Rotherham Chamber was named Chamber of the Year, and also received the Excellence Award for Innovative Networking at the Chamber Awards 2005 Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony.

One of the fastest growing Chambers in the network
Rotherham Chamber has grown its membership by 38% over the last two years and now offers support to over 1200 business in the Rotherham area, including all 138 Rotherham schools. As well as running quarterly Women in Business events for around 170 Rotherham business women, Rotherham Chamber is the first in the UK (and indeed Europe) to pioneer the ATHENA Awards, a successful leadership programme originating from North America.

Proactive and imaginative approach
The Chamber of the Year award was given to the Chamber which, in the opinion of the judges, made the greatest contribution both to the network of Accredited Chambers of Commerce and to its Members. The award was given to Rotherham Chamber because of the incredible growth it has achieved over the last two years, because of its women in work initiative, ATHENA, and the Chamber’s support for educating children about business. This is in the form of its Investors in Education initiative, which is a scheme that is driven by business people rather than teachers to help young people in school to become more aware of business opportunities available to them.

The Excellence Award for Innovative Networking was given to Rotherham Chamber because of the hard work and dedication it has shown in providing wide-ranging networking opportunities, which are attended by up to 60% of its members.

A credit to everyone involved at Rotherham Chamber
Rotherham Chamber President, John Wainwright, said: “We are absolutely overjoyed and the awards are a credit to everyone involved at Rotherham Chamber. We were delighted to accept the awards on behalf of our members, who we consider to be the best members in the country!”

What the awards mean to Rotherham Chamber
John Wainwright added: “The vision of the Chamber is to be the driving force for support and representation of Rotherham’s business community, through offering as wide a range of events as possible with the aim of engaging as many members as possible. The recognition that we have received from the British Chambers of Commerce through these two awards means a great deal to everyone at Rotherham Chamber.”

Future Ambitions after the Chamber Awards
Rotherham Chamber would like to continue to be recognised as the best Chamber in the country by constantly stretching the boundaries. Its aspiration is to continue pioneering new initiatives that it hopes other Chambers will engage with. The Chamber already has new events, new venues and new partnerships in place that will provide even more networking opportunities for its Members. Rotherham Chamber continues to strive for ambitious growth targets and to make as many businesses as possible in Rotherham realise the benefits of Chamber Membership. John Wainwright said, “We are looking at improving other areas of the business, enabling us to put in strong entries to the Awards and hope to enter more categories again next year.”

Why Enter the Chamber Awards?
Commenting on why businesses and Chambers should enter the Chamber Awards, John Wainwright said, “It is important that BCC is recognised as the official voice of British business. To enable this, it is vital that the Chamber network is strong and shares good practice. Entering and attending the Chamber Awards demonstrates a Chamber organisation’s commitment to the national movement.

“From a local point of view, success at the Chamber Awards is the ultimate accolade that you are a professional and well-run organisation. Success enables you to use this in encouraging recruitment and retention. It demonstrates that we are an organisation that companies can be proud to be part of.”