The Treasure Coast Business Summit & Expo is right around the corner. The expo will have 140 spots for vendors to show off their goods and services at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center on May 17.
“We still have some opportunities available,” co-owner Dana Trabulsy said. “The cutoff will be when we sell out.”
This is the 10th annual summit and expo. The summit was proverbially born in adversity. “Ten years ago we were smack dab in the middle of a recession,” Trabulsy said.
That, she said, shaped a lot of the can-do, optimistic character of the summit and expo.
“It the largest business-to-business networking event on the Treasure Coast,” Trabulsy said. “It’s not your typical expo. People are actually doing business on the floor, which we’re proud of.”
The theme this year is “Celebrating Business Success.” Peter W. Busch, owner of Southern Eagle Distribution, will be the keynote speaker. He’ll speak at 10:50 a.m. Mary Dempsey, a business analyst at Florida Power & Light ,will speak at 3:30 p.m. Trabulsy said Dempsey will wow attendees with everything FPL has for small businesses, which includes access to area demographics the company has compiled.
“You can really narrow down where you want to put your business,” Trabulsy said. “It’s astounding the business data you can pull from what they offer.”
Also on tap for the summit is the Dyer Auto Group’s Dyer Difference Award Presentation. That’ll be right after Port St. Lucie Mayor Greg Oravec speaks around 10:35 a.m.
Additionally, separate from but during the summit and expo at the Civic Center will be the Port St. Lucie Annual Update Luncheon. The St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce, St. Lucie County Economic Development Council and city-sponsored event will be 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Russ Blackburn, city manager, will speak. (For information about that event, call the chamber at 772-595-9999, or visit www.StLucieChamber.org.)
“The area update is obviously a great reason to come,” Trabulsy said.
The summit will also feature presentations of the second Trailblazers awards.
“This is our second year of a new award, the Trailblazer Award,” Trabulsy said. Four women – one each from Indian River, Okeechobee, Martin and St. Lucie counties – will receive the awards.
“It’s an open nomination (process),” Trabulsy said. “We ask people to visit (www.tcbizsummit.com/trailblazer-award) and nominate women who’ve paved the way for other women.”
Among those who will be on hand at the summit and expo will be the Small Business Development Center at Indian River State College.
“They offer so many complimentary services for people looking to open a business or are already in business,” Trabulsy said.
The doors will open at 8 a.m. for vendors to set up. The doors will open for attendees at 10 a.m. Visitors, of course, are encouraged. Admission is $8. Members of Treasure Coast chambers of commerce can get complimentary tickets. Trabulsy said chamber members should contact their organizations for those complimentary tickets.
Trabulsy said businesses that want to be part of the expo need to register soon. Organizers are expecting to fill up.
“This is the time (registration) starts ramping up,” she said. “We’re over halfway full now.”
The Port ST. Lucie Civic Center is at 9221 SE Civic Center Place. To register and see more, visit www.tcbizsummit.com.
