On October 6th the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce, which covers Chino & Chino Hills, held its annual Business Expo in the Sam's Club parking lot on Pipeline. Once again the participation and attendance broke previous records. My wife and I attend the Business Expo each year but this year we were vendors because of the kick off of ChinoHills.com.
The Expo provides a great venue for local businesses and chamber members to showcase their products and services to the community. It is also a wonderful place for people to learn about the cities of Chino and Chino Hills, the public services they offer, and the many charities and service clubs in the area including the Soroptimists, Kiwanis, and Rotary Clubs.
There were about 100 booths in the expo all together and by the time we reserved our booth on the Tuesday before the event, there were only 4 left. All the booths were sold out by show time.
On Friday night, the Chamber held a vendor reception with food from many local vendors including The Santa Maria Barbecue & Grill (Mike and his crew make the best tri-tip anywhere in Southern California) and several others. There was a long chain of prizes and giveaways going on for the raffle and plenty of networking and conversation.
Vendor Profiles...
In addition to our own introduction of ChinoHills.com, we spoke with a number of vendors to learn about their businesses.
ChinoHills.com
We introduced ChinoHills.com at the Expo and the response was very positive. I think we were a typical small business exhibitor with the booth being run by me, my son Anthony, and my wife Christine. Of course I spent most of my time visiting other vendors and spreading the news about our new venture.
ChinoHills.com is going to be a place where the community can participate in sharing information, opinions, news, and events with others in the community.
Embroid Me
Bruce and Cathy Simonson run the local franchise for EmbroidMe. They carry a full selection of embroidered polo shirts, caps, denim, towels, uniforms, jackets, etc. From the looks of their booth, they are doing a lot of work with sports teams whose posters were proudly displayed in their booth.
Diversified Industries
Andrea Clark of Diversified Industries handled inquiries at their booth. This organization is a division of OPARC which employs over 600 adults with developmental and vocational disabilities. I was a little familiar with the concept because I've visited one of their facilities years ago and it was very impressive. They are dedicated to helping people with disabilities and their families.
Masters Exterminating
We also spoke with John Scott and Tony Jones of Masters Exterminating in Chino. Their booth contained an impressive display of critters that would make you cringe at the sight of them in your own home.
Pure Results Fitness
Ted May and Chad Warthen manned the display at Pure Results Fitness. They had several consultants on hand to discuss fitness with booth visitors and offered a free body fat analysis to booth visitors. They also offered free gift certificates to new members.
JZ's Party Charm
I have to say that these gals would have won the most imaginative booth award (if there was one). Their tent was a portable "pirate's cove" complete with pirates hanging from the ceilings. They offer rentals on anything needed for weddings and parties large and small, even trade shows.
The Chino Boxing Club
The Chino Boxing Club has had thousands of members over the years, both girls and boys, and has fostered many well known professional fighters. The goals of the program include: providing self-esteem, self-respect, character development, discipline, and to teach a sense of pride. Along with several other local groups, they displayed their skills on the main stage.
Party Kingdom
Although I couldn't convince their lion mascot to talk to me, I must admit that she was very friendly. Party Kingdom has a great facility in Chino offering parties for all occasions. It's full of huge blow up games for kids and looks like a lot of fun.
and is not a part of nor affiliated with the City of Chino Hills.