The kitchen and the new gym are the silver lining to the 2007 flood.
“We are better off than we were before,” Sutherland said. “We never would have gotten the floor that we needed otherwise.”
As for the EXpo, Major sponsors Copy Products, Diebolt Lumber, Personal Service Insurance and Windsor Place of Iola, need to be thanked for their assistance, Taylor said.
“They really make it happen.”