Week 1 · September 29 – October 3, 2025

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Education Moment Script (3–5 minutes)

Good morning, BNI Family! 🙌

We’re kicking off this term with something foundational: Updated BNI General Policies. These updated policies are not about policing—they’re about protecting your time, money, credibility, and the integrity of our Chapters globally.

Why we do this:

When every Member in every Chapter knows the same rules, we build trust, prevent confusion, and maintain consistency. That consistency lets referrals flow more freely, and it protects the value of every seat.

Key updates we covered at the Summit:

• We clarified the Visitor policy: Visitors may attend a Chapter meeting up to two times. After that, to continue attending, they need to apply for membership. (Visitors, guests, and substitutes are all visitors covered by this policy, so anyone NOT a Member of our Chapter.)
• An individual can only be a member of one BNI Chapter. A Member cannot be in any other program that allows only one person per profession and/or where referral generation is a goal of membership.
• Adjusted Renewal expectations: The updated policy language underscores that regular participation is vital to be considered for renewal. “Membership renewal is subject to approval by the Chapter Membership Committee.” This has always been the case, but now it is an official policy.

These are the changes that were emphasized at the Annual Summit, and I will share the link so you can watch the video.

What to do with this info:

• Take a minute this week to read through the updated policy document to see the changes.
• During our new Member Orientations, highlight these key updates so everyone in your Chapter “speaks the same policy language.”
• Always refer to policy when any confusion arises—this keeps decisions fair, consistent, and transparent.

These tweaks are intentional. They protect the system. They protect your seat. They protect referrals. Use them wisely.

Resources to read now:

• BNI General Policies
• BNI Tampa Annual Summit (policies segment reference)

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BNI Podcast Reinforcement (≈ 47 minutes total)

To reinforce what we covered (and get you part of the way toward your 1-hour CEU this week), here are some episodes:

• Ep. 459: Rules, Rules, Everywhere a Rule! (≈ 15 min)
• Ep. 533: There’s No Substitute for a Good Substitute (≈ 18 min)
• Ep. 756 – BNI’s International Board of Advisors (≈ 14 min)

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Copy/Paste Message for ECs to Share

Hi [Chapter Name] Family! 👋

This week’s Education Moment focused on Updated BNI General Policies—it’s how we protect the value of every seat, maintain consistency across Chapters, and keep referrals flowing.

To dig deeper (and start earning CEUs), here are some episodes you can listen to this week (≈ 40–50 minutes total). Listening to these will get you part of the way toward your one-hour CEU:

• Ep. 459: Rules, Rules, Everywhere a Rule! — https://www.bnipodcast.com/2016/06/01/episode-459-rules-rules-everywhere-rule/

• Ep. 533: There’s No Substitute for a Good Substitute — https://www.bnipodcast.com/2017/11/15/episode-533-theres-no-substitute-good-substitute-classic-podcast/

• Ep. 756: BNI’s International Board of Advisors — https://www.bnipodcast.com/2016/06/01/episode-459-rules-rules-everywhere-rule/

Let’s keep Step Up Stand Out and get at least 1 CEU this week! 🌱