Edinburgh Chamber

Edinburgh Chamber wins 2009 best Chamber award

Posted Friday 27 November 2009 09:00 GMT

Amidst the splendour of Christopher Wren's National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce last night scooped the top prize at the annual British Chambers of Commerce Awards, being acclaimed Best Chamber in the UK.

On a night in which Scottish Chambers of Commerce took a quarter of first places and a fifth of all places in the awards, Edinburgh Chamber capped the list with the final award which recognises the business organisation which has done most overall to serve its community and membership.

Ron Hewitt, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said: "Edinburgh Chamber has seen many accolades since it was founded in 1786, but this is the first time that this highly prestigious award has been won by a Chamber in Scotland. It gives me great pleasure that Edinburgh Chamber has brought this recognition of excellence to the capital."

"This award recognises the skills, endeavour and effort of all our members and all our employees. We are proud of our city and believe in our economic potential. This encouragement goes a long way to supporting our efforts to climb back up the hill to economic security. The fact of the matter is that all businesses need to define new ways forward in our challenging economic circumstances - and offering customer value is the only solution."

"For many months now Chamber representatives from around the UK have been visiting us in delegations to see what we are doing that is different. Our innovative programmes, such as our 'One Step Ahead' recession busting initiative, our first rate Events Team, our thriving Customer Services Team and our busy policy and communications initiatives are all part of a team approach which has worked hard to earn this accolade. That we were just pipped at the post for our International Trade endeavours (second overall, and third in the individual business achievement) bears witness to our strength in depth. There's never been a better time to be a member of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce."