East and West network at business expo

Networking was the name of the game Nov. 28 at Robarts Arena.

More than 100 vendors lined the arena floor as members and guests of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance gathered for the ninth annual East Meets West Regional Business Expo.

Despite being postponed because of Hurricane Irma, the expo still met its goal of bringing businesses together.

“I would say my favorite part is all of the business creating commerce,” LWRBA Executive Director Heather Kasten said.

Eight restaurants offered bite-size samplings while attendees wandered from booth to booth, some collecting stamps on their “passport,” which entered them into a drawing for two tickets on Southwest Airlines to anywhere in the United States.