Diabetes screening offered at 36th Annual Business Expo

Free health screenings will be offered to attendees at this year’s 36th Annual Business Expo in efforts to bring more awareness to an incurable disease.

The 36th Annual San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo presented by the San Marcos Daily Record is San Marcos’ premier business event and is held at the San Marcos Conference Center Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos on Thursday, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For the first time ever, the San Marcos Lions Club will offer free diabetes screening for expo attendees.

“This is a serious disease impacting many of our local citizens,” said Charles Johnson, retired faculty member and advisor to Texas State University Medical Explorer program. “So the Lions Club is doing what they can to increase awareness.”

Johnson said the testing will be performed by pre-med and pre-nursing students from the Medical Explorer program.

“They do a lot of volunteer work in hospitals, hospices, medical missionary work,” Johnson said. “They also run diabetic clinics.”

Johnson recommends those interested in the free screening fast for better results.

“Early in the morning would probably be the best time to stop by,” he said. “Try not to eat breakfast, and we’ll be set up and ready to go as soon as they open the doors. We’ll be offering blood sugar checks all day, but (the most) accurate test is the fasting blood sugar test.”

In addition to healthcare screening, the expo offers a variety of vendor booths to peruse and attracts more than 1,500 attendees each year.

“The San Marcos Chamber Business Expo is the perfect way for our members to showcase their business to their peers and to the public,” said Vice President of Communications for the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce, Brad Cesak.  “We’re expecting around 100 vendors, with everything from roofing to some of the best BBQ in the state.”

Cesak said the support for the Expo has been amazing.

“This is the 36th year of the Expo, but we wouldn’t have been able to put this event on without the help from our local businesses,” Cesak added. “The first half of 2022 has been terrific for our events. Our attendance is back to pre-covid levels, and that’s something we expect to continue on the 18th with the Business Expo.”

The event is free and completely open to the public, so Cesak hopes to see a great crowd from our San Marcos community.

The 36th Annual Business Expo takes place at 1001 E McCarty Ln.

For more information, visit the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce website at sanmarcostexas.com.

Additional reporting by Lance Winter