Most definitely it'll be great to have another friend in the hobby, especially in the Midwest, most of the people I see online are in the south! I've lucked out that my hubby actually does love snakes as well, but not many other people I know do. My friend that I'm bringing doesn't actually like snakes, but she loves to learn and is super open-minded, she's even held my boas! I'm excited to be able to introduce her to the hobby a little more.
By the by, how was the expo when you went this past march? I figure the shows should be about the same so what the first one was like should be a pretty good indicator...