Catholic Business Network continues to grow in Utah

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — In the three years since 12 people gathered to explore the reorganization of the Catholic Business Network in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, it has grown into an association of 90 members who meet regularly for networking luncheons and business dinners, and whose business directory is popular with parishioners.

Originally the organization focused on attracting executives and professionals, but during the past two years more service-oriented businesses have joined so that now the CBN business directory offers everything from landscaping services to attorneys, said Craig Franco, CBN president and a member of Saint John the Baptist Parish. "We’re getting a good cross-section of the Catholic community."

For the first year, the membership met quarterly at dinners that featured a networking hour, followed by an educational speaker. However, members expressed an interest in more opportunities for networking, so this spring monthly luncheons began to be organized, Franco said.

These luncheons "seem to be very popular not only with members but attracting interest to the group," he said. "They’ve been very successful. When we first started we had about eight (people attending,) now we’re averaging 22. We have found that the luncheons are a great opportunity to network and socialize. It’s a much more relaxed environment, and on top of that it’s becoming a very good recruiting tool to at least have people take a look at the organization and what we do."

The CBN directory – a listing of Catholic-owned businesses – has grown along with the organization.

"The community seems to really enjoy having a directory of services that are available through Catholic partners," Franco said, and business owners are receiving calls for their goods and services from their listings. "It seems to be accomplishing what we wanted it to do, and that was simply exposing the Catholic community to business owners of like faith."

While most Catholic organizations in the diocese are parish-based and provide parish-based services, CBN members "come from more than 12 parishes, representing a range of professions and businesses," said John Puhr, chairman of the CBN Board of Directors. "We can, therefore, provide broad support to one another as we work to increase business and employment opportunities within the Catholic community. That is our primary focus, and is especially important in these very difficult economic times. The Utah business environment can be difficult without a network. CBN works to develop that network, so our members can be more successful."

One way that CBN is continuing to develop is through its new Hispanic outreach effort.

"We want to let them know that it’s not a suit-and-tie organization," Franco said. "Everybody is welcome. We want to make sure that all of those goods and services that the Hispanic market has to offer, that they have entrée into the Catholic community through CBN – and that CBN has access to the great things that they can provide our members."

For information about CBN, visit www.thecatholicbusinessnetwork.org.