By TOM RAITHEL Courier & Press staff writer 464-7595 or raithel@evansville.net
September 5, 2005

Evansville's first Technology Fair will offer an opportunity for business leaders and computer users as well as technology professionals to see what Evansville-area companies, organizations and educational institutions are doing in the field of technology, organizers say.

The fair is also designed to shape "the way we see ourselves as well as the way others see us," said Mary Curran Rhodes, event organizer. "And we wanted to promote interaction" between technology professionals from different companies and organizations.

It is hoped the fair becomes an annual event that is not only useful to existing technology companies, but to new ones. "Ultimately, we want to generate market ideas," said Rhodes, who is a consultant for Vision-e, Evansville's economic development agency.

The Technology Fair will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Browning Events Room of the Evansville Vanderburgh Central Library in Downtown Evansville. Admission is free.

The event will be more than a trade fair, said Larry May, president of Keller Schroeder and Associates, which is helping organize the event and is one of the companies that will exhibit. May said he hopes the fair reaches beyond the technology discipline and attracts business leaders who make technology decisions.

It should "be an event that people walk away from with a better knowledge of technology - particularly as it may apply to your business," May said.

Vi Wickam, president of On-Site Computer Solutions and an organizer of the event, said he hoped the event will help dispel some people's notions that Evansville is behind the times in technology development.

He said that he would like the event to draw many people, including computer users who want to know more about such topics as Internet security, how to prevent identification theft and how to keep a computer clean and operating well.

"There's going to be something for just about everybody," Wickam said.

The fair will feature 25 tables with exhibits. Rhodes said that about 10 of these will feature displays by local technology companies. Another 10 will feature displays by technology associations and groups. Others will be filled with displays from local educational institutions.

For example, there will be a table featuring LAN (Local Area Network) technology and one featuring Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) technology, Rhodes said. Companies and organizations such as Keller Schroeder, On-Site Computer Solutions, Phoenix Digital Imaging, the Fraud Awareness Community Team, the Southwest Indiana PC Users Group and the University of Southern Indiana Linux Group will also have sites, Rhodes said.

In addition to the exhibits, those who attend will be eligible for door prizes. Each exhibitor has been asked to contribute a door prize worth $50 or more, Rhodes said.

Also, there will be a continuous Power Point slide presentation at the event. Companies, including those who are not exhibiting at the event, can submit up to three Power Point slides by Friday for the on-going presentation to kevink@sigecom.net, Wickam said. Organizers ask those submitting PowerPoint slides contribute a door prize of $25 or more.

Organizers hope to draw about 200 people, Rhodes said.