CABA SPRING EXPO SET FOR MARCH 21

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

This year the Carrollwood Area Business Association will host its spring expo Wednesday, March 21 at the Carrollwood Day School, located at 1515 W. Bearss Ave. in Tampa, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The CABA Spring Business Expo is a meet-and-greet opportunity aimed at the community at-large.

“What we want to do is provide chances for people in the Carrollwood area to see businesses they don’t always see, and for our businesses the opportunity to get to show off to the public,” said Lisa Demmi, expo-board liaison, CABA member and general manager of Chewning Inspection Services Inc.
Demmi has been in CABA for two years now and is on its board of directors. Her mother, Sandra Chewning, is a former president of the organization.
Over 80 exhibitors will be on hand, according to Demmi. She said the expo will feature “anything from karate demonstrations to artists painting live in the courtyard, moving services, financial people, Web-solution companies, dance companies, photographers - any kind of business you can think of will be on the floor.”

“It’s a nice cross-section of the business community,” she added. “We actually had some people join CABA so they could be involved in the expo.”
“Lisa has done a fantastic job organizing the expo for us,” Lori Rodriguez, CABA president, said.

Rodriguez said the goal of the expo is “to showcase Northwest Hillsborough County businesses by way of CABA member and just to expose ourselves to who is doing business in our community.”

CABA, began in 1986, as a collective of small-business owners in the area. Its membership has now surpassed 500. CABA members meet on a weekly basis at a member’s place of business. The meetings function as a way for members to network with one another.

The expo is in its 10th year. CABA also has plans to hold a winter expo this year.

The CABA Spring Expo is free and open to the public. Business attire is suggested. For information, call 264-0006 or visit CABA on the Web at http://www.carrollwoodbusiness.com.