25th March 2008

 

A jolly good turnout for a post Bank Holiday weekend. It used to be the decision to abandon meetings after such weekends because of the poor attendance.

Apologies from Graham Hathaway, Tony Webb. Graham on holiday and very ably subbed by Alan Bailey, a leading Caterham surveyor and Tony on a diary clash.

Another interesting and unusual Education Slot from Sue Ambrose, via Liz Copeland, on stress control and management. Very ably delivered by Liz despite her admission that she was suffering from Bacon & Egg withdrawal symptoms

Network Leaders for the month – Nic Howard just behind Visitors followed closely by Graham Hathaway.

The Business Card box could do with a fill up – if it is not full to the brim transit is a problem and cards fall out.

60 seconds...
High standards of 60 second presentations with a momentum gathering movement towards verse. Liz awarded the Star Speaker Award to David Munday, however. No discernible pentamic meter, but the usual high standard.

Reports...
Clive’s MC report looked back over the last 6 months, particularly with regard to the “ Rate Your Chapter” survey. Clive recorded a score of 51 last October compared to 81 now. Questions have to be answered honestly, and clearly there were a few issues that needed addressing, and they have been. This Leadership term started with a quantum shift in BNI Central approach and we used to attend the pre term Leadership Forum armed with the Chapters Statistics, Referrals, Visitors, New Members and these would be recorded on a flip chart, Chapter by Chapter. At the mid-term forum these would be updated and so on.

As the Leadership Team, on behalf of the Chapter we embraced the concept of the 18 month Plan and that plan will be handed on the new team to develop and extend for their vision of the future of Caterham Chapter.

10 minutes...
This week the 10 minute speaker was Patrick Cunningham of Heritage Bathrooms & Tiling, and his passion for his business shone through. Having been self employed since 1978 and at one time been on the treadmill of employing 20 staff, Patrick saw the quality of life route as more beneficial to him and his family, and scaled down his operation to its present size.

From the examples he gave it’s clear that he believes in giving the customer what they want, particularly working to their budget.

There is no doubt that a referral given to Heritage will reflect well on the giver, as they are bound to be delighted with their finished bathroom.

A sad farewell...
It was during the referrals slot that John Gooden announced that he will not be renewing his membership, having been a member since October 2003. John has been a good member and will be sadly missed. It was good that he felt able to say goodbye to everyone in the meeting.

It was fitting that John won the wrapped Door Prize, on his last meeting.

Events...
John’s last announcement as Events Co-Coordinator was to tell of a B2B exhibition on June 5th at Coulsdon Manor Hotel – Meet Coulsdon Business. There is a website:
http://www.meetcoulsdonbusiness.co.uk/ with booking details on it.

I closed with another Ralph Waldo Emerson:

We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.

and finally...
And now it is my opportunity to say a few “thank yous”. It has been a privilege to be Chapter Director of the most pro-active Leadership team in Caterham living memory. They have all been magnificent and it has been a pleasure to work with them, but I must single out Clive Wilson who has been the engine room of the Team and the guiding light behind the scenes. Some tough decisions have been made and some tough calls actioned but all issues have been discussed, calmly, logically and without personal rancour or emotion. The important thing is that ALL of the Leadership were involved in the decision making.

So a big thank you to Liz, Laura, Ashley, Sue, Nic, Graham, Brian and John, and an especially large one to Clive

Join us for a drink...
There will be an “End of Term” alcoholic/possibly meal celebration at “The Skylark” on the South Croydon strip (34–36 South End, Croydon) on Thursday from 6pm – all are welcome so please join us. Click here for map: http://tinyurl.com/363hdl

Good Luck to Sue and her Leadership team.