Ron Insana, the highly regarded financial and business news journalist, who anchors CNBC's Business Center and is seen regularly on NBC television news broadcasts, will be an integral part of the upcoming 15th Annual Hauppauge Industrial Association Business Expo & Conference.

In partnership with Suffolk County Community College and LIFT-the HIA is, once again, presenting Long Island's largest and most important annual business expo on Wednesday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the 60,000-sq.-ft. Convention Center at Suffolk Community College (LIE exit 53).

PS: As a business leader and executive responsible for your company's fiscal well-being, can you afford to miss this important financial forecast?

Mr. Insana will launch the event at an exclusive 8:00 a.m. VIP Reception followed by an Executive Breakfast presentation. Using the current economic climate as the background, he will address the issue of financial forecasting with a focus on the Long Island business community. With 20 years' experience in business journalism and his trademark sharp sense of humor, he will give the audience an insider's view of the latest trends in the world of finance and savvy guidelines for profiting, Mr. Insana will then moderate a Roundtable discussion with several Long Island top executives and conclude his visit with a "Meet and Greet" session on the Expo floor.

Designed to help Long Island businesses find solutions to challenging issues, develop new business relationships, create new selling opportunities, showcase products and services, meet potential customers and learn best practices from thriving Long Island companies, this year's Expo & Conference is expected to be even more successful than last year's, which, attracted thousands of attendees and more than 300 exhibitors.

In addition to visiting the hundreds of exhibit booths, attendees will be able to attend outstanding seminars presented by leading professionals and participate in productive networking opportunities.

Past HIA Business Expos have received rave reviews. According to 2002 exhibitor and sponsor Bill Pesce, President & CEO of Austin & Williams, the HIA Expo & Conference is "an amazing venue with a diverse array of exhibitors and thousands of attendees. Our sponsorship…proved an invaluable opportunity to create key business relationships."

HIA was established 25 years ago as a business "ombudsman" to help companies flourish on Long Island. While most of the organization's 900 member companies operate out of the Hauppauge Industrial Park (the largest industrial park east of the Mississippi), members also come from other business communities across Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

In addition to producing Long Island's largest and best attended annual business show, HIA works to make Long Island a better place to do business through active committees and regular meetings that address important subjects such as business development, computer technology, government affairs and international trade.

While admission to the Business Expo and Conference is free, there is a charge for the Executive Breakfast. Visitors will be required to register at the door and are encouraged to pre-register online in order to avoid waiting in line before entering the exhibition hall. For more information, call HIA at 631.543.5355.

Fact Sheet