ABPA meetings geared toward boosting business

Robert Tomkavage, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·2 min read

Jun. 24—The Abington Business and Professional Association aims to help retailers regain their footing following a challenging year.

The group hosted about 15 businesses at the Gathering Place in Clarks Summit this week to spur conversation about ways to improve the business district, said Janice Bevacqua, immediate past president of the ABPA.

Bevacqua noted the organization hopes to hold the meetings on a monthly basis to keep the dialogue going.

"Now that things are starting to return back to a little bit or normalcy we wanted to invite businesses in the Clarks Summit area to attend and discuss anything they needed from us," she said. "We had an open floor discussion on events we've had in the past, events we're planning for this summer and events we could work on going forward."

Bevacqua, assistant vice president and branch manager of PS Bank in Clarks Summit, was encouraged by the various exchanges.

"There was a lot of great collaboration and some ideas for trying to get people back on the streets of Clarks Summit and into the stores," she said.

One of the ideas is the possibility of holding Second Saturday events similar to Scranton's First Friday, said Deborah Keen, showroom manager of DaKor Furniture on South State Street in Clarks Summit.

"We're looking at getting some small bands and having sidewalk sales and vendors," she said. "We're trying to find an area where people can park because parking seems to be a problem."

Keen would like to see the event encompass the entire Abingtons region, not just downtown Clarks Summit.

"We're trying to get a shuttle to provide trolley or van rides and have everyone participate," she said.

She feels the meetings would be more productive if additional retailers took part in the communication.

"It's important for more small business owners to give their input because we can only work positively as a group," Keen said. "The businesses that were there truly care and really want to help each other succeed. It's a wonderful community of people who network together. We just need more people to show up and participate."

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rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131;

@rtomkavage on Twitter.