There is only one way that Maureen Loffill, area manager of the Midland Bank in York, attacks community issues - and that is as though her life depends on it. Just occasionally it does.

Mrs Loffill, who was today installed as president of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, is a clear-minded, naturally cautious person, not at all like the daredevil who abseiled down the side of her Parliament Street branch last November in aid of the BBC Children in Need Appeal. Being in charge of 26 branches and 250 employees throughout North Yorkshire means that she has the kind of drive, gravitas and steady determination gleaned from 25 years banking experience that demands a steady hand on the tiller.

But when she links her bank to community issues she does so with ferocious intensity, whether it is as director of the York Inward Investment Board; as backer of Friday's opening night of the Early Music Festival at St Michael-le-Belfry; as a board member of York Business Development; or on the Dean's board for the Millennium Mystery plays. As she says: "Every member of my management team has some sort of community objective. We do take it very seriously: I take it very seriously. We practise what we preach in thinking global and acting local."

So now that Mrs Loffill is president of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber be sure that she will attack the job with the same gusto. Already she has drawn up a checklist of priorities.

Though careful to point out that "nothing is broken that needs fixing as the Chamber is growing in membership and stature" she wants a more powerful voice for agriculture, "one that reflects its importance in our regional economy", anda change in the public perception of expertise in professional support services in the city as "second tier."

She says: "By attracting all the big names, Leeds has taken all the glory. The assumption is that York's experts are second best. In fact they are first class. Our accountants and solicitors can compete with the best. If you do want to go to one of the range of image firms from Leeds you are far more likely to speak to a junior member of the team whereas in York you are likely to be talking to a senior member if not a partner.

"I don't rubbish the professional services in Leeds. I am simply exhorting local people to use local businesses in a fairer way. Being a director of the Inward Investment Board has given me an excellent insight into really rich synergies and outputs that come from co-operation of key players of the city."

Mrs Loffill, who lives in Heslington and enjoys serious walking with husband Tony, a professional linguist, succeeds Geoffrey Geddes,

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.