One of Vermont’s oldest and most active business networking chapters has turned 15.
Crossroads BNI (crossroadsbni.com), a local chapter of the internationally-renowned organization Business Network International (over 310,000 members in over 11,100 chapters in over 77 countries), was founded in November 2008.
Today, the chapter has 15 members who collaborate to help one another’s businesses grow, actively seeking out new opportunities for one another. Rooted in accountability, over the past decade and a half, chapter members have helped one another get over $11 million in new business.
“Crossroads is made up of an incredible group of Vermont professionals!” said Vickie Wacek, Executive Director of BNI Vermont. “They are one the most active chapters in the state, and have been an amazing example of what it means for community businesses to support one another from day one. With nearly two decades of experience supporting Vermonters and their businesses, I can easily say that what this particular group has achieved has set the bar over the years in many categories. We’ve featured this team statewide on many occasions because they attract such a high caliber of Central Vermont businesses.”
“My family and I moved from Oregon to Vermont during Covid,” said Courtney Jarecki, owner of Yancey Red Social Media, “I was an active member of BNI in Oregon and I knew what I was looking for in a networking group. I visited every chapter in the state and landed at Crossroads. Over the past two years, my partnership with Crossroads has doubled my business and grown my business network.”
“What makes Crossroads a special organization,” said chapter President Michael Bancroft, of Cheeseman Insurance, “is that our members really care – they put in the effort to learn about one another’s businesses. This allows us to be active partners, to help one another market and grow. That caring is also reflected in our chapter’s outreach activity: Crossroads Cares. We purposefully give back to Centrla Vermont – in particular donating time and money to the local and statewide food shelves, and to Circle.”
Crossroads is celebrating its anniversary by inviting back all past members (over 165 local businesses have been involved in Crossroads over the years, and 773 have visited) to a special meeting on November 9 at 8:00 am, at the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce (33 Stewart Rd, Berlin). It is also making a special collection for Circle.
“Small business is the engine that drives Central Vermont’s economy,” Bancroft added. “And we like to think Crossroads is a bit like high octane fuel for that engine. We are proud to have helped so many businesses grow over the past 15 years.”