For the first time in its fourth year history, a portion of the proceeds of this year’s Alpharetta Business Expo, hosted by the Alpharetta Business Association, will be donated to a local community cause, the Future Business Leaders of America chapter at Alpharetta High School. In addition to a financial contribution, students will have hands on involvement in the Expo, helping vendors as they setup that morning, helping with registration of attendees, and manning a FBLA table in the Expo.

“We are delighted to invest in our future business leaders in this way,” said John Ray, ABA Board Member and Owner of Ray Business Advisors/BookKeeping Express. “So many of our members recall sparks they received from early mentors which helped launch their business careers, so giving back through this partnership with Alpharetta High School is rewarding.”

“ABA’s support of our FBLA chapter is gratifying,” said Tom Hatcher, Primary Faculty Advisor and Head of the Career Tech Department at AHS. “While we are grateful for the financial support, we are particularly excited to give our students the opportunity to interact and learn from actual owners of businesses in our community.”

Alpharetta High School’s FBLA chapter is one of the largest in the state of Georgia. Continuing a long history of competitive excellent, last year this chapter took 44 competitors to the 2016 National Leadership Conference and has won the State Sweepstakes Award for most competitive event wins four years in a row.

“This contribution continues the tradition of ABA being deeply involved in the broader Alpharetta community,” Ray continued. Ray cited the Alpharetta Business Association’s operation and sponsorship of the Alpharetta Farmer’s Market, Brew MoonFest, the Mayor’s State of the City Address, and its publication of the Alpharetta Guidebook as other examples.

The Alpharetta Business Association will conduct its 2016 Alpharetta Business Expo on Friday, August 26, 2016 at the Alpharetta Marriott Hotel. In just its fourth year, the Alpharetta Business Expo has become the premier North Fulton business expo focused on both small business and technology startups.

Approximately 80 exhibitors are scheduled to participate, including eight local food establishments who will provide food for attendees. The Expo will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with admission free and open to the public.
Celebrating Alpharetta’s status as the “Technology City of the South,” ABA will again host a Technology Startup Pitch Showcase featuring some of Alpharetta’s most interesting startups telling their stories and exhibiting their technology. All Showcase participants will pitch publicly to a panel of coaches at 9:00 a.m. After Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle cuts the ribbon at 10:30 a.m. to open the Expo doors, these same startups will be available during the Expo to demonstrate their technologies and answer questions.

Premium sponsors for this year’s Expo include the Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Roswell Infiniti of North Atlanta, Morrow Family Medicine, North Fulton Business RadioX, LG Electronics USA, Jekyll Brewing, LGE Community Credit Union, Gwinnett Tech – Alpharetta-North Fulton Campus, Minuteman Press of Alpharetta, Hennessy Transportation, Family Life Publications, WebChimpy, TC Productions and Dramatic Water Solutions.