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Always a BNI Director

Lt. Colonel Edward Bean, Staff Judge Advocate for the 311th ESC (Army), is based in West Los Angeles. He is also BNI Executive Director for BNI Riverside & San Bernardino Counties, CA.

Ed is currently serving a one-year deployment to Kuwait and Iraq, but that hasn't stopped him from keeping up on the latest BNI book release from the seat of a Blackhawk helicopter!

Ed is looking forward to his retirement from the U.S. Army in September, 2009, and devoting himself to the BNI region he and his wife, Susan Bean, oversee.

Submitted by Susan M. Bean, Executive Director, BNI Riverside & San Bernardino Counties


BNI Foundation Funds Chemistry Lab for Secondary School Students in Mexico

Thanks to a generous contribution from the BNI Foundation, 60 secondary school students in Ometepec, Mexico, will soon be able to study chemistry and conduct hands-on experiments in their school's own chemistry lab!

The BNI Foundation's $5,000 (USD) donation was used to buy the steel and tops needed to construct lab tables, Bunsen burners, faucets, plumbing for water and gas, chemistry equipment, books, and chemicals. The lab will be operational by fall of 2008 and the students, along with the school's headmaster, Eliel Galindo, are extremely grateful to BNI for their new lab, which they are calling the BNI Chemistry Lab.

Beth Misner, BNI Foundation Administrator, received a letter of thanks to the BNI Foundation for enabling the school to continue to be a light to the surrounding community by providing local youth the opportunity of an excellent education.


BNI Bike Ride

Following his dream, our executive director, Sam Schwartz, just completed a cross-country motorcycle ride to raise money for the fight against cancer. The BNI Bikers Unite Ride 2008 began June 27th in Virginia and ended at BNI HQ in California on July 7th with a nice reception by the entire staff and Ivan. Several riders joined the bike ride along the way, especially at the start and the end. I had the pleasure of "chasing" Sam in a cargo van, which we used to return to Virginia with the bike inside. Sam has a personal interest in fighting cancer since his father and stepfather died of cancer.

Along the way we appreciated America and its great people, scenery, and vastness. At most stops we were greeted by a networking event organized by the local directors; they were great fun. We also collected many small donations along the way and through the sales of our t-shirts and pins. The reception we got from BNI members and the public was great! People told us stories about their BNI experiences, their connection with cancer, and their part of the country. Sam and I feel like we really experienced this great country in a way you can't when you just fly into a city.

All of our pictures from the trip are on: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=180hu3ga.4wzxgfi2&x=0&y=v8tdl0&localeid=en_US.

One sweet older woman told us about her motorcycle (and pronounced it "sickle") and how she loved it. She told us a very touching story about how her son was killed on the bike, but that she still had to ride. Then she wrote us a $10 check for the cause.

There were several stories like this, but one of the best was when someone knocked over Sam's bike in a parking lot on the very first stop, Columbus, OH. The young man was very sorry about the damage (which was only cosmetic); when his mother showed up, she said she was going to smack him! Sam talked with her and found out that she had a business and didn't know about BNI. So he introduced her to the local director, Natalie Paz-Storey. She promised to attend a meeting. She also told us she was from Hungary (where Sam is also the National Director), so they discussed her contacts there. And she shared how her best friend died of cancer just two weeks earlier. In tears from that, she wrote us a $200 check for the cause, and we exchanged contact info.

We had events before the ride in our region that raised some money for the fight against cancer, and we will have a large festival on September 14th to celebrate the drive. During that celebration, we will present a check (large, hopefully) to the American Cancer Society. Donations are still being accepted at www.bnibikersunite.org, or you can send them to the BNI-Misner Charitable Foundation (www.bni.org ) with a note saying that it is for this Bikers Unite Ride.

Sam is considering doing other rides like this in coming years, maybe in a different format. We loved this trip and recommend it to anyone. Our BNI region has benefited from this ride and we hope the other BNI members we met did too.

Submitted by Dave Boyd, Area Director, BNI-NOVA (Northern Virginia)