Chamber gets regional identity

Changing its name from The Chamber of Commerce Inc. to the Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber is an “evolution,” said Rebecca Martin, president and chief executive officer of the organization.

The generic Chamber of Commerce Inc. was the right name at the time for the 2010 merger of the Cranberry Area Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Allegheny County Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Martin said.

“It was a way of bringing all the stakeholders together in a way that said what they were doing. So the next logical move would be to really take a hard look at where and why we are doing it,” she said. “It was more of an evolution.”

The group is headquartered in Pine and has more than 1,140 members in Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties.

More than 150 members and guests attended the namechange ceremony Friday.

“Our thriving business corridors are connecting a strong network of opportunity, and we, your chamber, are evolving to keep pace with the needs of that business network,” said Becky Morella, chairwoman of the chamber board of directors.

Representatives of PNC Bank, Moondog’s Pub, Pinpoint Systems Corp., Bespoke Beauty Bar and Andora Restaurant participated in a ceremonial signing to become the first members under the new name.

“I was attracted to the chamber because they are involved in making the community better as a whole,” said Ron Esser, owner of Moondog’s Pub in Blawnox. “As a businessman and resident of the Pittsburgh North region, that was a buying signal for me.”

Many chambers in Pennsylvania are county-based, Ms. Martin said. “Because we have a business base across three counties, what we looked at doing were the business corridors,” she said. “We’re very unique because that region includes very strong cultures, diverse opportunities for economy. … Those unique cultures and business corridors are celebrated for their diversity, but we all band together to promote commerce under the regional chamber.”

Ms. Martin, who is new to the chamber, said the Pittsburgh region is a “wonderful thing. Pittsburgh is our hub city and it is a strong, vibrant, nationally

ranked city.”

The Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber is collaborating with other chambers in Monroeville, the South Hills and Washington County and with the Marcellus Shale Coalition to produce a series on the economic impact of Act 13, the state law governing oil and gas drilling. The project will be launched in October.

“It shows how we are working as this federation of chambers in southwestern Pennsylvania, but we are still focusing on the unique impact of a large business issue,” Ms. Martin said.