Kelsey Springs, based in Chambersburg, participated for the third straight year and was among several landscaping operations at the show. In fact, Kelsey said he followed the lead of Rosenbaum's Landscaping from years past in trying to draw in customers with elaborate displays.
"The main thing that got me into doing this was Rosenbaum's. They do a nice job of showcasing their services," Kelsey said. "Each one of us offer something different - different services, different styles - and there is a lot for people to think about.
"This show definitely increases business for us, but it's good for the customers. It lets them get to know our personality and they can get a lot of information out of it."
Variety is of the utmost importance when organizing the show, according to Tom Hanks, executive director of the Franklin County Builders Association. The majority of the vendors showcased home and garden and construction services, while others featured interior design, home entertainment, storage, recreation and finance.
Jon Koutz, of Boiling Springs, Pa., trekked south on Interstate 81 to be in the show. Koutz, who owns Energy Smart Home Improvement, said he was one of the last vendors admitted to the show. His company promotes energy conservation inside the home and, using infrared scanning technology, it can locate precise areas in the home where air is leaked and energy is wasted.
Perhaps the most popular vendor on Sunday was Tri-State Home Theatre, which sucked consumers to the rear of the building with a spacious entertainment room that featured this week's NASCAR race on a 138-inch projection television.
Other vendors were much less conspicuous, but the one constant among each of them was the publicity of it all.
"I don't think you can say they do 'X' amount of business here, but people come here and they see a business, and a few weeks or months down the road they will remember that," Hanks said.
The show had a rather successful weekend despite a scramble to find a new venue. The Builders Association learned in mid-January that the property owner sold its previous building, which sparked a rush to find a new location.
The County Market building, which hosted the event in 2003, was settled on in February. But by switching buildings, the show lost more than 10,000 square feet in space and about 100 vendors were excluded from this year's event.
"It was absurd. Absolutely absurd," Hanks said. "We picked this place because there wasn't any other place available. We wanted a bigger space, and that's what we're going for next year so we can get all the vendors in that want to be here."
The rush made the silver anniversary not so special for the Builders Show.
"We didn't have any time to do anything," Hanks said.
