Maybe you noticed today that our logo, which routinely accompanies this column every week, appears a little different. On March 14, our board of directors voted unanimously to change the name of our agency to Northeast CONTACT for Better Business Inc. This change of name request was formally made to the Maine secretary of state’s office and last week our new name was posted to their Web site.

For nearly 35 years, our agency name had been Northeast COMBAT Inc., and before that it briefly had been called Bangor COMBAT Inc. Those names were derived from “Consumers of Maine Bringing Action Together,” a laudable mission which we have embraced for all these years.

For the thousands of businesses, consumers and others helped by our organization over the years and particularly the Maine folks who know us best, that name was OK with them. “It’s not about what you are called,” they said, “it is about what you do to help us.” The challenge came as we continually sought to expand our network of supporters, the people who did not know us.

The COMBAT name raised many barriers that hindered our ability to meet casework needs and to raise funds. It is difficult to effectively mediate disputes between a consumer and a business entity (a large part of our role) with a militant-sounding name.

If your agency moniker depicts conflict, it often becomes an unfortunate and self-fulfilling prophecy. Our role is to find peace and fairness in the exchange between consumer and business, and to do that our agency needs every advantage possible to iron out marketplace disputes. Coincidentally, our organization was founded at the height of the Vietnam conflict and has been changed in the middle of the struggle in Iraq.

The new name Northeast CONTACT is not an acronym for anything. Our organization does strive to be a great contact for solving marketplace problems. The word CONTACT does contain the elements “tact” and “act,” both guiding principles for all we do. We are committed to continue the same high quality, dedicated service to consumers and businesses we serve. They know us and have high expectations of us.

The “for Better Business” portion of our new corporate name embraces our primary goal of fair play and balance in all business transactions. These long-standing Maine traditions are legendary and well-known around the world. Mainers understand the expressions: “my word is my bond” and a purchase concluded with “a smile and a handshake.” Can there be any doubt these concepts originated in the Pine Tree State centuries ago? And in the vast majority of cases, these tenets continue to be a reality in Maine commerce.

Northeast CONTACT is firmly committed to being user-friendly and accessible. To that end, our new Web site, www.nc4betterbiz.org, is available for visitors to educate themselves on a myriad of consumer issues and includes our hotlink “contacts” for more information. We can be contacted by e-mail directly from the site, but we still do new casework requests the old-fashioned way, by telephone or letter. Check out this Web page and e-mail an evaluation to us.

The Consumer Forum will continue to appear here every week. We appreciate the cooperation and support we have received from the Bangor Daily News for nearly 30 years. We still need volunteers and new members, both businesses and individuals. Our fundraising committee has the awesome responsibility of securing funds to keep the lights on and the doors open so we can continue to serve into our 40th and 50th years.

We are the small organization with the big mission. We rely on your support and we are appreciate your generosity – past, present and future. We are Northeast CONTACT for Better Business Inc., and a new chapter begins.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT for Better Business, Inc., Maine’s membership-funded, nonprofit organization and America’s oldest consumer advocacy agency of its kind, established in 1972. For help, write to Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329 or email to consumerhelp@bangornews.net