It was the mid-eighties when Pasadena experienced a boom that changed its trajectory as a community.
Magothy Bridge was rebuilt in 1980, a third lane was added to Mountain Road in 1983, and the county completed Edwin Raynor Boulevard north of Mountain Road in 1985. Along with these significant developmental improvements came the addition of small businesses – lots of them.
With the rapidly growing number of businesses in Pasadena, a few local residents recognized a need. Owners of these businesses, both well established and new, had no way to discuss common interests with each other nor connect with the community as one unified voice. As a solution, these local business owners – one of them being Ed Lauer, founder of Lauer’s Supermarket & Bakery – stepped up in 1986 to officially establish the Pasadena Business Association (PBA).
While the PBA has evolved in many ways over the last 37 years, its core mission of giving businesses a platform to connect, learn and grow, while also collaborating with and giving back to the overall community, has remained the same.
“The PBA is the pulse on the happenings of Pasadena,” explained Heather Frees, president of the PBA and Realtor at Keller Williams Flagship of Maryland. “As a realtor, people are always asking me questions about Pasadena, so this is a way for me to really know what’s going on,” she said, elaborating on the many ways the PBA provides education and insight to its members. “There are monthly luncheons with educational guest speakers – we have brought in everyone from the Anne Arundel County sheriff, our local legislators, accountants, traffic control. The goal is that we want our members to walk away having learned something new from each meeting.”
But, Frees explained, monthly membership meetings are just a piece of the pie the PBA offers to its members. In addition to monthly meetings, which are held the first Wednesday of each month, the PBA also regularly hosts technology workshops, legislative days, referral groups, and after-hours mixers. There are also the annual events.
“Every event we sponsor – and there are many of them – is an opportunity for businesses to get their name out there and connect with other local businesses and organizations,” she emphasized. The PBA’s extensive list of annual events includes the Scholarship Fundraiser (April), which to date has raised and distributed over $150,000 in scholarship funds to local students, the Golf Tournament (September), which is open to the public and raises money for the PBA’s Community Assistance Fund, the Crab Feast (September), the Harvest For The Hungry Caring & Sharing Parade (November), which collects food and donations along the parade route to stock local Pasadena food pantries, the Veterans Day Ceremony (November), which pays tribute to local veterans within the community, and the Pasadena Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony (December), which supports A Child’s Christmas gift drive.
Frees shared that one of the perks to being a PBA member is the ability to promote your business through each of these events. “Whether you’re a sponsor or you just want to be involved through assisting, it’s a great way to not only give back to and support your community, but to get your name out there,” she said.
As for the PBA’s involvement in the general community, it has never diverged from its pursuit to improve and support Pasadena as a whole. “A lot of people in Pasadena still aren’t aware that the PBA has had its hand on so many projects. The flag pole and veterans memorial site at Mountain Road/Route 100 (across from Himmel’s Garden Center) is one of them. Without the PBA, none of that would be there. We have an entire committee dedicated to maintaining that site throughout the year,” she said.
There’s also A Child’s Christmas gift drive, which is organized each fall by the PBA with the intent to provide Christmas gifts and food to Pasadena children in need. “The PBA communicates with the counselors at schools that are districted in Pasadena, and the counselors provide an anonymous list of children in need,” Frees detailed. “Businesses and members of the community purchase gifts, gift cards and food. At the Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 5, the PBA will accept monetary donations via a QR code that patrons will be able to scan. This will help provide grocery store gift cards, purchase of children’s bikes, and more. Donations can also be made through the PBA website.”
Asked how the general community can support the PBA in return, Frees had a simple answer. “Support our members. Think about going to our business directory (located on the PBA’s website at pasadenabusinessassociation.com) and looking up one of our members before heading to or calling a chain or big-box store.”
Looking ahead to 2024 when the Pasadena Business Association will celebrate 38 years, Frees said she sees finding different ways to utilize technology as a significant goal. “We want to have more technology courses offered internally. There are so many new avenues at our fingertips for marketing our businesses… it’s not just printed media anymore that’s out there. Now there are so many options for spreading your time and ad dollars. We have a Website & Technology committee that has held seminars on different topics such as managing your Google business page, utilizing Chat GPT for automating social media posts. These are all free for our members,” she noted.
The future success of the PBA, Frees said, relies on its members, of which there are currently 263. Membership, which starts at $150/year (prorated from when you join) based on number of employees, is always open. “We are here to support our members, whether that’s through ribbon-cutting ceremonies, milestone anniversary celebrations, social media promotion. We genuinely want to see each of our members succeed.”
While Pasadena may not look the same as it did back in 1986 – there are undoubtedly more people and more businesses – the Pasadena Business Association’s impact still stands strong.
“There are so many new community members that did not grow up here and are not familiar with the Pasadena Business Association,” Frees said. “This group has proven to be an important part of the Pasadena story and has done so much good for its members and the community. It’s important that people know it.”
