Expo puts focus on gay and lesbian community
David Kilmnick, chief executive of Long Island Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Services Network, expects the second business gathering to have double the attendance. (August 2009) Credit: Howard Schnapp
Long Island business and the gay and lesbian community are becoming more comfortable with one another.
This year's Long Island Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Expo will be almost double the audience of last year's, which was the first, said David Kilmnick, chief executive of the Long Island GLBT Services Network of Bay Shore.
The Oct. 3 event will be so large, Kilmnick said, that bigger quarters have been booked to handle the more than 2,000 people expected to attend. The event attracted about 1,100 last year and was held at the Holiday Inn in Ronkonkoma. This year it will be at the Hyatt Regency in Hauppauge. About 75 vendors showed up last year. This year more than 100 signed on to attend.
Competition Infinity and Mercedes-Benz, both dealerships in Smithtown, will be on hand for the first time. So will the Disney Vacation Club and the New York Islanders. Kilmnick called the presence of the Islanders "a breakthrough. It shows a professional sports team reaching out to the gay and lesbian community," he said.
There will be more of a corporate presence. Bethpage Federal Credit union and New York Community Bank will send representatives.
The purpose of the event is to bring together businesses and members of the gay community.
"I think we're seeing that business people are recognizing, in this economy, that the gay community has significant buying power and that they should not be overlooked," Kilmnick said.
The event is from noon to 5.
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