PARIS – This year’s Oxford Hills Showcase has been canceled so that staff at the Growth Council of Oxford Hills can focus more energy on creating new jobs.

Growth Council President and CEO Brett Doney said he made the decision at the beginning of July.

“When we looked at everything that we had on our plate for this fall, there’s just too much to get done. We had to prioritize,” Doney said.

Growth Council Vice President Barb Olson has been in charge of organizing the fall showcase since its inception in 1995. The job takes a significant amount of time, he said.

The showcase usually draws more than 100 businesses, nonprofit organizations, civic groups and vendors whose needs must be met, as well as the entertainment that must be arranged.

“The showcase is a wonderful opportunity for existing businesses, but it doesn’t produce jobs,” said Doney. He said while the exhibitor numbers have remained high, the attendance by the public has dropped off in recent years.

Still, he believes the showcase can survive a year off.

“We’ll make sure it happens next year, whether it’s us or someone else doing it,” Doney said. He said the growth council’s board of directors have been concerned about spreading the resources of the staff too thin.

“We felt we need to focus on companies where we can get the biggest payoff in terms of jobs and economic growth, the biggest bang for the buck in the community,” Doney said. They are spending more time with companies that want to grow, and less time with those who don’t.

“I’m sure there is disappointment” among some businesses in the Oxford Hills that were hoping to land new prospects at the showcase, he said. “We’re disappointed, too. We always like to do everything. But we have to be careful not to take on too much.”