Once again, we have had an incredible year in BNI.  I am pleased to say that we ended 2005 with approximately 4,100 Chapters in 26 countries.

I’d like to announce that effective January 1, 2006 I am promoting Norm Dominguez to Chief Executive Officer for BNI.  Norm has been with BNI for roughly 18 years. He has spent the last six years here at BNI Headquarters and I cannot think of a more capable person to move into this role.  My congratulations go to Norm for this promotion.  This is a transition that has been a long-time coming.  It will allow me, as the Founder & Chairman of BNI to devote more time to the role of spokesman for the company.  I will continue to work full-time at BNI Headquarters.  The majority of my time will be spent focusing on books, articles, media, and public relations activities that will continue to promote the brand and the service we provide world-wide.  

I truly look forward to what the next decade will bring for BNI and I look forward to continuing to work with you in my new role.

All the best.

IvanR. Misner

Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D.
Founder & Chairman
misner@bni.com
www.BNI.com

The spread of BNI into many new countries has given rise to the 2006 theme of "We All Speak The Language Of Referrals". This will feature in much of what we do during this year.

BNI now claims the following statistics.

 

Ivan Misner will be coming to Australia in 2006 and will be here from 3rd to 7th July.
 
Planning for this special event has already begun as it will also celebrate the 10th year of BNI in Australia.
As part of his national tour Dr Ivan Misner will be visiting Hobart on the 7th July.
It is planned to host a luncheon at which he will speak to BNI Tasmania members and guests.

Further information on this unique event wil be released over the coming months.
Watch for details of his visit and don't miss the opportunity to hear him speak !

New members are joining up in droves this month.
Kerry-Anne Ferguson from Integrated Training and Chris Rogers from Graeme Clark Finance have both joined the Derwent chapter.
Betty Davidson from the Cleaning Lady Agency has joined the Clarence chapter.
And we have 8 paid up core group members for the new BNI Tamar chapter in Launceston.
They are:
Kim Dodd,  Prospect Beauty 
Celine Egan, The Complete You Coaching Company
Zach McArthur, Investor Financial Planning  
Carol-Anne Morrison, Wizard Home Loans
Lauren Mullins,  Hi Ho Domestic Cleaning
Ann Murray, Premium Events Catering.
David Pretorius, Precons Corporation
Kate Walker,  Will Edwards Lawyers 

Please make them welcome and help them to get the most out of their BNI membership.

Kilpatrick Contracting is a special business in BNI Tasmania; a business that has recognised the value to be gained from a membership and has doubled that by participating in two chapters; Derwent and Clarence to maximise the exposure the business can achieve through BNI.

The owner of Kilpatrick Contracting, Chris Kilpatrick has consistently rated extremely highly for the amount of referrals he passes at BNI meetings.
Since joining BNI Derwent in mid 2005 Chris has given out a staggering 111 referrals and received 48.
He will be the first one to tell you that "BNI is great for my business !"
Chris has continually expanded "KCON" as the business has become known, and has recently purchased Banana Bin Hire and plans to become the Tasmanian distributor for Comprador Pacific drywall building materials.

Chris is also a Visitor Host at the Derwent chapter.
Mark Wilson is KCON's representative at the Clarence chapter and is on the membership committee.

You can read all about KCON at www.kcon.com.au

2006 National Directors Conference in Cairns is to be held from 1-4 February 2006. BNI Tasmania Executive Director Dan Garlick will attend and report back to members on his return.

Previously new members who have attended stated they had benefited enormously from the session and members of their respective chapters will certainly notice a difference in their presentations.
Don't forget, if you haven't booked in for a member success programme training session you must do so within 60 days of joining BNI. You can do this via the BNI website.
Just login, go to events, select Member Success Programme Training and book in !

The next sessions will be held on Tuesday 14th and Thursday 23rd February at 61 Molle Street, Hobart at 6pm.

Start the 2006 BNI year with a training session to maximise your membership. If you haven't attended training for at least two years it's well worth it so book early to avoid disappointment.

At the International conference last November, I observed there were eight (8) cricket playing nations that are BNI member countries.
As you may know by now, the 9th Cricket World Cup Series will be played in the Caribbean and hosted across eight countries. The opening ceremony will be held in Jamaica on 11th March 2007 and the tournament ends with the final match in Barbados on 28th April 2007 with 16 teams vying for the title.
The countries chosen to host CWC matches are: Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia & Antigua with warm up matches in St.Vincent.
Organizers of the CWC believe over 100,000 visitors will be arriving in the region for the 51 matches which will be played over 48 days.
I believe this is an excellent opportunity for BNI cricket lovers to be a part of this Caribbean World Cricket Series of matches. Other aspects of the tournament will showcase the rich and diverse cultures of the Caribbean, which will help to make the CWCA a very successful event.
It is my goal to have BNI chapters in some of those host countries by 2007, therefore, giving members a good tax right off if they attend a BNI meeting.
I will appreciate you forwarding this information to your members so I can begin the planning before next conference in 2006.
Thank you very much.
Curtis K. Belgrave
ND-BNI Barbados & Caribbean