Farmington Public Schools to host free business showcase

FARMINGTON — The Farmington Public School District, in partnership with the Greater Farmington Area Chamber of Commerce, is set to host its first business showcase from 5 to 7:30 p.m. May 7 at Farmington High School, located at 32000 Shiawassee Road in Farmington.

Over 100 businesses have already signed up to participate in the free event, which is designed to highlight the vast variety of companies and services available to people living within the school district and the surrounding area.

The event is free to the public and the businesses. Businesses will not be charged for their spot and cannot sell items to the public during the event. Businesses specializing in food or beverages can provide food and drinks to guests as “samples” only.

The event will also include performances by the high school choir, a dance ensemble team and several other school groups. Over 100 students from the various schools within the district will participate in the event in various ways.

Kelly Coffin, the district’s superintendent, said she got the idea to do the showcase after attending the Chamber Gala for Farmington and Farmington Hills. She said that she noticed there were at least 20 businesses that she had never heard of, which she felt indicated that others might not have heard of them either.

She said the school district is really the center point where everyone comes together, so she thought that Farmington High School would be the perfect place to bring the community, schools, and businesses together.

“I have had the opportunity to work in other communities where this was something that really brought the communities together, and when it dawned on me that this might be a great opportunity for Farmington and Farmington Hills with the school is (when) I attended the Chamber Galla and there were 20 new businesses, and I thought,  ‘How do people know about these businesses?’ I wouldn’t have known (unless) I was there,” Coffin said. “So, yeah, that’s when I thought about,  ‘How do we bring the community together to learn what is out in our community for our staff and families, and then for our community to have connections with our staff and families?’”

The event will showcase businesses representing everything from skilled trades, such as painting or plumbing, to legal services, with several attorneys on hand. Mental and physical health professionals, food and beverage companies and dog walking companies are also slated to be at the event, along with multiple other types of businesses.

“I think that people in general have tendencies to stay in the same places and shop in the same places, so I think that the visibility that this allows businesses to have, it gives them access to a much larger customer base and builds awareness to the fact that these businesses are actually here,” said Susan Arlin, the CEO of the Greater Farmington Area Chamber of Commerce.

She said that the Chamber has business members from Farmington and Farmington Hills, as well as neighboring communities.

“So given the scope of where all of our student base comes from, the ability for our businesses — no matter how they get it — the ability to be in front of a customer base is going to benefit them in terms of their visibility and the awareness of our customer base,” Arlin said.

Arlin said they are very proud of the relationship they have established with the school district, as it has the potential to show students the various opportunities available to them in the community.

From Arlin’s perspective, the event could encourage students to follow pathways that might lead them to local businesses as potential employees.

“But also showcasing how the businesses are run, and maybe there’s some entrepreneurs out there as well,” said Arlin.”So the ability to cross-populate between the business and the school system is something that is a high priority and allows us to then showcase our businesses and make them a lot more familiar to the students and the students’ families.”

The school district also plans to have tables with representatives from each of the schools in the district, as well as information about the various programs and services offered by the schools.

High school students will be on hand to assist the various vendors with carrying in and out items.  They will also be in charge of running various activities to entertain younger children so that parents will be able to look at the different vendor tables without distraction.

“I hope that as part of our collaboration with the Chamber that it gives some exposure to some of the new businesses that are out there, but also brings our families and communities together,” Coffin said. “One of the things that we think about as a school system is, we think about our education practices and how we support our students and families. It really takes all of us to do that, so the more we can get connected (the better).”

Coffin said she is hoping families will see some of the local nonprofit organizations that have free services available to them. She stressed that the event is free and that there is no selling of any kind, but information and samples will be available.

“It’s all about community. There’s no selling of any kind, and I love that,” said Arlin.

Those interested in sponsoring the event, as well as businesses and nonprofits interested in a table, can register online at Farmington.K12.MI.US or by calling the superintendent’s office at (248) 489-3338. Registration is available through May 5.