Business Showcase, sans conference, taking place Tuesday

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The annual Columbia Chamber of Commerce business trade show has undergone a bit of a facelift this year.
The chamber decided to place more emphasis on the keynote address and not hold seminars. The chamber dropped the “conference” part of the title, though that doesn’t mean it’s any less important of a networking event for Columbia business owners.
Perhaps the most important addition to this year’s Business Showcase is the luncheon with Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist.com. It will be Newmark’s first event in the Midwest, organizer Lili Vianello said.
The Chamber of Commerce opens the event at the Holiday Inn Select Hotel and Conference Center with its quarterly membership breakfast. At 9 a.m., the Business Showcase officially opens, and attendees are invited to mingle amongst the exposition booths.
At 11:30 a.m., the booths close for the luncheon with Newmark, who will also have his own booth at the event. Booths reopen at 1 p.m. until the mixer begins at 3:30 p.m. During the mixer, a number of award nominees will be announced, including the Small Business Awards, the Titan Awards, and the ATHENA and Young ATHENA Awards.
Vianello said a high percentage of exhibitors from last year are returning. And this year, businesses purchasing booths receive 20 additional tickets to give away.
“We’ve really tried to look for ways to make it a better event this year,” she said.