After a 15-year absence, the Callaway Business Exposition returned Saturday at the Callaway Senior Center in Fulton.
Sponsored by the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce, the business showcase attracted 21 area businesses, agencies and organizations. They used the opportunity to communicate with Fulton area businesses and residents.
"Traffic has been steady throughout the day," said Nancy Lewis, executive director of the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce.
Fulton Mayor LeRoy Benton was at the City of Fulton booth. "We are providing information about recycling and donations from citizens for an animal shelter. We don't have enough money to build a shelter but we are asking for donations from interested citizens. We have needed an animal shelter since I first was elected to the council about a dozen years ago," Benton said.
Rick Gohring, president of Callaway markets for Callaway Bank, said he was pleased by the steady traffic after the absence of the business trade show for so many years.
Mike McCray of Fulton said he thought the trade show is "great for the community. It lets Callaway County people become more aware of businesses that are available to them."
Michelle Sample of Vision Arts Eyecare Center in Fulton demonstrated a state-of-the-art electronic device that can detect the level of beneficial antioxidents in the body of patients who merely place a hand in front of a light.
Sample said the device can help determine risks of developing macular degeneration in eyes.
Michael Boyce greeted visitors at the Central Bank booth. He was distributing a Central Bank cookbook with recipes contributed by bank employees. He also was serving a birthday cake celebrating the bank's 110th anniversary.
Colleen Taylor, owner of Midwest Travel of Jefferson City, had a booth at the event to attract customers from the Fulton area. "This has been a successful effort for us," Taylor said. "I live in New Bloomfield and I am a member of the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce," she added.
Taylor also was promoting the chamber's planned group-tour summer train trip to the Canadian Rockies. The group will visit the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede, a famed rodeo in Canada.
Bernie Young, owner of Young's Welding and Machine Shop in Hatton used the opportunity to let business owners and others learn more about his services and the products he sells.
Pati McDonald, advertising manager of the Fulton Sun, said the booth was a successful effort and new potential advertising customers were contacted at the event.