“It was a great show for us again this year.”
“We had the best sales we’ve ever had at this show.”
“We don’t know why we have never set up at this show before.”
Those are just a few of the comments made by exhibitors that set up at the 2022 Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show last weekend at the Mt. Hope Event Center.
For the sixth time since the event center opened in January 2017 the Sportsman Show filled the building with vendors that displayed hunting apparel, archery equipment, ground and raised hunting blinds, fishing lures, guided hunts and just about anything else that goes with hunting, fishing and camping.
The success for the vendors was boasted by record attendance numbers once again for JW Promotions’ well established hunting and fishing trade show.
“The vendors said it was the best show they have ever had,” said JW Promotions’ Jody Witzky. Witzky has been a part of the Sportsman Show since it was first founded by Kidron Sports and was hosted at Keim Lumber in Charm.
“The show attendance was up from last year,” Witzky continued “It seemed as though folks are ready to start living their lives again and get out and enjoy things like our show.”
It was evident on the first night of the show that the 2022 version of the event once again was going to be a home run. And then it was confirmed it was going to be another record attendance year on Saturday morning when the line to get in the building stretched the length of the event center building.
Coupled with the over 140 vendors were seminars that educated visitors about how to track whitetails, reel in a monster bass and call in big-bearded gobblers. The hunting and fishing seminars took place in the Dean Beachy Horse Arena, located on the same grounds as the Mt. Hope Event Center, and featured a Hawg Trough where kids were taught the tricks on how to hook bluegill this summer.
“We strive to provide informative seminars that are relevant to the audience and their interest,” said JW Promotions’ Mary Witzky. “The seminars, combined with a wide variety of exhibitors, creates a very sportsman-like atmosphere.”
Year-to-year JW Promotions continues to pull off one of the best outdoor sports shows in the state and Mary Witzky contributes that to the family-like feeling when you come to the event.
“We pride ourselves in building relationships with what I refer to as our NEOSS family. Without them there would not be a Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show,” she said.
The Sportsman Show family wouldn’t be complete without the hard-working crew of Trent Yoder and Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen who feed the crowd of visitors, vendors, staff and seminar speakers. Yoder and his staff once again did a superb job of making sure appetites were filled and thirst quenched with warm coffee.
The 2023 Sportsman Show will take place on January 19, 20 and 21 at the event center when JW Promotions once again will try to have another record year.