Starting on Thursday, April 30th through Saturday, May 2nd, 300 BNI Directors gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 250 members showed up for the Members’ Day on Friday the 1st, and the 21/2 day conference was filled with networking, presentations offering valuable training tools, and festivities.
A herd of high energy Wisconsin cows (or, rather, BNI Wisconsin team members dressed in cow suits) gathered aroundBNI’s Founder & Chairman, Dr. Ivan Misner, and mooed him onto the stage as he gave the Directors a warm welcome at the opening of the conference. Said Dr. Misner with a big smile, “I’ve never had an introduction quite like that one and it’s probably the most unique introduction I’ll ever have.”
Throughout the event, attendees were treated to special performances by talented musician Fred Johnson who clearly wowed the audience with his amazing skill at musical improvisation. There were 12 break-out sessions featuring networking insights from some of BNI’s best and brightest presenters, to all of whom BNI HQ extends great thanks for taking the time to conduct such excellent sessions.
The BNI Foundation was overwhelmed by the support of the BNI US Directors at the Conference when a spontaneous collection was organized for the children's educational programs the Foundation funds. Over $3000 was donated, which Dr. Misner then matched. Together, with other donations made throughout the conference, the total donated to the Foundation's charitable fund was nearly $8000! That equates to 8 Givers Gain® Grants of $1000 each for educational projects! For more information on the BNI Foundation, go to www.bnifoundation.org.
At the close of the conference, some of the Directors offered comments about what they considered to be the highlights of the event. Many Directors mentioned the discussions on BNIConnect as a highlight (visit www.BNIconnect.com for more info) but it was beyond obvious that Keynote Presenter Lisa Nichols was the highlight of the entire Conference for most attendees, many of whom said she was the best speaker they’d ever heard. Nichols blew the entire audience away with her presentation entitled “No Matter What,” which addressed how anybody can overcome any and every obstacle that stands in front of them in business and life. BNI offers a huge amount of thanks to Lisa for the integral part she played in making this year’s U.S. National Conference such a roaring success!
To learn more about Lisa Nichols' book, No Matter What!, click here. |