JAY – Attendance may have been a bit less than hoped for, but vendors at the first Home and Living Show put on by the Jay-Livermore Falls Lions Club were pleased with the weekend’s results.

Bruce Jellison is a past District Governor for Maine in the Lions organization and helped with organizing the show. There were close to 50 exhibitors showing everything from the newest technologies for heating and cooling systems to jams made using heirloom family recipes.

Jellison said there were a wide variety of professional interests at the show. Mid day on Saturday, the vendors all seemed very pleased with the way things were going. The show was a large undertaking and all members of the organization pitched in to make it work. Planning began 3 months ago.

MetLife representative Heidi Conant said, “It’s been good, steady. I like to talk to everyone and it’s given me time to talk.”

Chiropractic specialist Pat Keiran said, “This is the place to be. It’s pretty impressive for a first shot deal.” He was also impressed that 3 men over 70 years of age created the whole thing. Even though they were told they couldn’t pull it off, they did a really good job, Keiran said.

Janelle Bechard was promoting Reflexology by CJ and Oofos footwear. “We’ve had steady business today; we’ve done really well,” she said. Kathleen Szostek stopped by the booth and said, “If you put a pair (of Oofos) on, you will never want to put on anything else.” The Oofos is much softer than traditional clogs and feels like you’re walking on clouds, Bechard said. When she came back to her booth, Cheryl-Ann Jerry said, “It’s been wonderful. There has been lots of positive feedback.”

A popular give away at the Orr Excavation/Orr Septic booth was a stress reliever shaped like a porta-potty. Other vendors gave out pens or candy along with business cards and information about their specialty.

Visitor Bob Berry said the strawberry-rhubarb turnovers at Rose Haven Gardens are “To die for.”

Lions member Fran Szostek said, “I’ve been told this show is even better than the Augusta one was.”

Sunday evening Jellison said, “I thought we did very well for the first year.” Vendors all seemed to be pleased with the weekend and several have already signed up for next year. “We accomplished what we wanted to,” Jellison said.

All proceeds from the show will go back to the public. The Jay-Livermore Falls Lions Club awards scholarships and supports the SMART robotics team. The group also assists the food bank, the diabetes foundation, and humanitarian needs in 208 countries and geographical areas throughout the world through Lions International.

The club has more than 40 members and they always welcome new members. This very active club meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at LaFleur’s Restaurant beginning at 6:30 p.m.

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