“Business EXPO ‘99 concluded its two-day run in the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall with music, prizes, and at times, relatively sparse attendance.The business-to-business trade show was a diverse representation of South Sound businesses, with everything from Amway gift packs and magnetic shoe inserts to construction, health care, financial, human resources, personnel, payroll and computer firms in attendance.Yesterday’s EXPO run began with the 116th Annual Meeting of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, and ended with a cocktail hour of jazz music and socializing.In between, there were well attended business seminars, and the popular EXPO-grazing lunch of Sample the South Sound featuring foods from area restaurants and caterers.But EXPO attendance may have been a problem, as a number of booths were unattended and some aisles near vacant by yesterday afternoon.For those staffing booths, the free stress yo-yos given away by Elliott Sales Corporation were seeing heavy use as visitors became few and far between. Elliott Sales was out of stock of the round and squishy stress yo-yos by mid-afternoon yesterday as every other booth seemed to have at least one going up and down, with the four staff members of one bank yo-yoing in unison.Some exhibitors commented that they believed the day’s sunny weather was not conducive to indoor events.Still, response of most exhibitors was positive, with most saying good contacts had been made through the business-to-business networking over the course of the two days. The sales staff of Advanced TelCom Group said EXPO provided them with worthwhile exposure as a company new to the area.Bob Moawad’s seminar, Maximizing Your Sales Effectiveness, was well attended with over 100 people listening attentively as Moawad stressed the importance of building good relationships in sales, and how attitude can make or break an organization.Moawad is from Tacoma-based Edge Learning Institute. He estimated that he has conducted presentations for approximately one million people. While his presentation stressed “to serve and be kind,” it was punctuated with laughter from the audience, as well as Moawad’s occasional musical interpretations of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Carol Channing. While EXPO wound down to its close, Pierce College’s Far West Jazz Band picked up the pace with tunes from Duke Ellington to Billy Joel, and a light buffet, beer, wine and cocktails made their appearance, with a variety of prizes, including a Grand Prize of a trip to Puerto Vallarta, being given away.As many attendees and exhibitors socialized with business acquaintances, others closely watched the clock waiting for the time they could begin packing up their booths to leave.”