Spring event a chance for businesses to show off

WASILLA — For attendees of the annual Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show, the event is a way to kick off a spring and summer of playing in Alaska’s vast natural beauty. For the dozens of local businesses that purchase booth space at the show, it’s a vital first step to usher in what is hoped to be a profitable year.

For Palmer-based APR Rental, the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show has become a fixture for ramping up spring sales, said service manager Jeremiah Schachle. This is the fourth year for the equipment rental business at the show, he said.

“A show like this is really important to just interface with customers,” he said. “We see a lot of people, repeat business, but also a lot of new people who’ve moved into town.”

At this time of year, people are planning their summer home improvements, and getting a head start on figuring out what equipment might be needed for those jobs is beneficial, Schachle said. But more than just networking, having a booth at shows like this weekend’s at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla or others in Fairbanks and Anchorage, there’s a definite boost to the business’ bottom line, he said.

“We do get a lot of feedback from the show, a lot of people showing up at the store,” he said. “We’ve got a sale on generators and we probably sell a good 30 to 40 units each year off the show. It’s pretty good.”

The booth also allows a business to give potential customers a look at something different.

“Meat grinders, vacuum cleaners — you name it, we have it,” Schachle said. “Everything from dozers to meat saws, we have everything. If we don’t have it at the store, one of us owns it and will bring it in.”

One of the staples of the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show is Mat Valley Meats, which draws a steady crowd of adults and kids who enjoy noshing a free sample or two.

“It’s good advertising and it’s fun,” said Bailey Burris, working the Mat Valley Meats booth on Saturday. “We do pretty good here.”

At the show, the local meat processor sells a lot of its various snack sticks, some made with buffalo, others with caribou. Also, people seem to like the gourmet hot dogs that come in various flavors.

“The buffalo teriyaki sticks are really popular,” Burris said. “Some of the hot dogs are really popular, too, like the jalapeño-cheese hot dogs. … The show is really good for business.”

Along with selling its products, Mat Valley Meats also gets the word out that it can process and make most of the same items from game customers kill themselves.

“We can make all of this out of the meat they bring us, except for the salami,” she said. “That takes longer.”

Along with the latest in camping and hiking gear, show visitors have plenty of fishing charter services to choose from. While it’s always nice to get a few charters out of working the show, that’s not the point for Talkeetna-based Tri-River Charters, said co-owner Margo Nealis.

“The reason we’re at this show is that there are a lot of local people here, and we’re not here to book a charter with them today,” she said. “We’re here just to meet them, tell them what we offer. Then, in two months or three months when their families show up and say ‘what can we do,’ they’re like, ‘hey, we talked to those people at the show. It’s close, let’s go to Talkeetna.’”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

What: 2013 Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show

When: Today, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Wasilla