Article contributed by Mariska Mannes.
Recently I invited members of four of the chapters I am Director Consultant of, to a breakfast to beat the mid-winter blues. In total there were about 70 people in attendance which included members from chapters BNI Newton, BNI Epsom, BNI Achievers and BNI Central as well as visitors and subs.
foreground right – Neil Bailey – Epsom, Simon Sinclair – Newton, Kim Neville – Newton, Alan Buchanan – Achievers
Bringing the chapters together gave everybody a chance to take stock and collectively celebrate their successes in 2016. We’re fortunate to have dynamic groups, with members who are looking to grow their businesses and generate more referrals. This makes a huge difference to the energy levels in meetings and the networking that goes on outside of meetings.
right fore – Matt Minty – Newton, Anne Needham – Achievers, Leigh – Epsom, Catherine Murray – Achievers, Bob Mercer -Newton, Terry Munro – Epsom
The breakfast was also an ideal opportunity to do some networking between chapters and meet businesspeople from other areas of Auckland. There was a great feeling of camaraderie amongst members – it’s fantastic to know that you have so many people who are in a similar situation to you and are there to support you if you need it.
Of course it’s BNI…so we’re always looking to raise some money for Hospice – which we did ($217 through fines for sitting beside a member of your own chapter or failing to answer a few riddles). Every little bit helps and it always feels good to practise Giver’s Gain when BNI members get together.
John Smith – Albany (visitor), Tania Howard – Achievers, Tim Adams – Newton, Nick Fitness – Central, Norbert – Achievers, Andrew Muir – Achievers (at back – Tim Dove – Central, Finn Glengarry – Epsom, Angela FaheyAchievers
Declan Scott was the guest speaker and he spoke about resilience and how to bounce back. These lessons are hugely valuable to our members because, as we all know, there are always challenges in business to overcome and lows that you have to bounce back from. Declan is involved in the Resilience Institute in New Zealand as well as being the founder of The Spirited Business Network, which works to bring greater authenticity and awareness to business.
Declan Scott of the Resilience Institute and founder of The Spirited Business Network.
At one point Declan had everyone up doing the ‘Hindu Squat’” just to get the blood pumping to the brain” he told us. There were also some fun games played including BNI’s Biggest Sucker (how many maltesers could you suck up using a straw in 60 seconds). Check out the pictures! The biggest sucker was Warren Butler – BNI Epsom, with Norbert Meineke – BNI Achievers coming in second and Catherine Murray – BNI Achievers receiving a bronze medal.
Amber Simpson, Tim Dove, Norbert Meineke , Warren Butler, Angela Murray, Catherine Murray, Clyden Manikkam, Graham Oldnell – Epsom
At the breakfast members were recognised for living our ‘Givers Gain’ philosophy and received a medal. These were the members recognised at the breakfast:
from left Angela Murray, Angela Fahey, Carolyn Brooks, Judi Bond
Judi Bond – BNI Newton (15 years) Sam Walter – BNI Epsom (10 years) Andreia Alcantara – BNI Epsom Catherine Murray – BNI Achievers Tessa Galvin – BNI Central Jonathan Sweeney – BNI Achievers Angela Fahey – BNI Achievers Terry Munro – BNI Epsom Jon Vallance – BNI Central Scott Stokes – BNI Newton Finn Glengarry – BNI Epsom Stephen Signal – BNI Achievers Brent Smith – BNI Newton Nick Fitness – BNI Central Janet Johnson – BNI Epsom Nikki Vercoe – BNI Central – Matt Minty and Kevin Flanagan from BNI Newton.
Janet, Finn, Andriea, Terry (all BNI Epsom)
It was a great event and I want to thank all the members who helped to get things up and running and who made the breakfast such a hit. Members of these four chapters are proud of being part of building each other businesses and have a collective total of Thank You For Closed Business $948,313 . It’s great to see chapters getting together like this and I wholeheartedly recommend other groups throughout the country try to collaborate in this way if you can.
Mariska Mannes, BNI Director Consultant, Auckland Region
