Catholic Business Network supports faith community

Intermountain Catholic

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Catholic Business Network (CBN) founders, Cathy Arndt (left), Kevin Quinn, and Gregg Eisenberg kick off the 2007 business year with a social so interested members can learn more about the network and become involved. IC photo by Christine Young

RIVERTON — Have you ever needed a plumber or wanted to take out a loan and did not know where to turn or start looking?

Now you can look in the Catholic Business Network (CBN) directory for a variety of businesses including, but not limited to: plumbers, maid and cleaning services, gifts and baskets, dentists and doctors, finishing contractors, remodeling and home repairs, landscapers, insurance, auto services of all types, real estate agents, loan officers, coffee houses, and a handyman.

CBN held a social gathering/meeting Jan. 31, at Countrywide Home Loans in Riverton, to incorporate new businesses into the network and to incorporate training to add some depth to their meetings.

The Catholic Business Network is a dedicated group of parish businesses united in supporting one another within our Catholic faith community. They share the common bonds of growth, faith, and love. They are committed to strengthening their businesses and personal relationships by working with one another while giving back to our community.

Gregg Eisenberg, a member of St. John the Baptist Parish, and a loan officer at Countrywide Home Loans, said in January 2005, Midge Moyer, Cathy Arndt, and Kim Young got a large group of parishioners from St. John the Baptist Parish, Draper, together to form a St. John the Baptist Parish Business Network to support the parish community. Two things became abundantly clear. There was a real desire to support local businesses owned by fellow Catholics, and for the network to gain momentum and to be true to this goal, more than one parish needed to participate.

Eisenberg said at the first meeting, there were about 150 people interested in getting involved. Their goal was to put together a directory of businesses of people from St. John the Baptist Parish, which others could turn to if they wanted to find, for example, a Catholic plumber. The problem was, in the end there were only about 20 paid members and the cost to initially print the directory was about $4,500.

"We wanted to do it right, in color, and nicely bound, so it was something that would not be easily discarded, and we only had about $2,500," said Eisenberg. "So people started to lose interest because we did not have a tangible directory they could use.

"Last November, it became clear for this to work, we really needed more members and more parishes involved because as it was, those interested were the same people who advertise on the back of the bulletin and our success would be limited," said Eisenberg. "We changed the name to Catholic Business Network, and Ben Smith, a University of Utah student and member of St. John the Baptist Parish, developed a logo. We wanted the logo so if people saw it in an advertisement, in a bulletin, or on a T-shirt®, they would automatically know what it was CBN.

The parishes now involved in CBN are St. John the Baptist Parish, Draper; St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Salt Lake City; Blessed Sacrament Parish, Sandy; St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Park City; St. Marguerite Parish, Tooele; St. Andrew Parish, Riverton; and St. Joseph the Worker Parish, West Jordan.

Eisenberg said they realized an on-line directory would be much more economical, easily updated, easily accessed, and not be outdated by the time it was printed. Smith is developing a website which will be up and running the of end of February. It will list the participating businesses and the type of services they offer.

"We realized in developing a website we could have a link on St. John the Baptist School website and St. John the Baptist Parish website," said Eisenberg. "All people will have to do is click on our logo if they are on these other two websites, and find the service they desire."

Eisenberg recently moved to Utah from California, and said as he talks to people who have also moved Utah from out of state, he is learning there is a real interest in supporting our faith community. The telephone book is cumbersome and you have to rely on people you do not know. The CBN directory provides services from people you know, or referrals from a friend for someone you can trust. This is also a way to meet new people, network, and support other Catholic businesses.

CBN holds monthly socials during their meetings, which seem to be more effective. The meetings will rotate between the businesses within the network. With social meetings, people enjoy the meetings, get to know new people, and offer business tips.

For more information call Gregg Eisenberg at (801) 243-2889. The CBN website is www.catholicbusinessnetwork.org.