At 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 4th, BNI Turkey officially launched at the Dedeman Hotel in Istanbul with over 250 people in attendance.

National Director for BNI Turkey Ayse Aslan gave an informational presentation about BNI and Peter Hemmen, BNI Executive Director in the Netherlands, also presented briefly to the audience. The twenty three founding members of BNI Turkey then followed these presentations by each giving their 60-second speeches for all those in attendance.

BNI's CEO Norm Dominguez was a key source of support for Aslan and the Turkish BNI Team in getting the region up and running and Peter Hemmen offered a tremendous amount of support as well. Hemmen has traveled to Turkey twice from his home base in the Netherlands and he served as a walking, talking example of the Givers Gain(R) philosophy for the Turkish Team who were all invigorated by his postive attitude and consistent support.















Aslan says there is a high demand in Turkey for the services and opportunities BNI provides and BNI Turkey is now working with two more core groups--one of the European side of the Bosporus and the other on the Asian side.

Below is a statement from Aslan expressing her gratitude to all who have helped BNI Turkey get off to such a fantastic start:

"I would like to thank Ivan Misner and Norm Dominguez for believing in me and making me a small part of this successful organization. I am so proud! I also must thank Phil Berg, my favorite BNI Director and Trainer! I am thankful to Laura Hurren for her support and because if she did not have that BNI chapter in London where I was given the opportunity to become a member, I wouldn't have had known about the opportunity to bring BNI to Turkey. Big thanks to Terry Hamill for his support as well and to Sam Schwartz, one of the most experienced BNI National Directors I have gotten to know--he has given me excellent advice and support.

I am grateful to Tim Cook and Charlie Lawson, National Directors for BNI UK, as they have always kept BNI UK's door open for the Turkish BNI Team--many, many thanks. Finally, I owe huge thanks to Peter Hemmen. He has been one of the key people behind the success of BNI Turkey and I cannot thank him enough for the time and effort he has put into helping BNI Turkey.

BNI truly is Changing the Way the World Does Business(R) and it will most definitely change the way Turkish people do business. I feel like I am making a great contribution to my country by bringing BNI to Turkey and I am so proud to put Turkey on the BNI map."