More than 1,000 business leaders and about 70 vendors will gather Thursday at the Nevada Appeal building for Northern Nevada Development Authority's second annual Business and Tech Expo 2004.
NNDA Executive Director Ron Weisinger said business vendors, customers and potential customers will socialize, make deals and discuss Northern Nevada's business future.
"This is bigger and better than last year's, and last year's was a raving success," he said.
The expo is for business and industry in Carson City, Churchill, Washoe, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties.
Additions to this year's expo includes a keynote speaker and breakout sessions. Sherman McCorkle, Technology Ventures Corp. president and CEO, will speak on "Funding of Small and New Developing Companies."
McCorkle has headed Technology Ventures Corp. since 1993. He is founder and charter director of New Mexico Bank and Trust and serves on several Albuquerque, N.M., community boards. His corporation is the top sponsor of the expo, and has offices in Nevada, New Mexico and California.
Six breakout sessions are scheduled with topics ranging from adaptive technology to Internet security.
The expo is divided on two floors in the Appeal building, 580 Mallory Way. The ground floor is devoted to business, and the top floor is for technology. Weisinger said wireless Internet access was installed on the top floor for the event.
The tech floor
Cheryle Schaum, JFG Systems Inc. chief financial officer, said her company hopes to help local businesses remain competitive by using technology.
"If they're successful then our area is successful, and that means our kids are successful," she said.
JFG is a network security firm that protects computer data and allows customers to access their data wherever they are. No one is happy when their computer is not working right, Schaum said. JFG is a partner with Hewlett-Packard.
Weisinger said the vendors requested this floor just for tech companies and products.
The floor will have 16 vendors, including SonicWALL and Bluesocket, both major sponsors from Carson City; E Squared C from Minden; and OptiComp Corp. from Zephyr Cove.
The business floor
Dave Rund, Taiyo America Inc. president, said the company believes strongly in promoting local business and economic activities.
"We feel this is one of those events that help promote local businesses and the economic development activities in Northern Nevada," he said.
Taiyo America, which makes specialty coatings for circuit boards, is a major sponsor of the expo.
NNDA's executive director said about 50 business vendors will display their wares for new and regular customers. The vendors include Explicit Media Inc. of Gardnerville, Digiman Photography of Reno and MTM Capital Services of Dayton. The business vendors will be in the Appeal's warehouse.
I F YOU GO
Business and Tech
Expo 2004
Tech floor: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Business floor: 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Keynote address: 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
General admission: $10
Where: Nevada Appeal, 580 Mallory Way
Call: 883-4413
On the Net: www.nnda.org
Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.