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BELLEVILLE - The Home Builders & Remodelers Metro East Association (HBRMEA) has been busy at work preparing for the the 2024 Home Expo, featuring over 100 vendors, giveaways, and more. Executive Officer Shannon Stelling and President Mike Needles recently discussed the organization, the work they do, and exciting new details about the expo.
Stelling announced on the latest “Trade Spotlight” segment on Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com that one of the event’s giveaway prizes now includes a hot tub valued at $18,000, which one lucky visitor will win at the end of the Expo slated for the weekend of March 8-10, 2024.
There’s also an opportunity for attendees to get an extra shot at the giveaway prizes while supporting a good cause.
“Everybody can come out to the Expo for three days, March 8, 9, and 10. It’s free to get in, it’s free to park,” Stelling said. “There will be prizes every hour of the expo, then a big prize on Sunday, but if they bring in dog food, cat food, treats, or toys for the Bellevue Area Humane Society, they will get a second entry into all the prizes that we’re giving away, so there’s some amazing stuff that’s happening.”
Brand-new for next year’s expo are performances from several youth groups from local schools, dance teams, karate classes and more - Stelling announced two of these groups will be the Special Olympics Dance and Cheer teams. All performances will take place on the expo’s main stage, and a full schedule featuring all groups and performance times will be available on the HBRMEA website in January of 2024.
Needles said between the performances, hot tub giveaway, and more, next year’s event is shaping up to be an “exciting” opportunity.
“It’s very exciting,” Needles said of the event. “We have amazing exhibitors who come and exhibit their wares every year, but to have these different groups come in, the dance team and the cheer team, getting a hot tub donated by our vendors, it’s just an amazing opportunity. It’s a great chance to bring our community together at this location and a great opportunity for all of our exhibitors to show off what they have to the consumer.”
Stelling said there are also still sponsorship opportunities left for the expo, including one which can help animals find new homes.
“We are going to be doing pet adoptions with the Humane Society on Saturday and Sunday,” Stelling said. “We do have sponsorships for those adoptions. The HBR has spearheaded to get at least 20 pets adopted and us pay the adoption fee for them. So, there are $500 sponsorships available through the HBR where any company or individual could sponsor a pet adoption for the Home Expo.
“We thought it was a great way to give back to the Humane Society and help all of our fur babies find some great homes.”
The exact scheduling for those pet adoptions will also be available on the HBRMEA website in January of 2024.
She added the 2024 Home Expo is also an opportunity to showcase everything the Illinois side of the river has to offer - both to those in St. Louis and even those farther outside the Metro East. This includes, but is not limited to, local businesses, home builders, supply companies, remodeling companies, schools, student performance groups, nonprofit organizations, and more.
“One of the goals was, for the organization this year, that we show people that the Illinois side, we’ve got it going on. Stuff’s not just happening in Missouri all the time,” Stelling said. “This gives us an opportunity to come full-circle … we wanted to really have a round, complete picture of what’s available in Illinois, and I’m expecting that we’re going to see people from Missouri, from Kentucky, from maybe even Tennessee that come to this expo.”
The 2024 Home Expo will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, March 8, 2024, then from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The event will be held at the Belle Clair Fairgrounds, located at 200 S. Belt E #2650 in Belleville.
For more information about the HBRMEA and the 2024 Home Expo, check out the full Trade Spotlight segment with Stelling and Needles at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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