After announcing in June that the “Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce” would become the “Bergen County Chamber of Commerce” in 2012, that decision has been reversed.

“We spent all of that time building up our name and our reputation, so the board of directors was very supportive of keeping the name, and everything that goes along with that," said board member and former President Annette Freund.

In addition to the name, the group’s mission and geographical coverage area will now stay the same.

“In the past, the Hackensack and Meadowlands Chambers have also considered taking on the ‘Bergen’ name, but they didn’t do it because it infringes on other chambers’ territories,” Freund said.

Freund said other area chambers expressed their discontent with the MRCC’s previous decision to take on county-wide responsibilities. She said other chambers said they were “outraged” by the decision.

The MRCC decided to retain its name by over-viewing the organization’s bi-laws.

The bi-laws, which outline the chamber’s purpose, geographical coverage area, and official name, “require a vote by a certain number of directors to be changed. When we took a formal vote, we decided to stay the way we were,” director and former President Bruce Whitaker said.

Though the chamber has been through name changes in the past, all of them – Mahwah Chamber, The Greater Mahwah Chamber of Commerce, etc. – had one central theme in common, “Mahwah.”

Local politicians were likewise happy with the decision to keep the township’s name in it’s moniker.

“I was very happy to hear that the [Chamber] is going to keep it’s name, and keep representing Mahwah,” Mayor John DaPuzzo told directors at a recognition dinner Wednesday night.

“This was a classic case of, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” added Town Council President John Roth.

“I am delighted that we were able to preserve this brand in Mahwah, [as] the Chamber is very important to the residents, businesses, and everyone in the township.”

The Chamber says it will now continue to focus on the community and future achievement. And yes – WinterFest will be back (though it may be hard to think about that with 80-plus degree temperatures outside).