By Staff
AT THE EXPO n Lauderdale County's Junior Miss Carrie Jones, left, visits with first lady of Mississippi, Melanie Musgrove, Thursday at the 13th annual Main Event held at the Lauderdale County Agri-Center. Photo by Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star
By Steve Swogetinsky/The Meridian Star
April 27, 2001
There is always a festival atmosphere at the Main Event, but make no mistake. The majority of the people who attended Thursday's business expo for the Meridian/East Mississippi area were there to do business.
The 13th annual Main Event, held at the Lauderdale County Agri-Center, drew a steady crowd throughout the day. Exhibitors stayed open until 7 p.m. as visitors strolled among the booths, chatting with vendors and picking up free souvenirs.
Linda Butler of Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus said people seemed to be more open in the informal setting.
Carolyn Smith of Trustmark National Bank said she stayed busy most of the morning discussing mortgage rates.
The Main Event started with the presentation of the Hartley Peavey Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence. While making the presentation to the 2001 winner, Ronnie Massey, Peavey noted that the sound system for the Agri-Center had improved since last year and promised it would get better.
Last year, Peavey complained that the sound system in the Agri-Center was not made by Peavey Electronics. Since that time, a Peavey Impulse 500P system has been installed. Marty McCann, an audio applications engineer at Peavey Electronics, is in the process of fine-tuning the system.
Steve Swogetinsky is regional editor of The Meridian Star. Call him at 693-1551, ext. 3217; or e-mail him at sswogetinsky@themeridianstar.com.