 The 2008 BNI International Directors’ Conference was held at the Hyatt Hotel in Long Beach, CA with 550 Directors and BNI staff in attendance and an impressive 420 BNI members showing up for the November 14th Members’ Day Session.
There were many reasons why so many attendees claimed that this year’s Conference stole the title from last year’s Conference as “the best ever.” For starters, entertainer Fred Johnson energized, inspired, and wowed attendees with his musical performances throughout the event and even had the entire crowd joining him in song at times. He deservingly received an enthusiastic standing ovation after each and every one of his brilliantly creative and captivating performances and he played a huge part in making this year’s conference a truly unforgettable one.
On Thursday, John Meyer & the Strategic Alliance Committee welcomed Cort Davies, Brian Tracy iLearningGlobal Team Director, to the stage to announce BNI’s exciting new strategic alliance with iLearningGlobal. iLearningGlobal is the company that is revolutionizing the professional and personal development education industry by giving people across the globe instant access to the world’s best trainers 24/7 over the internet via cutting-edge HD video technology. This opens the door to unlimited, on-demand learning and education for anybody anywhere who wants to continue achieving higher levels of success and BNI is truly looking forward to the amazing opportunities this partnership brings!
Following the great news about iLearningGlobal, BNI’s CEO Norm Dominguez delivered his highly informative CEO Report and then Dr. Ivan Misner took the stage to present his highly illuminating, as well as entertaining, Chairman’s Report.
Another very notable Conference highlight was when Brian Tracy, best-selling author, international speaker, and world renowned sales and personal development expert, gave a powerful presentation on “Peak Performance in Turbulent Times” as the keynote speaker during the Members’ Session on Friday. When he finished speaking, BNI Directors and members alike rushed to the table where Brian Tracy’s products were being sold and his sales team finally had to start taking orders because they sold out of every single product they had!
The Conference wound to a close with a variety of educational Breakout training sessions, individual and group dance cards, and open networking, and ended with the BNI Awards Banquet on Saturday night where over 180 awards were given out. Aside from the awards, however, there was something else that overwhelmingly impressed the audience and made us all proud to BNI members during the Banquet. Virtually every person in the grand ballroom was vigorously clapping when Beth Misner of the BNI Foundation announced that altogether, the BNI-Misner Foundation saw $54,000 donated/pledged at the International Conference to continue to support children's educational projects around the world--once again showing that BNI's philosophy of Givers Gain is not simply a catch-phrase.
The BNI International Directors’ Conference 2008 truly was an event to remember and next year’s Conference, which will again be in beautiful Long Beach, California, promises to be even better! |