Hundreds attend TRC Expo

TRC’s Conference Center was a hub of activity May 19 and 20 as the agency held its fifth annual TRC Expo.  And if you missed out on the fun, you still have another chance to participate, because the event will be held again June 3 in Dunkirk.

TRC employees, service recipients, family members, friends, donors, Board and Committee members, special event sponsors, and folks just interested in learning more about the agency came to the Expo to become immersed in The Resource Center.  The Expo is meant to educate people about the variety of services that take place at TRC, and the emphasis is on having fun – departments create elaborate displays aimed at educating and entertaining.

This year’s favorite display was the one created by TRC’s Residential Division.  Staff created a makeshift jail (complete with a plastic bucket for a toilet), outside of which was posted a “Most Wanted” poster featuring Residential administrators.  Employees equipped with handcuffs and nightsticks patrolled the Expo, arresting unsuspecting people who could only be bailed out if kindhearted passersby were willing to answer questions about TRC.

This year’s booths featured a total of three Wii game systems.  At the booth run by Children and Youth Services Department, people could play the game “Are You Smarter than a Fifth-Grader?” but only after first taking a quiz that tested their knowledge about the negative effects that can result when women drink alcohol during pregnancy.

Almost every booth had a game that required people to answer questions.  But we also were looking for information – the Community Relations Department asked people for some of their favorite memories about TRC.  Mark Goshgarian, TRC Media Consultant who also anchors Time Warner’s Cable 8 News, videotaped interview with several people, and we hope to eventually put some of those interviews on television and the Internet.

We also were happy this year that representatives from the New York Masonic Safety Identification Program were on hand to register children in its database, collecting pertinent information that can be used to try to help find children in the event they ever disappear.

One of the things that people like best about TRC Expo is the prizes.  Each department gave away goodies or had people fill out tickets for a prize drawing at the end of the day.  There also were giveaways of TRC merchandise throughout the day, and many people could be seen with their arms overflowing with the items they accumulated during the day.

There also was the EMT Auction, in which Expo attendees had the opportunity to buy chances on a variety of items donated by members of TRC’s Executive Management Team.  Prizes ranged from gift cards and theme baskets to a one-week vacation in Myrtle Beach.  A total of $1,073 was raised in Jamestown, and the auction will be continued at the Dunkirk Expo.  All money raised through the EMT Auction will support TRC’s Diagnostic & Treatment Services Center.

Though this was the fifth TRC Expo in Jamestown, this is the first time the Expo will be held in Dunkirk.  That event takes place Thursday, June 3, from 9:00 to 7:00 p.m. in TRC’s facility at 186 Lake Shore Drive West.  The displays will be similar to the ones in Jamestown.  Refreshments will be served.  There is no cost to attend, and the public is welcome to join us.

For more information, phone (716) 483-2344.