Chamber rebrands itself as new Putnam County entity

Saturday night wasn’t just a night of awards and honors, it was a coming out party for the Chamber of Commerce.

Formerly the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, the organization has rebranded itself to become the Putnam County Chamber.

And that point was front and center at the annual Chamber dinner at the Putnam County Fairgrounds. The background behind the podium was decorated with gold puffy letters in a sea of white balloons with the words Putnam County Chamber taking center stage.

The Greencastle Chamber worked with the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce to get the ball rolling, Chamber Executive Director Brian Cox explained.

“All the pieces fit, so we said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” Cox said, noting that the collaboration “hopefully means more connections, more contacts” for Chamber members.

In addition to the name change, the Chamber is also getting a new email address and a new place to call home.

The new email address is GoPutCo.com.

“We want the whole county to feel part of it, because they are,” Cox said.

He also announced the Chamber will be moving its office from the Putnam County Partnership Center to join the Putnam County Convention and Visitor Bureau and Main Street Greencastle in the old Girtons’ Book Store location at 12 W. Washington St. on the south side of the square.

“We’ll be working together to help Putnam County move forward,” Cox said.

The primary focus of sharing the joint space will be “how to build relationships to help each other,” he added.

The Chamber also plans to bring back Chamber Bucks, which can be spent at local businesses.

However, instead of store owners having to return the Chamber Bucks to the Chamber to get a check for payment, businesses can use the Chamber Bucks the same way they would a check, Cox said.

Meanwhile, in saluting the local Chamber on its 65th anniversary, President Beau Battin said he feels good about the new Putnam County focus.

“It took a long time in coming,” he said, noting that board members already “are from all over the county.”