The dream was green at this year’s 13th annual San Benito County
Expo and Job Fair held Thursday at the Veterans Memorial Building
in Hollister.
The dream was green at this year’s 13th annual San Benito County Expo and Job Fair held Thursday at the Veterans Memorial Building in Hollister.
Titled “Green with Envy,” dozens of businesses set up display booths, many of which concentrated on environmentally friendly practices such as Clean Green Recycling, which grinds up discarded wood into chippings used for landscaping and Blueline Power that builds alternative energy systems that involve solar, hydrogen and biofuel sources.
“If we made Hollister a renewable city, it would save the residents $12 million per year (in energy costs),” said Ed Bless, owner of Blueline Power. Bless also showed off his energy bill from last year, which, thanks to solar panels installed at his house, totaled $18.53 for the entire year, he said.
About 75 businesses participated in the one-day event, and the booths not only displayed goods, but also offered jobs.
Visitors milled about picking up flyers, chatting with employees and filling out applications. Bowls of candy seemed to be the common thread adorning tables filled with information packets, stickers and displays.
Al Martinez, executive director of the Economic Development Corp., organized the event and said this year’s turnout so far has been much better than last year’s. He also warned that once 5 p.m. rolled around and several local businesses brought out free food that the trade show would get a lot busier.
“The idea of the show is to expose the community to businesses, expose businesses to the community and expose businesses to other businesses,” he said. “The whole world is jumping on the green bandwagon, and people are finding out that there is a lot of money to be made by going green.”
One of the many noteworthy booths was run by Richard “Sparky” Bradley, owner of Harvesting Solutions, a local worm farm. Bradley said he owns more than 22,000 pounds of live worms, “red wigglers” being his favorite. His worms eat compost material. Certain garbage and the droppings or “casings” they leave behind, Bradley sells as powerful fertilizer.
“For every pound of worm they make three-quarters of a pound of waste every 24 hours,” he said. “Some people don’t know we have options instead of filling up landfills.”
Local teen William White, a 17-year-old San Andreas High School junior, said he hopes to stay in San Benito County after he graduates next year and was eager to check out booths run by Pinnacles National Monument and Graniterock Construction.
“I’m just looking for a job that’s hands-on and keeps me out from behind a desk,” he said.
