The Horizon Convention Center: Bridal Show, Softball and Economic Development

By: Mike Rhodes—

Muncie, IN—The 19th annual East Central Indiana Bridal show was held in Delaware Hall at the Horizon Convention Center on Sunday, January 28th. 43 vendors participated and exhibited a wide variety of wedding-oriented products and services to attendees.  The East Central Indiana Bridal show was produced by AMS Entertainment and Audio Visual of Muncie and was additionally sponsored by the Horizon Convention Center and WLBC, 104.1 FM.

According to Slade Smith, owner of AMS Entertainment and Audio Visual, this year’s show was the biggest yet. “We were really happy with the crowd this year,” Slade said. “We had over 400 people in attendance and 115 brides-to-be.” Victoria Brewer, owner of Once Upon a Plate Catering & Events said, “It was great. The crowd was larger than last year, and there were really no breaks in the crowd flow all during the day. I was surprised that there were so many 2019 brides coming through this year. That’s great for us because we are almost booked up for 2018.”

Ashley Criswell from New Castle attended the bridal show after learning about it from a family friend. Ashley said, “I had a friend that was a bride a few years back who attended this event before her wedding and she recommended it to me. I am getting married on May 12th of this year in New Castle at a church. My future husband and I went to the same preschool at that church.”

Debbie Madler, owner of Rose Gate Bridal in Winchester, IN thought the event went over well. “I thought the show was well attended and our shop did well,” she said. “We’ve exhibited at the Horizon Convention Center for several years. This year we decided to go with a larger booth and I thought we had an excellent booth. The space and location were great. In fact, we’ve already requested that same space for next year. I’ve always thought they’ve done an excellent job putting on the bridal show.”

National Softball Association

Earlier in the month, the National Softball Association had their winter conference at the Horizon Convention Center on Saturday, January 20th.  The National Softball Association (NSA) is a sporting governing body. The NSA gives softball teams the opportunity to play in qualifying tournaments for state, regional, national and World Series Tournament play. Jon Anderson, a Muncie native, is National Development Director for the NSA and helps grow the program across the country.

“Our national organization is made up of 4 zones: North, South, East and West,” Jon said.  “Our conference in Muncie is for members of our 13 state northern zone.  We updated our umpires and directors about some of the newly implemented rules, training on new systems, etc. It’s pretty much a day of hard core training for our members.  We had about 100 attendees at the Muncie conference this year, who were from our 13 state northern region.”

The last NSA conference in Muncie was held in 2004 in the old Roberts Hotel (now the Lofts at Roberts)  in downtown Muncie.  With the development of the new Courtyard Marriott Muncie, the NSA was able to return to Muncie. Jon said, “We liked Muncie as a good central location, and we love the new hotel and the setup here at the Horizon Convention Center. It’s easy to get to Muncie and it is affordable for our members. We will continue to try and return to Muncie in the future.”

Indiana Communities Institute Economic Development Course

Ball State’s Indiana Communities Institute held their Economic Development Course at the Horizon Convention Center, January 8-11th.

The Indiana Communities Institute addresses the modern challenges of economic development through community-based strategies for sustainable growth.  The institute’s efforts focus on strengthening communities throughout Indiana, and serves as a model for university economic development efforts across the nation. The institute is focused on improving the quality of life in communities through its Primacy of Place initiative.

Their week-long Indiana Economic Development Course—the official “basic course” for the State of Indiana—offered intensive training in the basic concepts, methods, and strategies of economic, industrial, business, entrepreneurial, workforce, and community development. It was a comprehensive educational experience in the theory and practice of holistic approaches to building and sustaining vibrant communities.

According to Angie Popplewell with the Indiana Communities Institute, 55 individuals from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Nevada attended the conference and economic development course.

The course is accredited by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). It fulfills one of the prerequisites for those who wish to take the examinations for the Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) designation. Successful completion also qualifies participants for admission to the Economic Development Institute.