Twenty years ago, managers at The Alpena News saw a need in the community and decided to work to meet that need with their first Business Expo.

Several years previously, the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce had stopped hosting their business gatherings, and newspaper leaders thought perhaps we could use our expertise to develop our own expo.

Twenty years later, here we are.

While the expo has expanded and taken on new features in those 20 years, at the core of its success are good vendors, a wonderful community interested in learning, and strong advertising that keeps people informed. It also helps that, at this point in the winter, people are looking for an excuse to get out of the house.

On Saturday, the staff of The Alpena News will host our 20th annual Business Expo and Newspaper in Education Book Sale. The event will take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the APlex.

While we can’t control the weather, we do promise to try and relieve some of those “Cabin Fever Blues” you might be experiencing. As always, there will be thousands of books from which to choose — all at bargain pricing. The books will be perfect to get readers through the rest of the winter.

At the Business Expo, a very diverse group of vendors once again will be eager to visit with guests and share with them about their businesses. Businesses this year range from real estate companies to financial institutions, home improvement supplies to automobile dealers, and a whole lot more!

And, as always, if you need to take a break, Arby’s Relay for Life Team will be serving up great food and beverages for a fair price. All proceeds from their sales goes to the team’s fundraising efforts this year.

We hope to see you Saturday.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)