Videographer April Hatfield films Sherry Super at The Center's Business Services Showcase.
With new advancements in technology and increased use of social media networks, local business executives, school officials, and community leaders turned to The Center for Rural Development for information about these and other technology-related issues on Dec. 7 at its first Business Services Showcase.
The event showcased The Center’s state-of-the-art business services and facility with informational booths and interactive demonstrations manned by its professional technology, training, and events staff.
“I am very pleased that the area business community took advantage of this opportunity to see firsthand, the wide scope of services offered by The Center,” Larry Combs, director of business services for The Center, said. “Our practitioners and technicians were able to meet directly with the business community and explain the value their expertise brings to The Center and those we serve.”
Staff members who work with The Center’s technology, training, and facilities rental on a day-to- day basis shared information on their programs and services with attendees who stopped by their booths prior to and after the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at The Center.
Jonathan Foster and Shannon Carter discuss The Center's technology services with Barbara Chaney and Bobby Maynard.
The Business Services Showcase featured six stations on services such as website and graphic design, Web hosting, and Social Media; video production; Network Operations Center (NOC) data hosting and support; distance and online learning; workplace and jobseeker training and videoconferencing; and event space rental at The Center.
After the final showcase session, Wes Brown, a member of The Center’s Web Development team, presented a social media seminar on today’s top social media platforms—including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Foursquare—and explained how local businesses and organizations can use these networks to advance their needs.
“This free Business Services Showcase is just another one of the ways The Center is striving to meet our mission to give people access to their world through advanced technologies,” Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center, said. “It was well received, and we are looking at ways to have similar events in the future both here at The Center and in other communities in our 42-county primary service area.”
Sherry Super, public relations director for Pulaski County schools, won a Flip video camera which was the grand prize in the Business Services Showcase drawing.
