Women's Expo provides wide array of vendors
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 1 month AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | February 2, 2016 5:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Dale Haven, owner of Fantasy in Ice, said consumer shows like the annual Women’s Expo and Bridal Showcase, held Saturday, are valuable regardless of whether he gets a lot of bookings that day.
“It’s planting seeds,” Haven, Basin City, said. “I had (a show) last Friday, and (a woman who inquired about his ice sculptures) had my card for 20 years. This was her last kid.”
The ATEC building at Big Bend Community College was filled with services and ideas for brides, and indeed all women. Vendors offered cooking classes, jewelry, health insurance, event venues; there were businesses offering fitness classes, home and event decor, event decorating, event venue rental.
Photographer Rosalie Black lives in Moses Lake, and had samples of her work on display. Next to the photograph of a bride and groom at a Warden grain storage facility was a photo of a bride posed on the steps of the New York Public Library. Black said she has photographed weddings in the Big Apple and Rhode Island, as well as all around Washington, and does a lot of work in Memphis, Tenn. (That’s where she photographed the traditional Hindu wedding, she said, pictures from which were on display.)
But it starts at consumer shows, where brides talk to vendors and learn about their options. That’s the way Black and other wedding photographers book their seasons, she said. People have a favorite time of year, she said – spring or summer, fall or winter. “Mine is wedding season,” she said.
Ashley Jo Meadows, Moses Lake, is working on growing her new business, and so was Marie Barth, owner of Classy Country Catering in Ritzville. Meadows owns Honey Cakes, a specialty cakes business she operates out of her home, she said. But she wants her business to grow, and the Women’s Expo offers an opportunity to show prospective customers her products.
“It’s a good way to get your name out,” Barth said. Her business isn’t limited to Ritzville – she’s catered events in Chelan and Leavenworth – and the Women’s Expo was a good venue to get that information out to prospective customers.
“I love this show,” said Tammie Gilley, Tri-Cities. Gilley is a consultant for a direct-sales company that provides meal ingredients, and it’s her best way for her to talk to consumers in the Moses Lake area, she said. Her customers in Grant County buy her products at the show, she said.
The Women’s Expo finale was a style show of special occasion and wedding dresses. Teresa Akers, owner of Celestial Selections in Spokane Valley, provided the dresses. “It’s a way to get our name out, so people learn about us,” she said.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
New Samaritan Hospital opens its doors
MOSES LAKE — The tarp covering the “Emergency” sign at the new Samaritan Hospital could be removed a few minutes early, but it wasn’t officially open until the sign’s lighting was turned on. The timing had to be precise. “I’ve got to wait until 6:59 (a.m.),” said Jason Wilbur of Graham Construction.
Coolidge Rd. extension to improve access to Moses Lake Community Health
MOSES LAKE — Construction is scheduled to be completed in late April on a project to extend South Coolidge Street to connect it with East Wheeler Road. The goal, said Moses Lake Community Health Center Sheila Berschauer, is to improve access MLCHC.
With fewer applicants, Grant PUD trying to fill what’s left
EPHRATA — A steep increase in application fees for Grant County PUD customers has reduced the number of pending applications dramatically. Andy Wendell, vice-president of customer experience, said that was one of the goals, but there were others. “There were a number of things that we wanted to do. We wanted to become contemporary. What I mean by that is that we (want to) have application processes that are providing certainty in our queue,” Wendell said. “(We wanted to ensure) that when we dedicate engineering and planning staff to reviewing applications, we want to increase the probability that we're working on applications that are going to come to fruition as much as possible. So yes, we did achieve results that we had hoped for, which is to have applicants in the queue that are more certain (to) come to fruition.”