Businesses from across Metro Augusta are invited to sponsor an upcoming expo at Fort Eisenhower.
The Fort Eisenhower Community Expo will be held on April 23 at the Eisenhower Conference and Catering Building. It is sponsored by the post’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) office.
Brandi Bitetti, Chief of the Business Operations Division with MWR, told ABD the goal of the expo is to connect soldiers and their families on post with opportunities outside the installation.
“Being that our military families typically change duty stations very regularly, a lot of times they only find the things that they have to find, and they aren’t able to find those things out in the community and those amazing resources or programs or facilities that might be offered,” she explained. “So, we want to make sure that they know all the things that our community in this area offers, not only from food, from health, from shopping, everything that you could possibly imagine, different events areas that they can visit, because a happier Soldier and Family makes you know a much better workforce that makes much a happier community.”
Bitetti said the last time they were able to offer this expo was prior to the pandemic.
“It was actually done through one of our community partners, and it was one of my favorite events of the year, because I would actually typically find something that I didn’t know existed in our community and find a new business that I would frequent, whether it be a massage therapist or a new restaurant or even sometimes a doctor’s office,” she said.
The expo offers two ways for area businesses to participate. The most immediate need is for additional sponsors.
“Currently we have a nice mix ranging from tourism, the Family Y, we’ve got insurance agencies, hotel partners. We’ve got the universities on board, The GreenJackets are coming as well, so we’ve got a good mix right now,” said Cathy Shaw, who coordinates Sponsorship and Advertising through MWR. “Sponsorships will probably close beginning of March, just to give us time to make sure all of our marketing materials are done and pushed out so everybody can know about the event in a timely manner.”
In return for their financial support, sponsors will have their businesses and logos on all the promotional marketing materials. They will also receive signage with their logos at the event. Money generated with sponsorships will be used to support the expo.
The second option to participate will be for businesses that wish to set up a vendor’s booth.
“The big difference is promoting the sales and getting the advertising on the flyer, and us promoting their company so the sponsors get that,” said Bitetti. “They get all of their advertising out on our documents, but then the people that are just paying for booths, they don’t get that. They only get to meet and greet the customers that are there.”
The post will also take the opportunity to promote activities available to non-military visitors including bowling, golfing, horseback riding, bingo, and dinner theater.
“We have a lot of things here on the installation that customers can use that they might not know about,” said Bitetti. “These facilities are supporting those soldiers because that money goes back into supporting the soldiers in all of those facilities. Every dollar that is spent is used to fund that facility and then reinvest on the installation into those programs.”
Heather Addis, Marketing Chief for MWR, said an event like the expo is also an opportunity for the post to remind the community it is available to them.
“This is just another great event that’s being opened up to the public to help break the stigma of the gates,” she said. “Everybody seems to be hesitant because they do not want to have to “deal” with the gates.”
Addis said there are several ways to access Fort Eisenhower. One of the easiest is to apply for an Automated Installation Entry (AIE) in advance of an event or plan to visit an on-post business. Another option is to go to the Gate Six Visitors Center and apply for a day pass. The application for an AIE is available online at https://pass.aie.army.mil/steps/branch_selection
Businesses wishing to sponsor the expo or purchase booth space can contact Cathy Shaw at catherine.a.shaw6.naf@army.mil