FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Marion County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Women’s Expo on Friday at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center in Fairmont.

The theme for this year’s event was “Strong Women. Strong Leaders.”, where female entrepreneurs came to network, encourage and motivate one another. The Marion County Chamber of Commerce even invited two notable keynote speakers to inspire the attendees. Sandy DuBay, CEO of Platinum PR, and West Virginia native, Beri Fox, CEO of Marble King Inc., spoke with guests personally.

Local female business owners were invited to set up booths and sell their products at the event as well.

12 News spoke with Marion County Chamber of Commerce President, Tina Shaw, who was thrilled with the turnout of the event. “Women are out there taking risks and chances every day, so the idea behind our network is to empower them, to engage them, to educate them, and hopefully, we’ll find that one or two on-the-fence entrepreneurs. ‘Do I want to do it? Do I want to make that leap,’ and they’ll end up opening their own business or go for that job or do something out of their comfort zone,” Shaw said.

When asked what the greatest takeaway Shaw wanted to establish from this event was, she responded, “we need to prop up other women. I don’t think people realize the amount of women-owned businesses in our area and we have to support them.”

The Marion County Chamber of Commerce plans to host more women-empowering events over the summer.