Dan Carmody puts a high value on supporting his commercial colleagues.

“I make a conscious effort to patronize local businesses, because they pay local taxes and employ local people,” said the 28-year Roswell resident and co-owner of a photography business in the city,

“If I need a plumber I want to find someone who’s not from Norcross or even Alpharetta. I’m not going to hire someone over the Web because they’re 10 cents cheaper than a local small business. We need to protect our community and its small businesses. It’s our responsibility.”

Those who share that sentiment will want to stop by Roswell Connect, the first business networking event sponsored by Find it All in Roswell.

The Find it All campaign, a collaborative effort of the city, the Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Roswell business community, encourages Roswell residents to make use of the variety of services available in their own city.

“Roswell officially kicked off the Find It All campaign in August of last year. Six months later, over 300 businesses have partnered to make this promotion a success,” said the Roswell CVB’s Marsha Saum.

Carmody said his company, Studio 7 Photography, was one of the first to join. “It is the essence of what we want to do with our company,” he said of the community-based effort.

Roswell Connect is an opportunity for business owners to meet each other, find out what each has to offer and set the foundation for possible future referrals. From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11, North Fulton Hospital is hosting the event in its atrium with a heart-healthy theme in keeping with Heart Month and Valentine’s Day.

Restaurants affiliated with the Find it All Roswell Campaign will have tasting samples from their menus. Included will be Aqua Blue, Barberitos, Brookwood Grill, Fickle Pickle, Froots, India Chef, Pollo Campero, Relish, Shane’s Rib Shack and The Bridge Mexican Gourmet.

Saum said the event is open to all Roswell businesses and services, not just members of Find it All in Roswell. But she noted that applications to join will be available at the event.

Membership fee is $50 annually, and one of the benefits is businesses displaying the campaign logo on banner advertising signs will be allowed by the city to display those banners more often, Saum said.

“That’s a big plus for small businesses that may not be as visible from the road,” she said.

For more information about Roswell Connect and the Find it all Roswell Campaign, please call the Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau at (770) 640-3253.