BNI HAPPENINGS — United States
City of Big Shoulders Enjoys BIG BNI Breakfast
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| February's BIG Breakfast. August's event had nearly twice the amount of attendees. |
BNI Chicagoland is not a large territory but the members are territorial. With this in mind, we decided to have three different BIG breakfasts throughout the week of August 4th. We arranged to have Don Morgan, National Director of BNI Canada and co-author of "Masters of Networking," be our featured speaker for all three BIG breakfasts. It was a BIG success!
The first meeting was in the north suburbs, and we had 110 people attend. In the south suburbs, 70 people attended, and later in the week, 75 people attended the meeting in downtown Chicago. I'm sure you can do the math; 250 people attended the meetings. Some energetic people attended all three! It is a great feeling to have the hotels and restaurants bring in extra tables and chairs for all the people.
Alana McKinney and Mike Neal, Area Directors in Chicagoland, did a great job of announcing the meeting and encouraging people to attend. They also helped by finding volunteers to work the doors and act as Visitor Hosts.
In February BNI Chicagoland had one BIG Breakfast meeting. We were very happy with the turnout: 155 attendees. But dividing and conquering sure worked out well this time!
Submitted by Tom Gosche, Regional Managing Director, BNI Chicagoland.
Members Tap into the Power
of Global Networking
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| The meeting I attended in Stockholm. |
After having planned a two week vacation in Sweden to visit family, I noticed a BNI member from Stockholm who wrote in to BNIOfficialGroup@yahoogroups.com. That was Johan Kaliff. Johan and I were in similar businesses: coaching and team building in companies. Johan invited me to the meeting in Stockholm. My husband and I jumped at the opportunity and went to the last meeting before the Swedes went on a six week holiday. We were warmly welcomed by Johan and many other members of the chapter including Thord Sandh, Maria Sundqvist and Peder Sommehag. We also met a non-BNI member who was visiting, Johan Gustafson from B-Tribe.
We received four referrals from people who wanted to collaborate with U.S. companies. We met with several people after the meeting and struck up some great synergy with Johan Gustafson.
Johan was due to be in New York City within a few weeks, and we made arrangements to meet again. We are currently designing a project together to hold a two day seminar for Swedish CEO's who want to do business in U.S. It's been a fantastic experience. I encourage all BNI members who want to grow their business internationally or virtually to take advantage of this wonderful network. It continues to be a touching and exciting business experience for us.
Submitted by Wendy Hanson, Providence (RI) BNI.
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| Una Doyle, Clayton Angier (soon to be GB AD), Margie Cowan and Emory Cowan (Colorado EDs). |
On August 4, Margie Cowan hosted two U.K. BNI members in Colorado Springs. Clayton Angier and Una Doyle came to the United States for a business conference in Denver. They drove down to Colorado Springs and had a wonderful time visiting the Garden of the Gods and going out to dinner with us.
Submitted by Margie Cowan.
Kenosha Founders Celebrate First Anniversary
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| Kenosha Founders chapter members. |
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| Chapter President Ralph McCarthy addresses his flock, who are enthralled with reading the exciting agenda. |
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| Educational Coordinator Rod Pfeiffer expands members' minds. |
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| Rod Pfeiffer laughs it up while Sunshine Committee member Joan Kuenhold cuts the anniversary cake. |
Submitted by G. Gordon Hebert, Jr.
Connecticut Inducts Youngest Member Ever
Connecticut inducted its youngest member, 17-year-old Michael Rodriquez-Torrent, into the newly chartered Tribury chapter in June.
Michael began his web design career at the age of 10. Since then, he has designed, redesigned, programmed and maintained a variety of websites. At the age of 14, he was hired by a computer security corporation to redesign their website. Michael's team currently designs, develops, implements and maintains websites for several corporations, non-profit organizations and individuals.
Submitted by Alice Ostrower.
Mid-Term Luncheon Provides Forum for Ideas that Work
The Western Pennsylvania region of BNI held a Mid-Term Luncheon at Dave & Busters in Pittsburgh, PA, on July 10. Linda Macedonio, BNI Co-Executive Director of Rhode Island, Southern Massachusetts and Maine, flew in to present "The Confidence Curve."
The Mid-Term Luncheon was also a forum for chapters to share their best ideas. Members of several chapters did five-minute presentations on great ideas for what was working in their chapters. Some examples follow:
- Airport chapter, Keith Jackson, Side by Side Construction, Inc.: 10-MINUTE PRESENTATION QUESTIONAIRRE
- Allegheny Valley chapter, Stephne Bernacki, Attorney at Law: FOCUS FACTOR, ZERO IN and MYSTERY 1 ON 1's
- Circle of Excellence chapter, Dr. Shawn Cernicky, Total Chiropractic: CHAPTER LIBRARY
- Cranberry-Wexford chapter, Dr. Chad Rosoborough, Natural Wellness Ctr. of Chiropractic: SPOTLIGHTING THE 10-MINUTE SPEAKER
- Lawrence County chapter, Christy Verenski, Diversified Advisors: THE JEOPARDY GAME, 10-MINUTE SPEAKER PRESENTATION
- Mt. Lebanon chapter, Dave Holzer, Compensation Consultants, Inc.: 60-SECOND NOTES SHEET
- North Hills chapter, Janet Woloszyk, McCandless Floral: BNI FAMILY FEUD
- Pittsburgh-City chapter, Larry Schwartz, Alpern Rosenthal Technology Services: TOP 5 ACCOUNTS THAT YOU ARE TARGETING
- Profit Builders chapter, Lorrie Leuthold, Tangibles Interiors & Gifts: CONTACT SPHERE MEETINGS
- Upper St. Clair chapter, Doug Smith, Douglas Smith Financial Services: LONGEVITY IN BNI
- Westmoreland West chapter, Jim Graham, Jim Graham Insurance Agency: BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS CONTACT SPHERE BROCHURE
Submitted by Deanna Tucci Schmitt, Executive Director.
Grand Rapids Hosts Advanced Training
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| Members of area chapters participated in Advanced Training in Grand Rapids on July 21. |
Submitted by Dan Georgevich.
Out to the Ballgame with BNI
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| Members enjoy day at ballpark. |
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| Gayle Williams (middle), Executive Director of BNI New Mexico/West Texas, cheers the team on with fellow members. |
About 50 BNI members, families and friends had a great time at the Albuquerque Isotopes baseball game. Unfortunately the Isotopes lost, but all the attendees came out winners at this fun networking event.
Submitted by Gayle Williams.
Starting 'Em Young
On July 17, the Greater Kansas City region of BNI hosted the youngest guest ever at the Overland Park II chapter. One-month-old Erin Jean slept through most of the meeting, but chapter President, Lisa Stenson, isn't giving up on Erin just yet. Lisa is determined to get the little one to join her chapter eventually and is preparing herself for years of follow-up.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Writer's Guidelines for SuccessNet
We want to hear from you! SuccessNet Online needs your input. SuccessNet is truly YOUR newsletter. We ask you to consider the following tips when preparing your submission for SuccessNet:
- Writing style should be clear and concise. Keep your sentences short and give us details. Be specific.
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- Use dialog in your submission: John said, "BNI made a huge difference in my business."
- Be sure to include your name, chapter name and business name. When applicable, list your web address and we'll insert a hyperlink to direct readers to your website.
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- We would like digital photos of your chapter or regional events! As you can see from this first issue, we are able to have many more local-flavor articles and reviews. With your photos, include a brief description of the event, who's in the photo, and the name and city of your chapter.
- Please also include your web address with your submission, so we can direct our readers to your site.
- Please send your submissions to newsletter@bni.com
The types of submissions we are seeking are for Chapter Brags, Memory Hooks, BNI Happenings (your regional news), any other special announcements, success stories, or things your chapter has tried that have been successful.
Thank you!
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