Mall hosts Outdoor Show
David and Kathy Hayes of Morrison Fishing Hut decided to put aside competition and get together with other local outdoor oriented businesses to show their wares at the Outdoor Show being held this weekend at Three Star Mall. Stores, manufacturers and craftsman joined in a concerted effort to reach customers at the beginning of the spring/summer season, traditionally the time when everyone pulls the boat out of winter storage and heads for the lake.
The Hayeses have been doing boat shows for some time with good results and felt it would work locally as well.
“We meet a lot of great people, a lot of interesting vendors, new businesses that are starting out,” said Kathy Hayes, who was manning the display at the mall yesterday.
“The idea for this came about when we were brainstorming,” she said.
“We all came together in an effort to get some more traffic in the mall and get a little more exposure for our businesses.”
Several businesses are participating in the show, which is the first the Hayeses have been involved in organizing.
“We’ve got B&B Manufacturing, they are out of Rock Island,” Hayes said. “They make launchers for boats and jet-skis. Fantastic Finishing, an experienced Fiberglas repairman. Foxfire, they’re new, they’re out of Georgia, and are here locally now.”
“It just grew from there, and the more we talked about it the more people got interested and said hey, I want to join in and do this,” Hayes said.
“And so far all the vendors have been really pleased,” she added.
There are hunting and fishing items for sale along with boats and off-road vehicles on display for potential customers to check out.
The show will run through today, so if you want to see some of the new outdoor merchandise, go out and browse the 2003 Outdoor Show at Three Star Mall.