The planets are perfectly aligned for the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce's annual New England Business Expo at the DCU Center, an event that Edward F. Manzi Jr., president and CEO of Fidelity Bank, describes as "first class" all the way.

The space analogy is apropos, and not only because former astronaut Jay Buckey will serve as guest speaker for the breakfast that kicks off 11 straight hours of networking, food samplings, seminars, exhibits and socializing that will occur over the course of the day on October 22nd. In addition to Buckey, who logged more than 6.3 million miles aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1998, plenty of other luminaries—including Entrepreneur Extraordinaire Jane Applegate—will contribute to the action-packed proceedings.

Manzi is particularly pleased that Fidelity will have a booth on the floor this year, in that the bank recently opened a brand new branch office on Shrewsbury Street opposite Piccadilly Plaza. It replaces a smaller branch office Fidelity previously operated on Belmont Street.

"I grew up in Webster and have always thought of Worcester as the big city," Manzi said.

As one of literally hundreds of exhibitors taking part in the Business Expo, Fidelity will have a chance to tout the merits of its "LifeDesign" concept, rolled out "four or five years ago" according to Manzi and "very unique to us." It is a cornerstone of the new branch office on Shrewsbury Street's formula, he noted.

"All banking is similar in the choices that are offered," Manzi said. "What people really need is help in making informed financial decisions. We created a five-step process which says to consumers, 'here are your options.' It's very different from most financial companies, which are selling a product and trying to reach a quota."

Manzi said Fidelity's LifeDesign program is "exploding" right now. "(The banking public) wants (this sort of) guidance from people they can trust, with all the uncertainty in the world," he said.

"Our clients tell us that the objective information and professional guidance they receive from our team of financial designers has been a real difference maker. I believe this is why over the past seven-plus years our business banking client base has enjoyed such strong growth," Manzi said.

Though Fidelity's roots are in Leominster and Fitchburg, "we looked at Worcester as a natural extension," he said. "It's part of our long-range strategy to be the best local bank in Worcester County. We'd like to 'connect the dots,' north to south, from the 495 belt to 190/290 and 146/395 . We'd like to fill that in over time. Worcester is a natural anchor for us."

Shrewsbury Street becomes Fidelity's third location with a LifeDesign Center; the others are in Shirley and "at our new corporate center in Leominster." Each site has "financial designers" and a "leadership team" in place. "It's like a medical practice, with primary-care physicians and specialists," Manzi said.

Manzi said having a presence at the Business Expo will help Fidelity "get the word out about LifeDesign and other aspects of Fidelity's operations. "Most of our business development and marketing is grass roots. It really matters, that face-to-face exposure," he said.

Fidelity's excitement for establishing a retail presence on "Restaurant Row," amid a flourishing business environment (and on a former brownfield site, also occupied by a McDonald's restaurant), is matched by its anticipation for the Expo—the region's largest.

Such other exhibitors as Nichols College in Dudley, Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston and Sunshine Sign in North Grafton say the Business Expo is the place to be.

"Nichols is participating in the upcoming Business Expo because we use local vendors and buy goods and services from our surrounding communities," says Nichols College President Debra M. Townsley. "It's part of our commitment as a business college to help the region realize long-term, sustainable economic growth."

Cyprian Keyes is returning to the Expo after an absence of several years and is keen on its involvement "as we continue to do networking in the community," the club's Dave Frem said. "It gives us an opportunity to show off our products and services and our brand, and we'll be serving some food for the after-hours." Frem said the Expo will also provide Cyprian Keyes with a chance to say that the club is "open over the winter" for functions and other activities.

Sunshine Sign Owner Dave Glispin said, "the Expo gets better every year. We see a lot of people we do work for, and people who will say to us, 'I didn't know you do that' sort of work."