CB Tech hosts trade & expo dinner

MOSES LAKE — With Governor Inslee visiting Korea and Japan this week, it seems fitting that the mayor of Gunpo City, Korea would pay Washington a visit. Mayor Kim Yoon Joo was one of the featured guest speakers at the Columbia Basin Trade Expo & Dinner at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center in Moses Lake on Tuesday. The gathering was an opportunity for several local small business owners to showcase their wares and present what their businesses potentially bring to the Korean market. Grant County Economic Development Council Executive Director Jonathan Smith began the night by introducing the businesses and guests in attendance.

Matt Kunz, vice president of Foreign Market Development for Zaycon Foods, told his "Korean Cookie Story," about how he sought to "fill the needs of buyers, particularly in the Asian market," and how that led to exporting deals with Korea. Among others in attendance was Andrew DePaula, an engineer from Edwall, who invented intelliPaper. intelliPaper, simply put, is a paper USB drive. It's the same size as a business card, though slightly thicker, and, with two folds, transforms into a USB drive, ready for insertion. Using cloud data, there's no limit to how much data intelliPaper can store.

DePaula wasn't the only inventor present. Bobby Jackson was there to demonstrate how his TotalWave Fitness machine offers a fun and easy way to exercise. The user holds a bar in front of them and, with their legs, moves a platform side to side in an upward, lateral motion. Think of a being on a skateboard in a small half-pipe.

A variety of hors d'oeuvres were served at several tables. Dennis and Mary Chamberlain laid out pickled asparagus, fruit sodas, and smoked meats at their Uniquely Washington table, where all the various sauces and apple products were made in, that's right, Washington. The Whiskey Gap Distillery was not offering samples, but those in attendance were able to whet their whistles with samples of cherry juice at the Bowman Orchards table. Following the dinner, catered by Michael's on the Lake, Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter addressed the crowd before Gunpo City Mayor Kim Yoon Joo was presented with a framed painting of the Grant County landscape. Joo thanked the guests and spoke well of his visit to Moses Lake.