The expo was created to give the Wesley Chapel community an intimate and friendly atmosphere to become familiar with the goods and services provided by their local businesses. Organizer and business owner Sarah Connelly said, "This is a very exciting time for the Wesley Chapel community for both residents and local businesses. As a wife, a mother of two and a business owner, I know everyone is very busy with their daily lives. Residents may not know about the amazing businesses that are located around the corner from where they live. This venue provides an excellent opportunity to bring the two together." Now that I have touched on what the purpose is of the Expo. I would like to mention why this petition is being created. Recently, I was informed that I was going to be charged $30 an hour to reserve the gathering room at the clubhouse. With the way the economy is right now I strive to do whatever I can to keep the costs down for the business owners. How can I do this when I am being charged this amount to reserve the room. I also can not afford to put this out of my pocket each month. I believe that this is a tremendous benefit to the community as each month it brings new guests and new businesses to Seven Oaks. If the decision of this falls in favor of me having to pay the room fee in addition to the CDD fee's that I currently pay I will mostlikely have to stop offering this expo to the community. I would love to be able to continue to hold this at the Seven Oaks Clubhouse as I have had a overwhelming amount of positve feedback from residents and local business owners. In addition, this is not done for a profit! I do this for free to help benefit the community. I prepare and organize this event on my own in addition to having a Financial Services Business & a family. In closing, I am asking for each one of you that reads this if you also see the benefit of the Seven Oaks Business Expo please voice your opinion in a couple of sentences. This topic is to be revisited at the Board meeting on Wednesday Dec 10th @ 6:30pm. If it is at all possible I would love to see you at the board meeting, but I know it is not always possible. That is why I am sending this to you. I want you to also have a voice in this. This is something that I feel very strongly about and I would appreciate your support. In advance, thank you for your support! Sarah Connelly