Palmyra Area Business Association was born on August 2005 in a casual meeting between Pat Waybright and Margie Yohn. Both business owners in the Palmyra Area, they saw the need for a local, organized group for networking, community outreach, business development and idea sharing.Since that first meeting, the Palmyra Area Business Association has organized officers, committees and events, created bylaws and grown to over 90+ members in 2010.
The Special Projects committee worked on and gained non-profit status for the organization and is currently applying into the PA Downtown program as part of PABA’s downtown revitalization efforts. The CarolFEST committee, chaired by Rev. David Harris, holds a free holiday celebration every December, open to the entire community in which PABA and area service groups work together on an entertaining evening of music, fun and refreshments as a way to say "Thank You" for supporting our businesses, churches and service groups throughout the year. PalmyraFEST, chaired by Elaine Davis & Amy Eiserman, is a fun community event which includes children's entertainment, bingo, music, a craft show, and a variety of contests, games and concessions and our signature Seltzer's Lebanon Bologna Carving Contest. Along with the activities of the PABA committees and events, members benefit by networking with like-minded business people and staying informed of news and happenings in their community. Members volunteer to act as liaisons with the townships and borough by attending meetings and reporting back to the group. PABA works closely with the governing bodies; maintaining open lines of communication and a strong relationship conducive to the sharing of ideas, input, resources and projects. PABA members can easily recoup their $50 membership fee through added business as a result of networking, sharing ideas for promotions, joining together to advertise and/or knowing and trusting who to recommend.