President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

...From our very own, Miss Kitty, AKA, Kitty Rudometkin, our chapter placement specialist and a guest she infused to our chapter today...

Tommy Galan visits Champions BNI today...and had the following to say in the follow up phone interview.

"Kudos to you and your awesome Champions!!! I just got off the phone with Tommy and he had 3 words to describe his experience this morning - "supportive, efficient and uplifting!!!" He plans to return next week with the owner of the company to show him just what BNI is all about!!! VERY COOL!! Way to go.....Kitty"

And that is what I am talking about! Champions, you rock! One of the elements of our vision for this chapter a year ago was to make the visitor experience the best that the visitor had ever seen. Today, with the feedback above, we achieved that vision and much, much, more!

The image above depicts that our leadership terms are nearing an end. This isn't the end but you can see it from here.

Below is a video clip of my fondest memories of the first six months of our leadership term...October 2010-March 2011. I hope you enjoy strolling down memory lane as much as I enjoyed sharing the memories.



Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

"When you keynote, pick an item to give away that will cause your chapter members to always think of you" Jim Sando, Education Coordinator for the Champions. The tag to the left...if you scan it...will be something that causes all of you to think of me...which created a flurry of memories of the "year of the Champions" (almost) while I have served as your chapter President. What are the things that I remember when I think of each of you? Here they are by member:

Jim Salem, that friendly smile every week
Patrick O'Kane, what part of his body was to be injured next
Chuck Tipton, "hair on fire"...
Jim McCracken, amortization made simple
Kris Hansberger, "you can slip it"
Angelo Dionisiou, the next time I beat him to a meeting will be the first
Gary Lorge, the impromptu Frank Sinatra SMM...epic!
Bill Edman, Quack Quack
Randy Clement, the father and son SMM during bring you child to BNI week
Doug Luchansky, the "build your company keynote"
Greg Beck, (if only one)...gotta be the SMM where he became the "sheriff"
Rosanne Grigsby, wow! the fighter!
Chris Vasquez, his home purchase utilizing the best the Champions has to offer
Steven Stakley, four time ITA winner...and still seven weeks to go!
Jim Sando, EC moments to a whole new level
Brett Adolph, when will he win the ITA?
Carmina Perez, that beautiful smile (see Jim Salem)
Robert A. Perez, what happens at Champions stays on You Tube
Aric Gless, the scaled drawing of the venue for buffet planning purposes
Joe Davis, the pirate hat
Christina Pham, bringing a visitor while visiting
Dr. Real, three time ITA and mentor to several other ITA winners
Dr. Kwik, the SMM which included a "mock pregnancy"
Kathy Penton, the gardening hat
Steve Barnett, (see Chris Vasquez)
Bo Lowe, the ENERGY...every week!
James Kashi, "good morning, Chuck"
Mark Bill, "I'm not a computer guy"
Jody Houseman, the ITA winner using a simulated hammer on the roof (see Dr. Real)
Michael Figueroa, his impassioned recap of his employer
Donna Cahoon, quickest ITA winner on record

So there you have it. I will think of you all when these items are mentioned.

Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Wow! It is good to be back and assuming my role as your faithful president. Mrs. Buchanan rocked the house in Chicago with her talks on social media and networking but our minds wandered back to the Champions and Platinum Coast BNI...two stalwart chapters in the SoCal Region! Can I get a shout out from Mrs. Nering? How about those fine folks in Michigan...Bill and Sue? We had a blast today as the image to the left will attest. We pitched each other! As the old saying goes, "You scratch my back, I will scratch yours and we will both be better as a result!"...or something like that. Last week we drew a card from the box (step 1). We conducted 1-2-1s with that person (step 2). We learned how to deliver their intro (step 3). Today we delivered the goods...after baking in a well greased pan for 30 minutes at 350...woops, wrong show. Well I must admit the results were quite tasty. We may, however have muddled our visitors...I certainly hope not! Anyway, there were several visitors...four of whom took apps!

Karen Cormier-Southwards from Cormier Construction and Design is looking forward to being a part of our group...she said that!
Joseph Salazar, of Net Wiz really had alot of fun...and was great at his intro!
Joe Davis, Jr...playing a dual role, loves the camaraderie.
Les Davidson of All Drains Plumbing enjoyed the creativity!
Sheri Thomas, of MTM Phone Systems, loved the consistency...she has subbed before.
Victoria Wade, of Time Warner Cable, said the Champions felt like a family.
Ryan Mulvany, of Voice Smart, enjoyed the structure, energy (alot of that today) and in short believed we are a great group of business people!

Thanks visitors! We enjoy your comments and take the feedback VERY seriously. Onward!

Keynotage:

Patrick O'Kane and Michael Figueroa...two craftsmen, crafting their crafts left us with a deep desire to schedule one-to-ones and learn more about referring them. Michael brought in tile, granite, hardwood, and rug samples and asked that ALL of us visit his showroom!...maybe not ALL at once. Patrick explained the misleading ads on the radio about "no cost" refis! I have never heard a stand and deliver quite so filled with testimonials about these two! We are VERY happy that you both are Champions!

Hail to the Four Time ITA winner....Mr. Steven Stakley! Simply brilliant as he delivered Gary Lorge's Profitable Introduction...I know it was confusing to me as well! Steve came with a glue on goatee and a ducky candle in a jar. (Gary has a goatee AND protects homeowners against fire). I thought the ITA ruler made a political choice until I realized that Steven actually won...because he gave Gary's...oh well, you get the idea. Congrats to Steven who ALWAYS comes to play...even though his football team doesn't...sorry!:)

Gary Lorge, thanks sooo much for the fill in! You were this week's Champion Spark Plug winner! You did a GREAT job and we are all excited for your new role and the transition of your faithful President into your faithful Education Coordinator!

We are weeks away from a mega visitor day complete with a keynote by a former Champion...Jenni Nering...last heard from at the top of a ropes course in Yorba Linda...did I mention that we had several Champion ambassador/directors who completed the ropes course unscathed...a couple didn't but thems the breaks...fortunately no bones broke!

Well signing off now to go attend to my day job!

Please make it a Champion week, everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

That handsome man to your left is one of the original Champions...a charter member, The Sheriff, our vice president, my dear friend and one of our keynote speakers today! If you guessed Greg Beck...ding, ding! You are a winner. All of the Champions have a better understanding of entities, and the tax impact of sole proprietorships, C-Corps, S-Corps, and LLCs. Thanks for all you do for the Champions, Greg! We love ya dearly!

Our other keynote speaker today was another original charter member of the Champions, Dr. Hercules Real...the first winner of the Champion Spark Plug award, a former VP and also my dear friend and a MAJOR contributor to the ITA! The images were informative and the questions to ask to get you referrals were well received. Thanks for all that you do for Champions, Dr. Real!

Maiden Flight:

The Champion's next President, Gary Lorge, flew the plane today and with only minor turbulence during flight, Mr. Lorge proved why he was the choice...energy and presence...you cannot teach that! I believe that ALL of the Champions will benefit during Gary's term. Nice Job Gary! Next week the solo as your faithful President will be in Chicago.

The highlights:

ITA winner: Awarded by Bill Edman to Gary Lorge...several great performances here. One can only wonder if the choice was politically motivated...hmmm!

Champion Spark Plug: To Mr. Aric Gless for his efforts this week on the membership committee.

Visitation:

David Woods of Green Worx Solar...app submitted
Todd Hamo from Copy Editing...made a great connection with Jim Sando
Brad Goldston of Expo4Life...I noticed our newest member chatting him up

We LOVE our visitors as it is ALL about you!

Welcome Kris Hansberger!

The Champions are thrilled to welcome Kris Hansberger! We are so pleased that Kris chose to resume her illustrious BNI career with us. Kris will also serve as the Champion's Secretary Treasurer next term! See you Friday, Kris! Dr. Paul will mentor Kris.

Announcements:

July 26th will be a special day as we will tape for our "Evening" video and swap 1-2-1s and deliver each others SMMs...so who wins the ITA?...hmmm!

Make it a Champion week everybody! See y'all on the 26th,

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Oh where, oh where have our visitors gone? Oh where, oh where can they be? Oh well, maybe they are waiting for daylight savings time...oh wait, that occurred already. Spring break, maybe? Nope. C'mon Champions, let's fill the room with visitation like we used to! Remember that visitors buy and the more the merrier! We were blessed with the presence of two "jewels" today in the person of Richard Gartman and Julie McInroy of the Hidden Jewel chapter of SoCal BNI...our neighbors from Villa Park. Julie and Richard witnessed an epic International Tabasco competition...still no female winners, two wonderful keynotes, many, many testimonials, and a heck of a lot of one-to-ones, TYFCB, and referrals. I am predicting that the week may have set some records. Jim McCracken completed 13 1-2-1s last week...Go mello yellow! I almost forgot that the EC moment was one of the better ones of late. Once again, Mr. Sando used the "Sando players" to help act out his point! Don't sit too close to Jim or you may get drafted for his next casting call. So here was the flight of the Champions during this 12th day of April 2011:

Pre-board:

Visitor table set tight and right by 6:45
10 early birds...smiling, arrived by 7:15, and name tag prominently displayed
Gartman and McInroy arrived
Collette's had plenty of food, "hot" coffee and early availability

Take off:

Champions called promptly at 7:45

Climbing altitude:

EC moment included Kathy Penton, Bo Lowe (fresh from facilitating his first visitor day at Tustin BNI), and Jim McCracken who demonstrated the improper and proper ways to welcome visitors to our meetings...now we just need some!

International Tabasco Winner this week...Angelo Dionisiou awarded the pepper to...Jody Houseman. Jody used a hammer and some wood to demonstrate, "if you hear this in your neighborhood" ask your neighbors if they have a painter...exceptional! Jody, during stand and deliver, credited a 1-2-1 meeting he had last week with Dr. Real (a two time Tabasco winner) on the genesis of the SMM. It is a good thing that Dr. Real didn't recommend breaking some plates to appeal to Angelo's Greek heritage and their propensity to fracture dishware. Brett Adolph did give Angelo a referral in hopes of persuading Angelo to choose him. So the question remains...who will be our first female winner...Ela, Kathy, Christina, or Carmina?...stay tuned!

Cruising altitude:

Keynotes...Gary Lorge commented during Stand and Deliver that these two were the best he has experienced in some time. Give it up for Brett Adolph of Payday Payroll and Rutger Hensel of Branding Personalities. Both of these Champion vets outlined new stuff...Brett a new logo and Rutger two new packages of offerings. Rutger and Brett played upon each other and leveraged the technology. After the keynotes a recommendation was made to the chapter to schedule 1-2-1s with both and have each invite a good referring party to attend...a CPA in Brett's case (tax season is almost over Greg) and an IT or web designer in Rutger's case.

I was pleased to have been thanked for $3500 in TYFCB during stand and deliver. This came from a California to Germantown, Tennessee referral for a moving and storage company. The cool thing was that I attended their meeting on Wednesday last and gave a testimonial about the mover...a fellow president named Mike Rupper.

Richard Gartmen, enjoyed the dynamics of the Champions and Julie McInroy liked the organization. I cannot wait to see the TYFCB and referral totals from today...I believe they will set records!

Congrats to Patrick O'Kane for volunteering to organize our upcoming bowling outing on May 12th at Concourse in Anaheim...more to follow. Patrick took away the Champion Spark Plug award today for the Champion who went above and beyond last week!

We are starting our approach to land:

The Evening Among the Stars Part Deaux is October 7th

The Champions believe it is a good idea to participate in bring your child to a BNI meeting on April 26th...should be a blast!

Thoughts and prayers to Clay and Dawn Colwell! Come back soon, Clay. We miss you!

We are cleared to land:

At promptly 8:58, the meeting was closed with a quote.

Please make it a Champion week everybody! We know that you have many choices when you fly and we are happy that you chose the Champions!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Update

Wooooooo, Champions!!!

The meeting today was enthusiastic, fast paced and fun filled! We welcomed four visitors today; Maurice Herron from Stratus Building Solutions, Joseph Davis from the law firm of Joseph Davis, Paula E. Meyer from the law firm of Paula E. Meyer, and Marc Berg from the RSH Group. Additionally Desiree Stimson from DSYL visited from the Velocity Chapter and Ed Johnson from the Prosperity chapter subbed for Jody Houseman. The Champions SoCal BNI chapter was honored to have its Director, Lem Bucago and a former Champion and Executive Director of SoCal BNI, Jenni Nering in attendance. Thanks to Lem and Jenni for making the day a special one!

Jim Sando delivered a noteworthy Educational Moment on the importance of categories and the various categories within a category that may exist.

The spark plug award this week was awarded to Jenni Nering for her tireless efforts in the Evening Among the Stars Gala on October 1, 2010. Thanks for a memorable evening, Jenni!!

Lem Bucago and Jenni Nering were the week's key note speakers and delivered the Champion's category awards for the BNI year of 2009-2010. Leaders in Trainings, 1-2-1 Meetings, Referrals, Visitors, Attendance, and Longevity were awarded and are outlined below. Recognition was also given to the outgoing Leadership Team...Cathy Nanadiego, President, Emily Davidson, Vice President, and Chris Vasquez, Secretary/Treasurer...GREAT JOB!! Let's make 2010-2011 even better!!!

Trainings:

· Hercules – 7 · Jody – 7 · Aric – 8
· Allen – 13

· Bill – 13

1-2-1:

· Emily – 52 · Steve Barnett – 58 · Jim Sando – 62 · Jim Salem - 64 · Stakley – 71

· Rutger – 73 · Bill – 83 · Aric – 95 · Brett – 97 · Cathy – 99 · Greg – 106

· Allen – 262

Referrals:

· Emily – 51 · Bill – 52 · Stakley – 53 · Hercules – 55 · Bo – 56 · Cathy – 69

· Brett – 116

· Allen – 424

Visitors:

· Cathy – 10 · Rutger – 10 · Brett – 14

· Allen – 19

Attendance:

· Allen – 1 year (no subs)

· Greg – 2 years (no subs)

Longevity:

· Jim Sales – 3 years

· Cathy – 3 years

· Clay – 4 years

· Brett – 4 years

· James Kashi – 5 years

· Bo – 6 years

· Hercules – 6 years

· Steven Stakley – 6 years

· Greg – 6 years

TYFCB ($):

· Greg – 20,928 · Cathy – 21,260 · Stakley – 23,101 · Hercules – 23,991

· Allen – 87,357

Emily Davidson and Dr. Real presented the Stack Day Teams, Captains and Rules:

The Stack Day is scheduled for November 16th. We are asking for a minimum of 10 invitees from each member from any of these three categories:

Business Attorney

Hair Dresser

Merchant Services

We have split the chapter into teams and you will receive points based on the number of visitors invited, visitors attending, and visitors joining! The team with the most points will win a prize. Here is the list of Teams, with the captains listed first in Bold letters:

Red Team:Tom Roberts, Emily Davidson, Hercules Real, Aric Gless, Bill Edman, Jim Salem, Chris, Vasquez

Blue Team: Angelo Dionisiou, Steve Barnett, Jody Houseman, Rosanne Grigsby, Steven Stakley, Clay Colwell, Richard Lane

Yellow Team: Ela Corcoran, Robert Perez, Rutger Hensel, Brett Adolf, Jim Sando, James Kashi, Bo Lowe

Green Team: Paul Kwik, Greg Beck, Allen Buchanan, Gary Lorge, Chuck Tipton, Patrick O’Kane, Michael Figueroa

In order to receive points for inviting, names need to be submitted to your team captain, on the attached spreadsheet, by Friday, October 15^th at 5:00 p.m.

(Remember - More invitees equals more points so feel free to invite beyond 10 people!)

You may continue to invite visitors on your own after this deadline, and will receive points for the visitors that attend.

(Since we have no way of tracking visitors invited individually and/or through the BNI website, we cannot grant points for those invitations. Sorry L)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or any member of the GRC team!

The meeting was closed with a quote by Benjamin Franklin..."Well done is better than well said!"

Please make it a Champion's Week!!