ATHENS, Ohio -- The Information Technology Alliance of Appalachian Ohio (ITAAO) and the Center for Information Technology Education at Ohio University (CITE) will present the TIGAR Showcase in Athens on April 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Baker Center Ballroom. This event is free and open to the public.

The TIGAR (Technology Industry Gurus of the Appalachian Region) Showcase will feature information technology businesses and industry throughout Southcentral and Southeast Ohio, giving them the opportunity to showcase their business, products and services. The event expects to draw companies in the following areas of expertise: client/server software development; content management; database design; eCommerce; education; hardware/network design and installation; Internet Service Provider; IT training; marketing communications and Web site development.

"We hope this will create a lot of B-to-B activity in the region; a region with a surprising number of IT companies," said Gary Little, ITAAO President. "There are hundreds of these companies throughout the region, and we want to give them the opportunity to network and grow their businesses."

ITAAO is cosponsoring the event with CITE to include the academic community from regional college IT programs in the event.

"The showcase will give graduating business, communications and engineering information technology students the opportunity to meet business people in their chosen profession and make possible connections for internships or employment and hopefully gain interest in starting up their own entrepreneurship," said Cindy Phelps, office manager at ITAAO.

Phelps, and Heather Humphreys, Coordinator of the CITE, designed TIGAR to boost information technology interest in the region by bringing together experts and students to generate new ideas and business.

"We hope to come away from this event with a larger understanding of the region's needs and the opportunities it has to offer," Phelps said.