Business View Magazine | April 2020

155 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE APRIL 2020 BUY INDI ANA EXPO of Commerce. Next year, it will be Linton- Stockton’s turn to host Buy Indiana. The year after that, the Jasper Chamber will host. What won’t change will be the Expo’s location—it’s always held in French Lick. “The Exhibition Hall at the French Lick Resort & Casino is just the largest neighboring venue for this type of event,” says Myers. With over 30,000 square feet of multi-functional event space and easy load-in access, the climate-controlled room can hold up to 200 exhibit booths with plenty of overhead room. “It works out very well,” he says. Sharing hosting duties with the other Chambers allows the Expo to cover most of the Southern Indiana region, and ensures that Crane is always gaining access to the most experienced local teams. “On the Crane side, they look forward to the Expo every year as a chance to look over who’s doing the work there, who has the contracts, and meet new businesses interested in supporting the mission at Crane,” adds Myers. As far as any competition, Myers insists there’s massive. I believe it’s the third largest Naval Service Warfare Center in the world. Crane spans four counties. One of those is Lawrence County, where Bedford is.” Buy Indiana Expo was the dream-child of Adele Bowden-Purlee, a former President and CEO of the Bedford Chamber for many years. “She’s still in the community,” confirms Myers. “She started the Expo in partnership with some people at Crane. Together, they agreed that the Hoosier companies should be offered the earliest opportunity to work with Crane—their purchasers, their engineers—to get that contract work. The inaugural event started off with the Crane employees being bussed into a Bedford high school gymnasium. There was a big interest there and the Expo quickly outgrew that space. Now, it’s one of the largest trade shows that we do, and probably one of the most important in the region.” The Bedford Chamber plays host every three years, in rotation with the other two Chambers