First Valley Women's Expo garners praise today at Expo Center

NILES

“This is definitely a girl’s day out,” said Shari Davies, Girard, as she walked among the Women’s Expo displays Saturday with several friends at the Eastwood Expo Center. “It’s really nice to see all of these good products.”

The Women’s Expo, the first of its kind in the Mahoning Valley, was created by Justine Thomas, a former local radio personality who now heads a marketing and promotions company.

“I just asked myself, ‘What would you want to see if you’re a woman?’ and decided to put this together,” she said.

Her approach worked for Alana Sfikas of Warren.

“I just want to look and see what other women are doing,” she said as she pushed a buggy containing her 6-month-old daughter Alana. “Everything sparkly gets my attention,” Sfikas said as the wide-eyed Alana smiled while her mother sampled cosmetic products.

Thomas said the event drew 90 vendors offering everything from jewelry, makeup and fashion to food and health. Rita West, Champion, said the latter is what brought her to the event.

Dr. Brock Generalovich, a Boardman plastic and reconstructive surgeon, said he participated to promote women’s health. “I want to talk about breast cancer awareness and let women know their options if they require [cancer-related] breast reconstructive surgery,” said Generalovich, who had set up a display and planned to deliver a speech on the subject.

For more on the event, read Sunday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.