The annual Blairsville Business Expo recently returned to the Union County Sports Center, highlighting dozens of the organizations and businesses that service Blairsville and the surrounding area.
To be exact, 60 vendors set up booths to provide everything from educational brochures to free food to small samples of craftsmanship on Sept. 30, with expo organization by the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce.
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As part of the popular “Touch a Truck” exhibit, kids and adults alike learned more about Kubota equipment and how it benefits the more hands-on job options in the community. Lined up outside, they were a good choice to visit after having explored everything sprawled between the two gym floors.
Entertainment was also lined up with plenty of photo opportunities for families – or college alumni. Mascots in particular represented Young Harris College and North Georgia Technical College, although a Chick-fil-A cow was spotted being social, and Chico the Clown was a first-time visitor.
According to Rachel Post of the Chamber of Commerce, weather had a definite impact on the event this year. Although most activities and vendors were inside, she suspected that fewer visitors came out than normal due to the heavy rain.
Still, Post said she heard from a lot of businesses after the fact who used the opportunity to network amongst themselves, and the visitors who did pass through the doors enjoyed their time there.
Julie Sgambati, for example, enjoyed reconnecting with old friends. Sgambati volunteered at the front desk and greeted visitors as they entered. Although Pam Rangel was there in the past as a vendor putting together gift baskets to promote local businesses, Sgambati saw her this year as an expo guest, and she said it made her time helping out that much brighter.
Not all businesses were strictly vendors. Some, like the DiNatale Law Firm, provide various services for folks. In coming to the Business Expo, they handed out brochures and information for interested – or simply curious – parties.
Megan DiNatale has been practicing law for seven years. Although the main office is in Gainesville, the practice includes a conference room in Blairsville. She made sure to snag a pic with Luke the Mountain Lion, the mascot of her Young Harris alma mater, while informing locals about the kinds of cases she sees.
“Our heavy-hitting areas are estate planning and business law, so (we handle) contract drafting, business formation, that sort of thing,” DiNatale said. “But we’re a general practice firm, so we do pretty much everything.”
DiNatale likes to build a rapport with the people who pass through her office by inviting them to return.
“We want to help you manage life and help you with all the different aspects,” she said. “It’s hard to keep up with a number, but we want to help everyone. We don’t want to just treat our clients like numbers.”
Speaking of navigating the challenges of life, Tapestry Hospice was on hand to share the differences between hospice care and palliative services. In doing so, the business also set about debunking some harmful myths.
“Our whole focus is pain control, giving people the best quality of life I believe the good Lord has intended for them,” clarified Tapestry Clinical Services Director Donna Fitzpatrick-Lehnert. “A lot of people have the misconception that hospice means, ‘Oh, they’re going to kill us, they’re going to hurry up our death or whatever,’ and that’s not what we do.”
Tapestry’s Amy Tatum explained that “if you have somebody that’s on home health that doesn’t really need hospice, but they need a little bit more care – more eyes in the home to see kind of what’s going on – put them on palliative care.”
She described palliative care as a relatively new addition to the healthcare industry. Patients who might benefit are usually those who require close monitoring but haven’t necessarily received a terminal diagnosis.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Jenkins, a reservations and information technology specialist, shared a bit about the Hinton Center. Based out of Hayesville, North Carolina, the property started as an agency of the United Methodist Church in 1961.
“Originally, the land was for a hunting lodge for the Hintons to go and hunt and have a space for their friends to meet up,” Jenkins said. “But eventually they turned it into a community space to have a gathering space, a place to meet.
“Over the years, we’ve evolved to have a ministry focused out of that meeting space. So, people come, stay with us, and eventually, they’ll go out in the community and help serve with our safe and healthy housing initiative or educational opportunities.”
Hopefully, some of those people will come back to Blairsville and minister to others, just like other businesses hope to return to next year’s Business Expo.
