The doors opened Friday afternoon at the Edgar A. Newell II Golden Dome at Ogdensburg Free Academy, cold, early spring air colliding with the heated aroma of hot dogs and nachos and the clean smell of new cars, boats and motorcycles.

The 37th annual Ogdensburg Boys and Girls Club Expo is under way today and tomorrow, a happy mix of spring ritual and Northern

New York trade show for more than 100 vendors, businesses and crafters, all to benefit the club.

SUNY Canton Women’s Basketball Bruce C. Tallon has been promoting the college’s sports program at Expo for eight years.

And loving it.

“It’s always exposure,” Mr. Tallon said. “And I’m a big person for publicity.”

So is Scott M. Wright, route supervisor for Pepsi-Cola Ogdensburg Bottlers Inc. Then again, he represents the third generation in the family business founded by his grandfather, Richard E. Winter.

Who, by the way, also helped start the club.

“It’s a no-brainer for us to be here,” Mr. Wright said. “It’s in my blood.”

Northern Physical Therapy of Ogdensburg, Clayton and LeRay has been a club supporter for years.

“And we’re here to promote healthy living in general,” said Carrie M. Montgomery, vice president for public relations.

As the annual event opened, club members also took time to honor those who have helped Expo and the club over the years. This year’s Expo community service award winners are: Gardner’s Flooring and Furniture, 325 Cedar St., for providing prizes for the Expo raffle tickets; St. Lawrence University Community-Based Learning Program, which since 2005 has sent freshman students to the club to assist its youth members in skills such as computers, cooking and athletics; Megan McNamara, the club’s assistant director for the past nine years; The Patten Family Trust, Charles B. and Deborah D. Patten, Wrentham, Mass., which donates money to the club. Mrs. Patten is a native of Massena.

Expo today opens at 10 a.m. and runs until 8 p.m. The finale on Sunday starts at noon and closes down at 4:30 p.m. At its close, winners of the event’s grand prize drawing will be selected.

The first prize in this year’s raffle is $5,000 cash, courtesy of Blevins Auto Group. Other prizes include two $1,500 gift certificates from Gardner’s Flooring and Furniture, a $1,300 gift certificate from Triple A Building Centers, a family membership for four to Northern Physical Therapy, a $1,000 gift certificate to Carbino’s Jewelers, a $1,000 Savings Bond from NBT Bank and $1,000 donated by Phillips Diner. Tickets are $10 each and will be available all weekend at Expo.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer