Chamber of Commerce 'keeps it local' with business expo

MILTON — For the second consecutive year, the Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce hosted the Keep It Local Business Showcase — this time at the Santa Rosa County Auditorium.

The event took place at the Moors last year and sold out at 45 vendors. This year, the number of spaces available grew to 70 and they sold out.

The free event to visitors gave Santa Rosa County residents an opportunity to meet local businesses and learn about the goods and services they have to offer.

“The purpose is to create visibility of the businesses and organizations that we have here in the community,” Chamber President Donna Tucker said. “Hopefully, people come through. They meet them. They see what they have. They connect. They build relationships, and it’ll make them want to do business locally. The whole idea is to keep business local.”

According to Tucker, the Chamber hosted the event for five years in the past, skipped a couple of years, and then brought it back.

“I think we’ll be back,” Tucker said in reference to the new location. “This has gone very well.”