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We each have so much to be grateful for. While the pandemic and its effects may have caused great upheaval, we still have many blessings that we should celebrate.

For the last few months, I have been jotting down in my journal three things that I am grateful for each day. My goal is to not repeat things, and that simple decision forces me to consider all sorts of things outside of my usual view.

For instance, today I am grateful for the roof over my head so I don’t get rained on, as well as an enclosed back porch. From that back porch, where I recently moved my “office,” I can watch the rain and truly fascinating aspects of backyard life as fall moves toward winter (trees losing their leaves, squirrels gathering and digging holes for winter food) that I never paid much attention to. The blue jay that flits by a few times almost daily also makes me grateful.

What are you grateful for? I challenge you to move past the easy ones (family, a job, etc.) to something unique that you might not otherwise see.

With a day set aside for giving thanks, I used to think of it as one and done. Thanks, Thanksgiving. Check.

What about all the other days? Research shows that people who are grateful daily are less sick, more productive and more successful. Big surprise. Becoming too excited or depressed is harder when we take time to celebrate what we have.

If the pandemic has made you more blue or worried, then jotting down what you are grateful for could be the best medicine.

Post the unique things you are grateful for on the CBNB Facebook page so we all can discover those little things that some of us might otherwise overlook. 

Remaining 2020 Meetings

While our monthly Friday meetings have ended, we still have two Networking Happy Hours and the Advent Mass. The online Advent Prayer Breakfast is Dec. 4 with Father Roth delivering an online Advent Mass for us with a livestream from the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. The mass will begin at 8 AM, and be followed by a “BYO” coffee and conversation.

The first Networking Happy Hour is today, Thursday, Nov. 19, from 4-5 PM and the last one of the year is Thursday, Dec. 10, at 4 PM. Please join us for some great one-on-one networking, where we give you questions to answer that move past the name and company to actually sharing meaningful information

Helping Each Other 

The more we support each other, the stronger we become as individuals and as a group.

Please, please, please, use our membership directory to find vendors. We have a great roster of businesses that share the same values. We can support each other as we grow.

If you are looking for goods and services, start in our membership directory.

We all win when we buy from within. (Hey, I think I have a new slogan.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bob Graham
FY 2020-21 President
Catholic Business Network of Baltimore

Businesses and nonprofits, including our members and sponsors, continue to feel the powerful effects of the pandemic.

As you are considering your routine purchases or shopping for Thanksgiving, Christmas, employees, family and friends, please first consider supporting our members and sponsors. 

Your financial support – or making referrals to other CBNB members – can literally make the difference between survival and failure for so many small businesses battling to do the same or more with less money, staff, less certainty.  

The CBNB Membership Directory offers you a plethora of businesses that would welcome your interest and support. After logging into the website, visit the directory and support these members and sponsors’ businesses. 

By supporting our members and sponsors, we show our support for them and their important role as both members of the community and messengers of our faith.

Check Out Our Membership Directory

Online CBNB Meetings to Continue

First, the board, after much discussion, voted to make all CBNB events online through March 2021. Out of an abundance of caution and concern, we made this difficult decision. We also recognize that if the situation warrants, a change could be made.

In conjunction with that decision, the board voted to delay celebrating our 10th anniversary, which is this year, until such time as we can celebrate the milestone together. Again, a difficult decision, but one that seemed most logical after two prior attempts to celebrate were curtained because of the pandemic.

Mark Your Calendars in November and December

Although we have no monthly meetings in November and December, we do have several events to attend. Emails with registration information will forthcoming.

1. The Advent Mass/Prayer Breakfast will be held virtually on Friday, Dec. 4. Join Father Roth and our CBNB family as we celebrate the Advent season.

2. Our Monthly Virtual Networking meetings, where our members gather and get to know each other virtually, will continue every third Thursday of the month from 4-5 PM. Mark your calendars for Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. These meetings provide a great opportunity to learn more about the other members of the group and any guests. 

If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to become more involved with CBNB, please reach out to me at president@cbnbaltimore.org. I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event. 

Best, 

Bob Graham
FY 2020-2021 President

Succeeding in business and remaining true to our personal faith and ethics can be challenging, especially in tougher times.

Father Tim Brown, Business Ethics Professor at Loyola University, will be exploring how we keep ethics in our business endeavors at our monthly meeting on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7:30 a.m. 

We will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Zoom with breakout sessions so people can network. The formal meeting will begin at 8 a.m., and after Father Brown speaks members will have more opportunities to network. Invite a guest for just $10. Click here to register. 

Reminder: All remaining meetings in 2020 are virtual only.

Even More Networking Opportunities

If you want more even networking, then please join us today, Thursday, Sept. 17, at 4 p.m. for an hour where you will meet and get to know other CBNB members and their guests in interesting and actionable ways. Last month we did speed networking that had participants meeting a new person every four minutes. We will do it again this month. Click here to register and come check it out!

Helping CBNB Grow Stronger

We are trying to build up the committees that run the CBNB so more of our members contribute a small amount of time and effort to help the overall operation. We have committees that focus on Events/Meetings, ERG Groups, Membership/Sponsorship and Marketing. Every one of these committees is led by great members who deserve to share the load with others who also benefit from the results.

That’s where you come in. We need you – and you will benefit as well.

The benefits of getting involved include:

• Using your gifts to help others
• Expanding your resume of skills and experience
• Helping the group grow
• Influencing the future of the committee and organization
• Really getting to know the other members who lead the group

Contact me at president@cbnbaltimore.org so we can figure out what fits you and your business interests best.

Best, 

Bob Graham
FY 2020-2021 President

• Hope can sometimes seem fleeting in these uncertain and complicated times.

  Our speaker at this month’s virtual meeting is going to discuss how hope fuels him and his mission to feed people who might otherwise go hungry.

  Virtual Monthly Meeting Aug. 28

  Chef Steven Allbright found his calling cooking in his prison cell.  Today, his passion for cooking is touching the lives of tens of thousands of our most vulnerable neighbors in Baltimore each week with healthy food – and hope – through his work at the Franciscan Center.  Chef Steve’s amazing story is testament to what can be accomplished through faith, prayer and a grateful heart – and you won’t want to miss it!

  Join us to hear him speak about "Following the Light", as well as breakout sessions to network and more, on Friday, August 28, from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Guests pay just $10.

  Please note: Chef Steve will be presenting prior to our breakout sessions to return to the Franciscan Center kitchen to prepare lunch. 

  Thank you to our Monthly Meeting Sponsor, Partner's In Excellence Scholarship Program! 

  Network Virtually with Us

  If you haven’t tried our virtual networking happy hours, then please join us Thursday, Aug. 20, from 4-5 PM.  Participants discuss conversation-starting questions about their businesses in small groups as we take networking to a whole new – and effective – level. Don’t miss it!

  Did You Know?

• The Catholic Business Network offers a membership directory on the organization’s website. Log into your account and look for it across the top navigation. Use this directory of members to follow up with members you meet at our virtual events, or to find possible vendors or partners for projects you have in the works.
• The Catholic Business Network of Baltimore has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CBNBaltimore/ and a LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbn-baltimore/. 
• You can use our Member Opportunity page to submit job openings, announcements, opportunities, or other relative information that members may find useful. 
• You can update the way CBNB reaches you! Has your primary email changed? New company? Whatever it may be, simply login to your account using the email address recently associated with your account, click your name in the top right corner and you will be taken to your profile information. Here you can edit any outdated information. Please note: if you save a new email address that address will become your new login email and your old one is no longer active in our system. 
• Mark your calendar now for Friday, Dec. 4, for our first virtual Advent Prayer Breakfast. Details forthcoming.

Best, 

Bob Graham
FY 2020-2021 President
president@cbnbaltimore.org

I am honored to lead the Catholic Business Network of Baltimore, an organization comprised of the people I consider the real who’s who of the Baltimore business community. You set the standard with your commitment to your business, your faith and your support of the community.

Building on the fine work of prior presidents like Meg Ducey, I look forward to guiding the organization forward.

I want to formally thank Meg for her dedication and service as president. Meg’s shoes are big ones to fill. Thank you, Meg, for all you have done for CBNB and for me.

Coming Up

A couple of plugs for upcoming meetings

Thursday, July 16, 4 PM, CBNB Virtual Happy Hour. Join Members and Guests this evening for a Virtual Networking Happy Hour! 

Friday, July 24, 7:30-9:30 AM, CBNB Monthly Meeting. This month’s topic is Business Resilience, and Angie Barnett, president/CEO of the Better Business Bureau, is going to share with us how we can be more resilient.

Please visit our website to register. Remember, guests pay $10 to attend each event. That fee is a small price to pay for the insights, inspiration and connections guests are sure to make at each event.

Looking Ahead

The pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives, including our CBNB meetings. I wish we could meet each month in person, but I feel confident that our Zoom meetings – including our new networking meetings – are a good substitute.

In deference to the ongoing risks, all CBNB meetings for the remainder of the year will be virtual only. No in-person meetings will occur until at least January 2021. We apologize, but this difficult decision ensures that we protect the safety of everyone in our group.

As people retool and reimagine their businesses to address the many changes, we can support each other with our wisdom, insights and faith, all of which are in great, great need. If you agree, then now is the time to invite guests to a meeting. Guests provide us all with new networking and business opportunities. Invite someone you know because you want to share something great with them. They will thank you.

Also, the CBNB needs you. We need more members to contribute to the operation of this growing group. Many hands make a light load. One thing I can say with great certainty is that this board is doing a lot of heavy lifting. We need more hands. (I promise that if you contact me, we will find a way to use your gifts and skills that benefits both you and the CBNB.)

Finally, if we haven’t met, I hope we can meet soon – by email, by phone or by Zoom, at least in the short term. I also hope you will share with me any thoughts, ideas, insights or whatever else might help this organization in this next year. You can reach me at president@cbnbaltimore.org. 

Best, 

Bob Graham
FY 2020-2021 President