'We must grow or stagnate'

FIFTEEN YEARS mary chambers ago when Western Expo started, its conceptualisers envisioned that the expo would be held biennially. Over the years, we have lived up to our mandate to encourage activity and last year, we were able to do this despite the effects of Hurricane Ivan.

This year, as we embark on our 11th staging of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Expo 2005, we will continue to encourage participants in the areas of agriculture, arts and craft, education, financial services, health, information technology, manufacturing, retail, services and tourism.

There will be opportunities for networking as we make our contributions to national development. Our 'schools' day' on Friday will be one of our usual features, as we feel that it is important for young people to be exposed to the world of business at an early age.

However, we are aware that we must grow or stagnate and therefore we must bring in new features. It is with this in mind that we will introduce a buyers' expo. This will mean that, in addition to showcasing their products, our exhibitors will have an opportunity to make sales.

We thank and welcome our exhibitors who have supported us over the years and wish for them much success. To those of you who are exhibiting for the first time, we welcome you especially and hope that this will be your first of many.

To our sponsors, we are very grateful for your support. Over the years, you have supported us and without you, we would not have been able to continue.

Montego Bay is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its achievement of city status. We want to thank our 'City Fathers' for their hard work over the years and to wish them and our city God's blessings as we mark this milestone.

As we look towards Expo 2005, I have no doubt that we are moving in the right direction, towards achieving more success as we showcase, 'Montego Bay - the Gateway to the Caribbean'.

Mary Chambers, Chairman ­ Expo 2005