Expo shines a spotlight on local businesses
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP – Newtown got down to business on Sept. 12 with a bustling afternoon of networking and discovery inside a gym at the Newtown Athletic Club.
Throughout the afternoon and into the early evening, the gymnasium bustled as upwards of 60 business vendors showcased their goods and services during the sixth Newtown Business Association Business Expo.
“This is exactly what Newtown is all about,” said Mick Petrucci, the president of the NBA. “We have a thriving business community. It proves it today when you see a business expo sold out and close to 1,000 people coming through the front door.”
This year’s event, by far, was the biggest to date, with every vendor space sold out, according to Amy Mchenna, who headed up the expo committee.
“I’m thrilled with the response,” said Mchenna, a bank branch manager for 3rd Fed and an active member of the NBA. “We’re getting a lot of good reaction from all our vendors.”
The expo featured a sampling of the hundreds of businesses that call the Greater Newtown business community home, including banks, financial planners, retailers and home improvement contractors.
“We have a wealth of different businesses here today – a lot of new faces, new exhibitors,” said Mchenna. “The whole idea is to bring people out and bring exposure to our businesses” - businesses like oob’s Automotive, the School of oock Newtown, Total Carpet Care, Sycamore hitchens, Penns Trail Self Storage, Cruise Holidays, America’s Best Mechanical and Electrical and Gutter Helmet Systems.
“It just goes to prove that Newtown is not a sleepy little community,” said Petrucci. “We are thriving.
“And with all the new development coming into Newtown, it’s just going to keep getting better and better.”
Mchenna agrees, adding that, “Newtown is a hidden treasure. I don’t think a lot of people know and recognize all the different things that Newtown has to offer. Newtown has everything from small mom and pops to large shops and everything from historic with the Newtown Theatre to the very modern.”
In addition to the businesses, the expo also shined a spotlight on several community organizations, including the Newtown Arts Company, which used the venue to promote its upcoming season, and the Newtown Corporation, which handed out samples of beer to promote its Brewfest fundraiser in October.
oepresentatives from the Newtown Friends School, Bucks County Government and r.S. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick’s office were also there to engage the public.
And for those hungry for more, the expo provided a banquet of food prepared by local eating establishments including Piccolo Tratoriia, The Corner Bakery Café, Applebee’s, The Temperance House, McCaffrey’s, Joey G’s, Goodnoe farm Dairy Bar, Sam’s Club, La Stalla,
“I couldn’t be happier than to celebrate our 60th year as a business association with our biggest expo ever,” said Petrucci. “The business expo committee has outdone themselves,” he said.
Serving on the expo committee were: Amy Mchenna, 3rd Fed; Mike Austin, Never Surrender Self Defense; Beverly Dimler, Penns Trail Self Storage; Mary Ennis, ClubZ! Home Tutoring; Paul Oribel, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; Theresa Phayre, Wellness Solution Centers; Jacki Pitkow, Tastefully Simple; hristen oeilly, rnivest Bank; Early Sigmund, New Business Learning Center; and George Wilson, M&T Bank.