AWARDS are to be given to businesses in Teesdale and Wear Valley that have thrived despite the economic downturn.

The Bucking the Trend Business Awards, organised by The Enterprise Agency for Wear Valley and Teesdale, include categories for high achievement, best start-up, best use of marketing and use of online commerce. Winners and runners-up will be selected by a panel of some of the region’s leading entrepreneurs. The deadline for entries is 5pm on April 24. For more information, or to enter, visit theenterprise agency.co.uk GOOD PRACTICE: Cleveland Orthodontics, in Middlesbrough, which has been providing brace treatment to adults and children for more than 12 years, has been awarded membership of the British Dental Association’s Good Practice Scheme. The award is only given to practices that can demonstrate a commitment to ethical and professional dentistry, and involved a rigorous assessment process by the British Dental Association.

NEW APPOINTMENT: Susan Taylor, 29, has been made partnerships manager for Balance, the North-East Alcohol Office. She joins the office from the Ministry of Justice, where she was the partnerships manager for the North-East arm of the National Offender Management Service.

Balance has been established to tackle alcohol-related issues.

FATHER AND SON: The North-East Chamber of Commerce has appointed Chris Beaumont, of accountants and business advisors Clive Owen and Co, as chairman of its Tees Valley committee. Mr Beaumont continues a family tradition – his father, Brian, was chairman of the Tees Valley Chamber of Commerce in 1993.

GOOD PROGRESS: Sportswear firm JD Sports said sales were encouraging as it posted a hike in profits yesterday. The group, which operates sports and fashion chains, said like-for-like sales across its brands had held up despite miserable economic conditions. The firm said its nine per cent rise in annual pre-tax profits to £38.2m marked the fifth successive year of good progress for JD.

AWARD RENEWED: Window and door fabricator H Jarvis Ltd has been granted a renewal of its Investors in People (IIP) status for the next three years. The company, based in Marske, east Cleveland, originally became an IIP company in 2002. The latest certification will see H Jarvis through to its tenth anniversary.