THE North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) is holding its annual meeting today at the Rainton Meadows Arena, in County Durham, to which we have invited all of our 4,500 members and expect many to join us.

Taking place at the midpoint of the year, it’s a perfect opportunity for the NECC to communicate directly with our members and to share the work that is being done on their behalf.

Last year was tough for the private sector across the North-East, but the recession did not dampen the dedication of the region’s business community to tackle the challenges it faced – and the NECC was there to champion, connect and develop its members throughout.

Today is a chance for us to report back on the work we’ve done over the past year, to share the lessons and to listen to demands for increased focus.

The meeting allows the NECC to communicate how we’ve been delivering on the promises we made last year, to discuss our manifesto and to highlight our achievements.

These achievements include the success of JC Atkinson, which won the Journal’s North-East Business Environment Award last year, and then went on to London where it won the national award for best environmental company at the British Chamber of Commerce’s awards in November.

Julian Atkinson, of JC Atkinson, will be the guest speaker at today’s event, and should be an inspiring presence for chamber members.

I look forward to welcoming members attending for the first time, and to showing them the benefits of being part of the North-East’s largest business membership organisation.

Many who joined the NECC last year came to us thanks to the successful Benefits of Belonging campaign, which was launched at last year’s annual meeting. Last year was a record year for member recruitment, as NECC gained more than 850 new members.

NECC’s successes were not limited to recruitment. We conducted many campaigns on behalf of our members, including Go Global, which was developed to shine a spotlight on international trade activity throughout the North-East. The campaign has gathered momentum, receiving support from regional and national politicians, including former Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

We also worked with NECC partner member Eversheds to establish an Energy Policy Working Group, which published NECC’s first energy policy report, Generating Growth.

The chamber itself is a business, and I’m happy to report that we have recorded a profit over the past 12 months. While it has been a tricky year for many, ourselves included, we should recognise success when it occurs.

On behalf of our members we are proud to champion the region and to help members to achieve their ambitions.

■ James Ramsbotham is chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce.