Coupeville Chamber of Commerce returns to its roots

The Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce is no more.

The group has officially changed its name to Coupeville Chamber of Commerce.

“I thought about this quite a long time,” Executive Director Linda Eccles said. “We’re written about, we’re photographed and we get a lot of publicity. It’s time we sort of recognized the town we’re in.”

Eccles said only the name of the organization is changing and the group will continue to support its partners throughout central Whidbey Island. But after Washington State Ferries agreed to rename the Keystone ferry terminal, changing its name to the Coupeville terminal, board members felt the name change would be less confusing – and could even help promote tourism.

“It’s really confusing to tourists,” Chamber President Lisa Bernhardt said of the Chamber’s previous name.

“This kind of defines our place.”

The Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1962. In its 50-year history, it has never operated under another name, although many people thought the organization used to be called the Coupeville Chamber, Eccles said. Some may wonder why it took 50 years to make the change.

“I’ve had members come to me with comments like ‘Great!’ and ‘It’s about time,’” Eccles said. “There have been lots of positive comments.”

According to Eccles, discussion about the name change has been going on for a while, but the official decision was made in July.The group has registered with the state and everything has been approved. A new website is under development and a new logo has been created.

Residents can expect the changes to be revealed over the next couple of months.

“Right now we’re focusing on supporting business and tourism with the website and logo and then everything else will come. We’re just working down the list,” Eccles said.

“The important thing is we are still the gateway to Central Whidbey.”

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