Aug. 19—VALDOSTA — In an age of social media and social distancing, the power of in-person networking should not be overlooked.

That's the view Frances Anne Layton with Eye Associates of South Georgia holds. Adorned in a "Star Wars" Stormtrooper's costume, an appropriate choice due to troopers constantly running into trees and needing their "eyes checked," Layton said the business expo helps keep her in touch with customers she wouldn't have otherwise.

"It's a lot of fun; you get to meet and connect with a lot of different people from a lot of different areas that you wouldn't have otherwise, which is awesome," she said.

Eye Associates, along with 100 other Valdosta businesses, could forge similar interactions Thursday at the annual Business Expo, the largest business expo in the South Georgia region.

Hosted by the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Mediacom Business, the expo gives area businesses the opportunity to showcase goods and services by providing potential customers with free swag, food and other giveaways.

Christie Moore, president and CEO of the chamber, said the purpose of the event is two-fold due to businesses being able to network with residents and each other.

"We want our businesses to market to other businesses: the B2B. So, before we opened to the public, we set aside time for the businesses to go around to each other. That holds so much value because often, business owners are too busy doing their own thing to get to know everyone, so this is a great opportunity for that," she said.

"We're thrilled with this year's turnout. We have more vendors than we ever had in the past. We're also thrilled to see how many people from the public also are attending. What it also means is that our community is back; we are vibrant and thriving. We're over the moon."

John Knowles, Mediacom senior account executive, said it's always good to work with the community as a large company in the area.

"Sponsoring an event like this allows us to build a relationship with the businesses and community members involved with the chamber," he said.

Madison Tucker, social media coordinator for Wild Adventures Theme Park, and Rebecca Gallagher, marketing and public relations administrator for the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, said the best part of the event was being able publicize events that Valdosta residents may not be aware of initially, such as Wild Adventures' Pumpkin Spice Festival and the Turner Center's Classical Concert series.

Yulia Alferyev, public relations manager for AlertTech, and Krisen McAlpin, director of marketing and public relations for Conger LP Gas, added that the expo was a great way to show the public how well the company's products work, as Alferyev was able to show prospective customers the quality of her business' security cameras, and McAlpin was able to explain how Conger's water heater saves money.

City and county staff lent their support to the Business Expo by having their own booths. Paige Dukes, county manager, said it was important for local governments to support the Chamber of Commerce to help sustain local businesses.

"We want an environment where it's easy to do business here in Lowndes County. We need to make sure that we are providing that environment through our services, so this is a great opportunity for us to network, listen to what we can do for our businesses, and have great interaction with our local community leaders," she said.