One of the longest continuous business events, the One Southern Indiana (1si) Business Expo, has been reimagined to what organizers are calling a B-to-B Experience, offering attendees multiples ways to connect, develop and engage with the organization and each other.
The B-to-B Experience will take place on Wednesday afternoon, September 26, 2018 at Kye’s I & II in Jeffersonville, Ind. Unlike expos of the past, this year’s event will kick off with a formal luncheon featuring keynote speaker John Waggoner, President & CEO, HMS Global Maritime and Chairman & CEO, American Queen Steamboat Company. Waggoner was named one of the 2017 Ohio Valley EY Entrepreneurs of the Year. HMS Global Maritime, a marine operations and travel company based in New Albany, Ind., has recently gone through a period of extreme growth, from 175 employees in 2011 to nearly 1,000 in 2018. The American Queen Steamboat Company, an overnight river cruise company founded in 2011, has grown from $0 to more than $100,000,000 in revenue in a seven-year period.
The afternoon of the B-to-B Experience will feel much different as well. The trade show, which has been the focal point of the event in the past, will be pared down to include approximately 30 booths, all of which will feature only business-to-business companies. There will also be a limit on the number of businesses from any one industry that will be allowed.
At the time of publishing, the categories still open for registration are:
Education – two booths available
Healthcare – three booths available
Banking – one booths available
Accounting – three booths available
Office Supply companies – two
Marketing and Public Relations – two booths available
Law – two booths available
Entertainment & hospitality – one booths available
Commercial Services – one booths available
Caterers registering for the “Taste of SoIN” from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. will be placed in a separate category.
Interactive workshops will be offered in the afternoon with an opportunity to visit the tradeshow floor between sessions. While the afternoon will wrap up with the traditional “Taste of One Southern Indiana” and cocktails. The silent auction will be scaled back to include mostly luxury items and collectibles.
“Our members have expressed a desire for an enriched tradeshow experience and we listened,” said 1si President and CEO Wendy Dant Chesser. “We are experimenting with this format in the hopes of attracting new faces to the event as well as satisfy those members who attend year after year. This new blueprint allows us to provide not only networking opportunities but also personal and professional development. It is our hope that attendees will leave the experience feeling energized as well as having made new contacts with potential customers and vendors.”
Sponsorship is limited, but still available. For the tenth year in a row, PNC Bank is the title sponsor of the event. Gold sponsors include: Centra Credit Union, Huber’s Orchard Winery and Vineyards and Greater Clark County Schools. Current silver sponsors include: BRAND Hospitality Group - Brooklyn and the Butcher, The Exchange Pub & Kitchen and Longboard's Tacos & Tiki, DMLO CPAs, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, L&D Mail Masters, Inc., Premier Capital Corporation and SIHO Insurance Services. The nonprofit sponsor is Kaiser Home Support Services, Inc. 1si members interested in sponsorship should contact Lisa Brooking, 1si Chief Revenue Officer, at LisaB@1si.org or 812-206-9024.
Member registration for the event will be $99 and include the luncheon, interactive workshops and trade show. Tickets may also be purchased for each event with the luncheon priced at $50 and each workshop priced at $30. Registration for the event will open August 1, 2018. 1si members in good standing interested in having a booth may contact 1si Special Events manager Amber Miller Ruoff at amberm@1si.org or 812-945-0266.