Breaking News

Revving Up for the BNI Bike Ride

Sam and Dorit Schwartz with the BNI Bike

Revving up for the BNI Ride—the June 27-July 7 cross-country trek to raise awareness of BNI and funds for the American Cancer Society—I rode my motorcycle from Maryland to Florida for the BNI National Conference. On the way I stopped at Bike Week at Myrtle Beach. And on Memorial Day I participated for the eighth time in Rolling Thunder, riding the official BNI Bike—the BNI logo proudly displayed on my brand new Harley.

My team and I have been participating in various fundraising events, collecting funds, and promoting the Ride. You can also participate in this worthwhile event by joining other BNI members in:

• Donating through the Misner Foundation (specifying the BNI Ride);
• Joining us for a day ride;
• Joining us at one of the networking events that will take place along our route; or,
• Promoting this to other people you may think will be interested.

Please visit our official ride website www.bnibikersunite.com.

Submitted by Sam Schwarz
Executive Director, BNI Northern Virginia
National Director, BNI-Israel, BNI-Hungary, BNI-Romania, BNI-Bulgaria


New Promotional Video from BNI Canada

This short video, produced by BNI member Victor Vrsnik of SPIRE Public Relations, is a great tool to help promote BNI and your BNI Chapter.

Click here to view the video.




Mickey and Minnie Mouse Attend the BNI National Conference!

Starting on Thursday, May 15 through Saturday, May 17, 350 BNI directors gathered at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Florida. They enjoyed 2-and-a- half days of valuable training tools, networking and festivities. The event was hosted by BNI HQ, BNI Orlando and Jacksonville, and New Hampshire and Maine teams, too.

Special guests included Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Jim Blasingame, Bob Burg, and Fred Johnson.

Throughout the event guests were treated to a special performance by musician Fred Johnson. There were 15 break-out sessions full of great information and BNI HQ would like to thank all the presenters for taking the time to conduct excellent sessions.

Event highlights included:

• Mickey and Minnie
• New director orientation conducted by the "Above and Beyond" team
• All the directors
• Tracks listed on the agenda
• Operations/administration break-outs
• Office systems
• BNI Connect

Submitted by Amy Turley-Brown, BNI Director of Events and Operations



Jim Blasingame Interviews Misner, Dominguez, Macedonio and Three BNI Directors at BNI Conference

At the BNI National Director's Conference in Orlando, Florida, in May, Jim Blasingame conducted five live interviews that are now archived online and available for you to download and listen to at any time.

Simply click on the link below to access these great interviews:

Ivan Misner: Networking is a powerful tool and Dr. Misner tells Jim about the Achilles heel of networking and how to use this concept to better understand networking strengths.

Connie Hinton and John Meyer: Making connections is an important part of running a successful business. Connie and John talk about how to connect with people through networking and also discuss the current economy and how you can refuse to participate in a recession.

Hazel Walker: What's the difference between the way women and men network? Hazel goes over these differences as well as the strengths and weaknesses associated with both women's and men's networking styles.

Mike Macedonio: How do you create referrals for life? Mike gives Jim some expert tips on how to do this.

Norm Dominguez: The profile of a typical BNI member has changed a lot since the beginning of the organization. Jim talks with Norm about current BNI members and how the organization works for them.

To access and listen to any of these interviews now, please visit: http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-archives-categories/networking_18.html