Portland Area Business Association (PABA) rebrands as Oregon Pride in Business to serve the state’s LGBTQ+ and allied businesses.
June 1, 2021 – Portland, Ore. – After a quarter century under the name Portland Area Business Association and a year since our founding year in 1992 that has radically changed how we connect with our community, Oregon’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce has emerged from the pandemic as Oregon Pride in Business, or ORPIB for short.
In the same way PABA provided opportunities for business growth, ORPIB will continue to provide members assistance with marketing, networking and business growth; a mentorship program to support development of business skills; the sharing of expertise through workshops and seminars; and advocacy for positive economic, social and political change across the state of Oregon.
As with so many things in the last year, the pandemic led the group to re-examine their branding and structure.
“Prior to the pandemic, our events were in-person and, frankly, attendance was fading,” Oregon Pride in Business president Bryce Britton said. “When 2020 pushed us all into an exclusively digital world, we saw an explosion of interest in our chamber from all corners of the state and around the country. We realized this was the perfect time to make fundamental changes that would set us up for the next generation of Q+ business owners.”
ORPIB members have unified to help make this change representative of our entire community. Over the last six months, leadership has asked for thoughts from members past and present, fellow LGBTQ+ organizations and community leaders. Those discussions often came back to one concept: the word “pride” is a timeless, historical and universal aspect of the Q+ experience.
“We wanted a name that would ring true for myriad identities, orientations and experiences our members have while expressing pride in who we are as business owners, not just in the Portland metro area, but across the entire state,” Britton said.
ORPIB plans to celebrate this exciting news with a members-only Gay Skate Event at Oaks Park in July. Discover more on the newly designed ORPIB.com, including an LGBTQ+ Job Directory, a glossary of terms, and more features to be added!