The annual trade show and job fair is scheduled for May 13 at
the Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Hollister.
The annual trade show and job fair is scheduled for May 13 at the Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Hollister.
This year’s event is the 15th annual Spotlight on Hollister & San Benito County. Its theme is “Building Business Again in 2010.”
The 2010 event is set to include 72 participants in the trade show portion and another 28 employers in the job fair part, said Lindsay Swanton, one of the organizers and owner of a small consulting firm in Hollister.
It is hosted by the Economic Development Corp. of San Benito County, the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce, the Hollister Downtown Association, the county Water Resources Board and the San Juan Bautista Chamber of Commerce.
Kicking off the trade show and job fair from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. will be a flyover by three Boeing Stearmen World War II air trainers – while it also will serve to help promote the upcoming Hollister Air Show over Memorial Day weekend, Swanton said.
Aside from the “building business again” theme, the organizers also plan to emphasize the achievements of the many businesses and organizations that are reaching, or have surpassed, 100 years of existence.
“One is ‘networking is good business’ and the other is really a focus on the 100-year subtheme,” Swanton said.
The trade show portion once again will take place inside the Veterans Memorial Building, while there will be a tent outside for the job fair. Organizers this year are placing a special emphasis, meanwhile, on a partnership with San Benito County Workforce Development in trying to connect prospective employees with employers.
It’s an appropriate endeavor considering San Benito County’s unemployment rate of 21.8 percent reported in March, according to the California Economic Development Department.
“Not to mention,” Swanton said, “it’s a good forum for locals to keep business local.”
