Peggy Lee-Clark, Executive Director of Pottstown Area Economic Development (PAED), spoke with DELCO Today about growing up in King of Prussia, singing and acting in school plays, and exploring the fields of retail, restaurants, and hospitality.
Although Lee-Clark did not take to higher education easily as a new high school graduate, she continued pursuing formal study alongside hands-on industry experience, eventually attaining a master’s degree in strategic management. And ironically, working in higher education.
She has taught hospitality management and worked in administration at Montgomery County Community College and now serves as executive director of PAED, supporting Pottstown’s economy through real estate development and improvement.
Where were you born, and where did you grow up?
I was born at Montgomery Hospital in Norristown, but I grew up in King of Prussia.
What did your mom and dad do?
My dad was an Insurance Adjuster, first for cars, and then he moved to private planes. He always had his own business.
My mom was a School Librarian. She started out in elementary school, then moved on to junior high at Plymouth Whitemarsh and then Colonial School District. She finished her career in the high school.
Where were you in the pecking order?
I was the youngest. I have one sister, and she’s six years older than I am. I always said we were raised sort of like only children. We were very different.
What do you remember about growing up in King of Prussia?
When my parents first moved there, the mall didn’t even exist. You had to go to 69th Street or Norristown to go shopping. It was built not long after, but there was still farmland and orchards. It’s a very different place today.
Did you work when you were growing up?
I first went to work for my dad in his office in the summertime, answering phones. I was a poor typer, and I still am, but I tried. His secretary was very patient with me.
My first job working outside the family was for Swiss Colony, giving out cheese samples in the King of Prussia Mall.
What did you learn from that job that stays with you today?
That I didn’t want that type of job!
What was your first full-time job?
My first full-time job, where I was supporting myself, was in retail. I was an Assistant Manager at Corner House. There was Corner House, and there was Ladybug, both owned by Apparel Affiliates.
Did you play any sports in high school?
I had no interest in sports. There was nothing about it that I liked. I was always in music and the arts. I was in the theater. I sang in church choir and choral societies. The first role I ever had was as the Virgin Mary in kindergarten, which is interesting because that was in a public school.
My favorite role was playing Red Riding Hood in a parody of the Red Riding Hood tale in high school.
You said you liked music. What kind of music floated your boat?
I didn’t sing what I listened to. What I listened to was Kansas, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, and Billy Joel. I love that music, all of it.
Did you ever go to any concerts?
I did not. I didn’t particularly like crowds. I remember standing in line with friends for the Ticketron outside of Gimbels, but the most I ever went to were performances at Valley Forge Music Fair, because my parents would pay.
I saw Sonny & Cher, the Carpenters, and Sammy Davis Jr. there. And we would go to the theater. My mother was good at exposing us to a lot of different things, so we went to Philadelphia at least two or three times a year to a live production.
Did you go to college, and where did you go?
I was not a good student. I specialized in socialization. So, I took a year off. I went to California for a couple of months. I came back because I was broke. I worked at JCPenney in the mall and tried to regroup. I ended up going to Kutztown University.
Why Kutztown, and why college at all?
I decided I didn’t want to be in retail. That’s why I applied to Kutztown, and I got in.
I didn’t even last a semester. My major was in social welfare, and halfway through the semester, I realized that I was not cut out to help people and that I was going to be broke the rest of my life if I went into social work.
I quit Kutztown and went to Atlantic City. This was during the first revitalization, after gambling had come to Atlantic City. I waited tables at 12 South Indiana Avenue.
But you eventually ended up back in college?
Eventually, yes. I did it backwards. I got the bite of hospitality, because I could make a lot of money in Atlantic City. Then, I got divorced. I was a single mom, and I went home to be a mother. My mother still lived in King of Prussia. She helped me with my son, who was just entering kindergarten, and I started going to school.
Where?
Montgomery County Community College. I wanted to get out of restaurants and into the hotel industry, so I got my associate’s degree in Hotel Management from Montco.
From there, through my working life, I continued to chip away at education. I wouldn’t suggest anybody do it that way, but I did.
After Montco, I went to Eastern. They had an accelerated program for working adults like myself, so I went there and got a degree in the dynamics of organizational leadership. I started teaching hospitality management at Montco, and because there were other things that I wanted, I ended up at Rosemont, getting a master’s degree.
It was the means to an end for me. It was always, “I’m going to go get this next degree, because this is going to get me something else.”
I had a high school friend who ended up becoming a teacher and getting a master’s degree, and when I ran into her years later at a conference, she said, “You know what I found out when I finally went to college? That I was smart.”
Did you have that same realization?
For me, it was that I could do the work. College work doesn’t necessarily take a smart person. We weren’t getting degrees in rocket science. It just takes work, and you learn.
Looking back over your career, who were the people who saw promise in you and opened up doors for you?
The first person who had a lot of influence on me was a general manager at a Holiday Inn where I worked. His name was Mike Boyle. He was an interesting guy. I don’t think he ever had a formal education, but he worked his way up through the ranks.
The Holiday Inn had been run by a general manager who had a fun attitude towards the hotel. It was making money in spite of itself. On a Friday afternoon in summer, there was no management around. They had all taken off for the weekend.
Then Mike Boyle came in, and he was a steady hand. He went into the kitchen one time and yelled, “Chef!” And everybody from the dishwasher on up turned around and said, “Yes!” There was no pecking order. It was chaotic.
I remember frustration when I first met Mike, because I was always pushing the rules. But he sat down with me and said, “Either the people will change, or we’ll change the people.”
He had lots of interesting sayings. One that I always kept with me was, “The fish stinks from the head.” He always took responsibility.
The other person who reached out to me was Karen Stout. She was the President of Montco when I was teaching there. I was in the college’s leadership academy, and she came to me about a job working directly for her in the president’s office.
What do you think Karen saw in you?
I don’t know. There’s a story she tells about me. We used to have these hospitality dinners for the public. Often, they would be used to showcase the College to donors. I called it “Chez Montco” when we took over the faculty dining room.
One evening, she had a management person from across the street at Normandy there as a guest. Bill Beisel was his name. He was telling me, “You should do such-and-such. The students should such-and-such.”
I said, “Oh, you’re on my list.” And he said, “Oh, that’s good.” I said, “No, it’s not necessarily good to be on my list. I’ve got a thousand employers in Montgomery County that want to employ my students.”
I said it without even thinking that I was saying it in front of the president of the college. But guess what? I got what I wanted out of Normandy, and we had a great relationship after that. They hosted sales blitzes for my hotel students.
Karen Stout said to me, much later, “I should have had you fired that night.” We laughed about it then. So, I don’t know what she saw in me; you’d have to ask her.
It sounds like you’re opinionated and strong in a positive way. You get things done.
Yeah. I had a lot of bosses like that. I had Brian Odner, who owned several restaurants. He’s now retired, but he started out with The Gin Mill and then opened Hungry Pilgrim on Ridge Pike. When I went to work for him, he had B. Rathbone’s, Marmaduke’s, and Hungry Pilgrim in the Plymouth Meeting Mall, and then he went on to open Arugula.
I was hiding out in a role waiting tables, after I had worked for Eagle Lodge, and I said to Brian, “It’s time for me to go back into the management game.” He said, “What would you do?” I said, “I’d do training for restaurants and hotels.” He said, “Well, I have three restaurants. Why couldn’t you do that for me?” So, we created a job that had never existed before.
Here you are now in Pottstown. What do you want Pottstown Area Economic Development to be known for?
I want PAED to be known for actually doing the work. We do the heavy lifting to increase the tax base here. I want people to come here and say they had a great development experience because PAED helped them. I want Pottstown to be recognized as the great, unique place it is. It has so much to offer.
I believe that economic development belongs with the private sector, not the government sector. I want PAED, long after I’m gone, to still be standing and stronger than ever.
What are you focused on for the rest of the year? Where are your priorities?
Seeing a couple of residential developments over the finish line. Dwight City Group broke ground at 274 North Hanover, which was a warehouse property. It’s an adaptive reuse. There will be 85 single bedrooms and a rooftop deck. It’s an amazing project. They’re also doing 25 units in the former Mercury building right down the street.
The Pottstown Industrial Complex just got a steel company. We’re creating an environment that those types of businesses want to come here for.
And we’re focused on the reestablishment of passenger rail and what development looks like in an area that could have a train.
What are you most excited about?
We’re planning the Pottstown Progress 60th anniversary celebration for this November, and we’re going to be giving out four awards.
We have two women, Amy Francis and Amy Wolf, who have brought Fourth of July to a whole new level in Pottstown, and they’re being recognized with the Connector Award.
We have a Small Business Award this year for Gina Spease. Once Upon a Time is her consignment shop. She’s been out on Moser Road and then jumped into the middle of town and expanded her offerings.
Then we have a Legacy Business Award, which is going to Dana Corporation. Dana has employed people for years. They’ve truly been an anchor.
And last year, for the first time, the board voted to give a Board of Directors Award to recognize our former Board Member, Craig Cigas, who owns Cigas Machine Shop. He operates out of Coatesville, but he also has a place here in Pottstown, which was one of the old Bethlehem Steel footprint buildings. He brought it back to life.
Currently, we are working with Simone Collins on a streetscape plan for a couple of areas in the borough for placemaking. We’re in the thick of that project right now. So, there’s a lot going on.
What do you do with all your free time?
I love to read.
Do you have a favorite author?
I have a series of authors that I love, and then I’m very sad when they stop writing.
I read a lot of thriller and mystery novels. They’re easy. I like something that moves quickly. I don’t like details. So, I like Lisa Scottoline. I like Lisa Gardner. She’s a little dark. She has a couple of different characters. Janet Evanovich is fun — the Stephanie Plum series.
What are you reading right now?
I just finished Lisa Scottoline’s new one, and I’m on to Lisa Gardner’s new one. I’m only on chapter three because I had company over the weekend. I am one of those readers who, once I start a book, I’m done in two days.
I also love crosswords. We have a little local paper, the Town and Country, and I do both of the crosswords in there weekly. I am not a New York Times puzzle aficionado. I am not that good. And I have a terrible obsession with Candy Crush and matching games like that.
What keeps you hopeful and optimistic? It’s a crazy world out there.
It’s hard right now. I struggle with it. But then I have a conversation, and I remember that there are people out there who still have hope and are working hard to make a difference. Hope is not lost.
And I also go home to my two poodles and a hound mutt. I’ve had a lot of dogs through my adult life.
Finally, Peggy, what’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I don’t think anybody has ever given me a piece of advice that has stuck in my mind. How my mom lived, she wasn’t the type of mom who gave advice, but she was so supportive.
She was always present. She was my anchor. Instead of verbal advice, she displayed a behavior I wanted to emulate in some way.
______
Publisher’s note: Helen Harris contributed to this profile.
