Marilyn D'Ambrosio staffs her booth. "Doc" is her husband, John.

NEW WINDSOR – Major brokerage houses, investment banks and insurance companies may have teetered on the brink of disaster this week, but you would never know it by attending the annual Orange County Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in New Windsor Wednesday.

All of the Hudson Valley area businesses that participated had shiny new looks to their displays and there was little talk of hard times.

Chamber President John D’Ambrosio said the economy is “somewhat challenging and the events in New York will affect us,” but he said the expo was a day to celebrate the goods and services in the Hudson Valley.

“I think when you get an economy like this, people are looking for new ways of doing business, new ways of promoting themselves, and I think that’s what happens,” he said. “Inside of every cloud there is a silver lining for some.”

Businesspeople at the expo were saying they have to work that much harder to keep their businesses successful in this current economic climate.