The Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce found its member businesses went far outside its core communities along its eponymous roadway, Route 9.
Nearly half over the chamber’s membership are outside its five main towns of Grafton, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Southborough and Westborough. Its member businesses come from 63 cities and towns across Central Massachusetts.
With that, the chamber decided to give itself a new name: the Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce. It unveiled a new logo to go with the new name on Thursday. A new website is due to launch in January.
“This is not about abandoning our name or our roots with the core communities that our chamber will continue to serve and represent,” said Mary Simone, the chamber’s board chairwoman and general manager of the Marlborough Courtyard by Marriott. “The chamber’s leadership believed it was time to align our name and branding as a regional organization that accurately reflects who we are, and our ability to attract a growing constituency of businesses that want to be part of our organization.”
The chamber’s board voted to change the name at a meeting Nov. 29. The chamber has more than 550 member businesses.
