The Greater Southington Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce finalizes its new logo
By Robert C. Pollack
Record-Journal staff
SOUTHINGTON — A new Greater Southington Chamber of Commerce logo was born this week after months of study by the chamber’s executive committee, six separate submissions and considerable fine tuning.
The winning logo selected by the committee and approved by the board of directors features gold and blue colors and a downtown landscape scene. It features the new slogan: The Chamber Advantage.
It was designed by chamber member Joe Cekauskas, owner of JC Marketing.
Chamber President and CEO Art Secondo said with all the changes and new programs launched in the past three years and 185 new members added, the board of directors and executive committee decided a different logo was clearly in order.
“It was definitely time for the logo to reflect what the chamber has developed into, an advantage for its members,” Secondo said. The new logo was unveiled Tuesday morning at the chamber’s Celebrity Breakfast series, featuring U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, held at the Manor Inn.
“Today, we unveil our newly- designed logo as a fashion statement of our chamber,” Secondo said in addressing the 120 guests.
The chamber named Secondo its president and CEO in October 2003 and six months later, the former secretary to the mayor of Bristol, Dee Babkirk, joined the organization as its executive assistant. “Matter of fact, we’ve changed her title this week to director of communications because of her numerous roles,”

Secondo added.
The chamber’s previous logo was originated more than 15 years ago and shows red and blue lettering with a gold ray of sun rays emanating from downtown buildings.
“Art has a love affair with Southington and it shines through every day,” said David Cayer, a member of the executive committee.
“We had a number of new logo designs submitted and chose this one — tinkering with it a little — because we knew it was time for a change. It is true that being a chamber member gives you a definite advantage over businesses or companies who don’t belong — which is why we are growing steadily.”
The chamber recently announced its “Chamber Advantage Nights” would replace the traditional Business After Hours events designed to encourage members to network among themselves.
The word “advantage” was key to the changes, Secondo said. “It’s a statement that chamber members have an advantage by being a member. They can access information that non-members cannot; they can utilize our resources; they are listed on our Web site and can obtain insurance coverage as well as use our piggyback mailing program that goes to 570 chamber members and friends.”
The new chamber logo is now displayed on two existing welcoming signs on Route 10 at the Cheshire and Plainville town lines. “We’ve worked hard with our current board of directors and those who served the previous two years, to change the image of this organization — to make it proactive, strong and useful,” said Secondo, who also serves as a town councilor.