The Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce celebrated another successful evening of Northwest Indiana communities and businesses coming together and connecting at the Portage Community Business Night tonight.
The event is in its twelfth year, and its popularity has grown every year since its came to fruition.
Check out photos from the event on Facebook!
Nancy Simpson, Office Manager of the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce, has loved watching the event sprout from an idea to the incredible event it has become.
“This is now our largest event we put on,” Simpson told Ideas In Motion Media. “It takes six months to plan, and I am just so excited it is going as smoothly as it is.”
And it was a large, but very well planned event.
Click here to download photos from PCBN 2015!
127 total vendors from the Portage area lined the Woodland Park Community Center with fun and creative tables, as hundreds of guests walked up and down the eventful aisles getting to know the businesses that make up the fabric of the community. Along the way they were treated to food samples, a cash bar, games, and an abundance of free swag, while live music provided the backdrop for their stroll.
“I come every year,” said attendee, James Warden, of Portage. “It’s a great time and it gets more fun with all the new stuff here, every time I come.”
And it seemed the businesses, non-profits, and vendors attending were having just as much fun meeting the community and other businesses in attendance.
We got a chance to speak with many of the businesses here, and here is what they had to say:
For some businesses, the event was a tradition; a “can’t miss” chance to meet the community that they’ve circled on their calendars.
“We’ve been involved with the Chamber since its inception,” Laurie Wehner-Evans, Director of Community and Corporate Wellness for Porter Regional Hospitals said. “We love the community and networking aspects of the event. We also have a lot of new services moving into the Portage area, so it’s a perfect opportunity to introduce those here.”
“We’ve been here all of the years that the Portage Chamber has had this event,” Irma Torres, Vice President of Branch Development and Business Banking at Regional Federal Credit Union, told IIMM. “Meeting new people and new businesses, and developing relationships is what keeps us coming back.”
“We’ve been here every year,” said Michael E. Sarver Assistant, Vice President and Business Bankee of Horizon Bank. “We keep coming back because it’s a great event and it supports our community. We really like having the public involved.”
“We love the opportunity to connect with the community,” Elliot Miller, Director of Marketing and Development at Porter-Starke Services added. “And the chance it also gives us to catch up and talk with some of our partners.”
“We have been coming here for ten years,” said Leslie Plesac, Co-Director of the Porter County location for Purdue North Central. “We love meeting with the businesses here that support our cause and interacting with potential new students.”
“Oh gosh, no,” Rittenhouse Senior Living Marketing Director and Portage Chamber Board of Directors member, Judy Kukelka, said when asked whether this was Rittenhouse’s first time here. “This is an amazing opportunity to find other businesses and non-profits that we can partner with to grow this community.”
For some business representatives manning the booths at the event, this was their first time at the PCBN, and an opportunity to say hello to the neighborhood.
“This is my first year,” said Travis Thatcher-Curtis, Clinical Manager of the Chesterton Health and Emergency Center, part of the Franciscan Alliance. “We’re a new business in Chesterton, so it’s good to get out there and garner some awareness of who we are and what we do.”
“This is our first year,” said Sales and Marketing Representative, Greer Evans, of SERVPRO of Porter County. “We really want to get involved in the Portage community a lot more, so this is one of our first big opportunities to do so. And because we haven’t really had a chance to connect with the Portage community yet, this is a great opportunity to see how we can help.”
And for others, it was a chance to spread a message they care about to the community.
“I am here today to talk to women about the importance of having their mammograms,” Donna Faitak, Supervisor of the Women’s Diagnostic Center at St. Mary Medical Center said. “It’s wonderful to be here to talk to so many people in the community and be able to answer their questions.”
“We just want the community to know we’re here for them,” added Mackenna Schon, Director of Volunteer Engagement for the United Way of Porter County. “We’re here to let them know we represent all of Porter County and for them to learn about how they can get involved in the community.”
And for Nancy Cuellar, Community Liaison for the Visiting Nurses Association of Porter County, this evening was a chance to not only connect with new acquaintances and businesses, but also reflect on how the event has grown over the years.
“The event has really evolved into something big,” Cuellar said “It’s really gets better and better every year.”
Safe to say that the Portage Community Business Night was another hit for the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce, and now that 2015 is successfully in the books, that the Chamber has their eyes set on another great year of bringing businesses and the community together.
Vendors this year included:
Food vendors: El Cantarito, Dickeys, Town and Country, Kona Ice, 3 Greeks, Family Express, Bam Pizza, Pepe's, Birkey's, Chicagoland Popcorn, Vendors: 5/3 Bank, Ad-venture, Allens Landscape, American Insurance Brokers, LLC, Ample Infinity, Anchor Home Health Care, Arnell Chevy-Kia, Blachly, Tabor, Bozik & Hrtman, BMO Harris Bank, Brain Balance, Cathy Reed, Centier Bank, Chamber Booth, City Point Church, City of Portage, Comfort Keepers, Devry University, Diamond Residential Mortgage, Direct Mail Advantage, Dr. Laura Hannon, Family Bible Church, Farmacologists, Fit U, Franciscan WorkingWell, Gabriel's Horn Corp., Golden Living Centers, Habitat for Humanity, of Porter Co., Hannah's Hope, Home Pro of Valpo, Horizon Bank, Independent Missionary Network, Indiana Dunes Tourism, Indiana Wesleyan Univ., Kauffman Chiropractic, Lake Minnehaha/Jellystone, Landmark Sign Group, Lovings Heating, Lubrication Enterprises LLC., Main Source Bank, Maverick Transportation, LLC, McEuen Law Office, Members Adv. Credit Union, Millers Senior Living Community, Minuteman Press, Moody Blooms, Moses Caregivers LLC, Nate "Can do Caricatures", Northshore Health Center, Opportunity Enterprises, PNC, Popo's, Portage Life, Portage Park Dept, Portage Township Educ. Found, Portage Township Schools, Portage Township Trustee, Porter Regional Hospital, Porter Starke Services, Post Tribune, Preferred Capital, Proven Business Systems, Regional FCU, ReMax and Assoc., Rittenhouse, Samuelson Insurance, Sedona Staffing, ServePro, Simko Signs, St. Marys Medical Center, State Farm, State Farm, Superior Ambulance, The Times, United Way of Porter County, Visiting Nurses Association,