A new tradition has begun.
The Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated a great start to the first ever 2003 Women’s Expo featuring fun booths, interesting facts and dynamic speakers.
“It was an excellent day,” said committee chairperson Dale Johnson, from The Salvation Army’s Echo Grove Camp. “We had all of our vendors present some very attractive, entertaining and intriguing booths. Our main speakers did a great job. We had great food all day long. Everything just came together.”
The Women’s Expo featured 62 fascinating booths and vendors with products such as gourmet foods, original cooking utensils, pampering bath and body supplies, nourishing make-up, unique children’s toys, and Tupperware, or remarkable services for simplifying life such as interior and exterior home design, health care options, physical fitness solutions, banking techniques and tasty restaurant choices. The large selection of sights were housed in the wonderful facilities provided by The Salvation Army’s Echo Grove Camp.
“Most of the vendors said they were very pleased with the day,” said committee member Chris Hoard. “One vendor told me this was better than a $2,000-a-booth expo she attended earlier in the year.”
The big event kicked off with Dick Purtan, from Oldies WOMC 104.3 Morning Show, giving a touching introduction for his daughter JoAnne Purtan, health reporter for WXYZ-TV and keynote speaker for the event.
In her address, Purtan gave a moving glimpse into her mother’s seven-year struggle with “the silent killer” ovarian cancer. She highlighted the key to her family’s survival of the continuing emotional rollercoaster:
“I remember there has always been laughter in our family,” she said early in her talk. “Mom especially taught us how to laugh at home.”
Purtan described how her mother, Gail Purtan, has battled against three recurrences of cancer, four rounds of chemotherapy, two rounds of radiation therapy, a belly-wash and six different surgeries. She talked about the positive emotional and physical benefits of laughing during these times for her family.
“We laugh at our jobs, we laugh at home with our kids, we all laugh. It’s good for us,” she explained. “We got through all this with laughter, prayers, smiles and tears.”
At the end, Purtan emphasized two points when dealing with cancer, “Go out and learn. Have an awareness of your own health. Educate yourself. And to make life better for a loved one enduring the years of hell that is cancer, laugh with them and be with them.”
Hoard said she was amazed after Purtan’s speech, especially after having lost both her mother and sister to ovarian cancer.
“I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dick and JoAnne,” she said. “They were both warm, kind and funny. I especially enjoyed getting to speak with them privately afterwards because of my own personal experiences.”
Other events for the day included separate presentations by Dr. Pamela Smith, speaking on women’s hormone replacement therapy, and Judge Lisa Asadoorian, presenting the challenges facing today’s women. Visitors to the expo also enjoyed numerous demonstrations, great food and many, many door prizes from vendors and area businesses.
“Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, I’ve gotten only positive feedback on it,” said Jennifer Duncan, Executive Director of the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce.
The grand finale of the Women’s Expo was the presentation of the 2003 Outstanding Women Award Winners. This year’s winners included Sunny Day Preschool owner Cindy Winther, lifetime Oxford resident and historian Margaret (Haggerman) Stoddard, midwife and reflexologist Sharon Heskitt and local chiropractic physician Dr. Colleen Trombley-Can Hoogstraat. Hoard said one of the best moments was a tale presented by Mrs. Stoddard when she received her award.
“She was just so very touched by the moment,” described Hoard.
The Women’s Expo had 181 paid admissions and around 300 visitors overall, including those sponsoring booths. A total of $1,905 was donated to the Gail Purtan Ovarian Cancer Research Fund – including all money raised through the paid door admissions and a $1,000 check from the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Everything went very smoothly,” said Duncan. “It was just wonderful.”
The Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce will be sending out surveys to those vendors who attended this year looking for suggestions and ideas. A committee will review the forms and expand next year’s plans to create an even grander event for area women.
“We began this with the idea this would be an annual event, and now we’re getting ready to make it even bigger and better for next year,” concluded Johnson.