Fort Myers gala illustrates growing strength of the region's Hispanic community

Veronica Culbertson had proof Saturday of what she’s been saying all along — Hispanic customers and employees are becoming an essential part of business in Southwest Florida.

The Southwest Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce held its annual International Hispanic Gala on Saturday at Harborside in downtown Fort Myers. The event was preceded by a women’s conference, job fair and exposition.

The job fair and expo, which featured 41 Hispanic and non-Hispanic-owned businesses lobbying for customers and employees, showed that the Hispanic population in Southwest Florida is a desirable demographic, said Culbertson, the board president of the Hispanic chamber.

The expo has grown from 29 companies last year to 41 this year, Culbertson said. The women’s conference and evening gala have seen similar increases, she said. This year’s gala was expected to draw between 350 and 400 people.

And it’s not only Hispanics who attend the events, Culbertson said.

“Everyone knows we like to spend money,” Culbertson joked. “We have a lot of non-Hispanic businesses that want to capture the Hispanic market.”

One of those people was Bill Sharpless, vice president of Mike’s Seamless Guttering in Fort Myers.

Sharpless said he does not have any Hispanic employees, but thinks they would be able to help lure Hispanic customers because they could assist in conquering potential language barriers.

The language barrier is big for a lot of business, because customers like to shop where they are comfortable, Culbertson said.

The expo offered more than only job opportunities. Tino Maldonado of Cape Coral used the event as a chance to network.

The 37-year-old music promoter attended the expo last year and said he was able to make a lot of contacts that have helped him in his business. Saturday was much of the same, he said, with good contacts in various professions.

“It’s good to have something like this, because it helps everybody,” Maldonado said. “We have a big impact in the community now.”