The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) has been a hot topic in Moore County for years, especially given our proximity to Fort Bragg.

Many small business owners have wondered how they can get a piece of the more than $1 billion regional annual economic impact pie.

Some have been proactive and already have their piece. Others have been reactive, waiting for the Army to close the gates at Fort McPherson in Atlanta this fall before fully assessing the possibilities.

Well, wait no longer.

Businesses from Moore County and across North Carolina will have an opportunity to promote their services, uncover potential partnerships and forge relationships April 19-20 at the state's first-ever trade show of its kind.

The North Carolina Defense Business Association (NCDBA) is hosting its first Symposium and Exposition at Pinehurst Resort.

"We've been working on this for a year," NCDBA Executive Director Joy Thrash says. "There has been a lot of excitement building as word-of-mouth has spread across the state."

About 50 vendors have paid $1,000 to $1,500 for space on the exposition floor, which is open to the public. All you have to do to get in is present your business card.

The symposium kicks off at 8 a.m. April 19 with a welcome breakfast featuring N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco, who will present his department's perspective on the defense industry.

North Carolina ranked 26th in the nation in federal fiscal year 2009 after securing $4.01 billion in Department of Defense procurement dollars for prime contracts, according to Scott Dorney, a NCDBA board member and executive director of the N.C. Military Business Center.

"I think the expo is a great opportunity to bring defense contractors to North Carolina and a great opportunity for North Carolina businesses to interact with these contractors," Dorney says. "This is part of the puzzle to move the needle and, over time, we are going to move the needle."

Gov. Beverly Perdue has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the April 19 luncheon at noon. A "connection forum" will follow at 2:15 p.m., and a networking reception hosted by NCDBA Chairman Steven Moore begins at 4 p.m.

"For years, military-related trade shows have grown in North Carolina, but this is the first such expo to target all of North Carolina's defense industry players with the goal of helping to grow our state's share of that market space," Moore says.

Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the commander at Fort Bragg, will speak by video teleconference from Iraq at 8 a.m. April 20 during a breakfast at which the winners of grants totaling $65,000 from the Partnership for Defense Innovation will be announced.

There will be a noon luncheon (speaker to be determined), and closing ceremonies are at 3 p.m.

Thrash is encouraging preregistration to attend, but no one will be turned away at the door. She also notes that while the expo is free, the breakfasts and lunches will cost a total of $125.

Kudos to Beverly Stewart, director of sales at the Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, for landing this important event. Stewart, Caleb Miles, president and CEO of the CVB, and the rest of the CVB staff have worked tirelessly throughout the economic downturn to bring corporate business to Moore County.

If this expo is a sign of things to come, we're in capable hands.

Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at tnatt@thepilot.com.