About Us
As a little girl growing up on a farm in Southern Illinois, Cathy surrounded herself with animals. Dogs, cats, horses, Punky the raccoon, chickens, rabbits, a baby muskrat that needed saving, gerbils, guinea pigs, goats, a parakeet, even turtles took turns in her care. To this day her Mom jokes about the vet bills.
But maybe it was the little dog shows she would organize with the neighbor kids in the basement that should have been the first clue…
A corporate communications career followed by building a PR/Event agency all led to the decision to produce her own event in 2000: the Great Iowa Pet Expo. Expansion to other cities soon followed.
Then, about seven years ago, a former employee called to tell her about a recent University of Iowa grad who had waited on her. This personable waitress mentioned she’d like to work in events. As fate would have it, it only took one meeting over coffee and Tessa joined the Great Midwest Pet Expos team.
Imagine how surprised they both were when browsing through some of the archival expo photos, there was Tessa as a 3rd grader attending the very first Great Iowa Pet Expo!
Cathy and Tessa strive to offer an event that they would want to attend. From the trade show selection, to the entertainment, to finding the experts to educate on topics like nutrition, senior care, training and more, their expos are always guaranteed fun, educational and entertaining.
