Bright and early (7am!) Friday morning, October 26th, more than 50 business men and women gathered in the Parish Activities Center for breakfast, networking, and presentations on balancing life, faith and career. Those in attendance included many St. Francis parishioners as well as business people from other Catholic and Protestant churches. One man even came all the way from Cincinnati! The areas of employment of those who attended were equally diverse, including financial planners, real estate agents, attorneys, small and large business owners, University of Michigan employees, those in sales and those seeking employment opportunities. Presenters Lori Buiteweg, Principal with Nichols, Sacks, Slank, Sendelbach & Buiteweg, PC, and Rick Haller, President & Chief Operating Officer for Walbridge Aldinger, spoke on how their values were formed and how they strive to live these values daily.

Lori and Rick also shared tips they use for life balance to ensure that they truly spend their time on what they value.

Fr. Jim McDougall was the moderator for the event and spoke on the four keys for living a balanced spiritual life:

1. Build a strong personal morality and virtue (i.e. honesty)
2. Build a strong social morality (i.e. care for others and work for the common good)
3. Belong to and participate in a faith community (it supports us and keeps us honest)
4. Laugh (lighten up – it’s in God’s hands)

The Business Breakfast Forum was sponsored by the Catholic Business Leaders Connection, a group of senior business leaders who meet on the second Saturday of each month at St. Francis to explore practical leadership approaches to applying their Catholic faith in the business world.
 

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