The 8th Annual East Meets West Business Expo sold out of vendor space four weeks ago.
By
Katie Johns
| 6:35 p.m. September 7, 2016
Longboat Key
Neighbors
Share
From cupcake shops to birds to real estate firms, all types of businesses were present at the eighth annual East Meets West Regional Business Expo Sept. 7, at Robarts Arena.
The annual event brings businesses from the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance together to network at the end of the workday.
Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance Executive Director Heather Kasten said this year’s event drew more than 100 vendor booths and nearly 800 guests.
Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce Executive Assistant Peg Pluto said the Lakewood Ranch community is expanding, and the event is a great way for the chamber to get to know people out east.
Kasten said the event sold out of vendor booths four weeks prior to the event — a first for the East Meets West Expo. There was also a waitlist of 25 businesses seeking booth space.
“It’s connecting Lakewood Ranch to the Longboat Key Chamber,” Kasten said. “It’s a great opportunity for our businesses to showcase goods and products.”
Trish Brown and Debbie Shaffer of Veteran Air
Tom Scholz of Kool Stuff and Adam Miller of Keller Williams Realty in Lakewood Ranch
Kasey MacTavish and Mindy McLeod of Oasis Outsourcing
Robyn Faucy of Neuro Challenge, John Barnott of the Lakewood Ranch Business Association and Laura Randall of EDC
About 800 people attended this year’s annual East Meets West Expo.
Kathleen Williams of Easter Seals and Maribeth Phillips of Meals on Wheels
Annemarie Graff, Jimmy Jerome and Cherri Kessler of BMO Harris Bank.
Vironica Bicallo, Jason Russell and Mike Bennett of Chart House Restaurant
Renee Ryckman, Taura Agar and Angela Scroggins of Escape Downtown Sarasota and Tampa
Kiki Ladendorf, Shondale Stapleton and Fernando Bacheco of Another Broken Egg Cafe
Jennifer Cassidy and Rebecca Dalton of Lakewood Ranch
David Pilston and Dana Harenda of Save Our Seabirds
Sweet Pea of Save our Seabirds
Lesley Harb, Jennifer Blake and Nicole Noujaim of Fast N Fresh
Lorie Allen-Galindo, Brock Michaud and Tonya Atchison of Brown and Brown Insurance
Lori Tucker of American Momentum Bank, Sheron Benkert of Stylnn by Sheron and Lisa Hagerman of Inspectors Inc.
Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance Staff and various board members, Dan Sidler, Maribeth Phillips, Amy Gonzalez, Dani Fox, Lori Ruth, Heather Kasten, Judy Athari and Sherie Becker
Melissa Forman and Kerry Conboy of Argosy University
Allan and Danielle Pollak of Serve To Protect, LLC
Jack Dean of Montgomery Carpets Plus
Bernadette Gottschalk of Sarasota County, John Wojtyna of Aqua Plumbing and Air, Carolynn Piano and Bob Leibold Leibold Enterprises
Peg Pluto of Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and Susan Leavis of Jazz Fitness
Jerry Pippins and Barry Rubinstein of Gigi’s Cupcakes
