Inaugural Catholic Business Person of the Year award to be given by Bishop John C. Wester at CBN banquet in June

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY -The Catholic Business Network (CBN) will honor one of their own during the inaugural Catholic Business Award Dinner.

"Catholics make a significant contribution to this community; however there has been limited recognition of other faiths in the community at large," said Craig Franco, CBN president. "One of the CBN goals is to give back to the community. This event is designed to begin a tradition where we honor an outstanding member of the Catholic community who not only excels in business relationships but also in their philanthropic commitment."

During the event, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, will present the Catholic Business Person of the Year award; he also will be the keynote speaker. All proceeds from the dinner will go to the Bishop's Youth Ministry and Catholic Schools Assistance Endowment.

"In addition to honoring the significant contributions of the Catholic community, we also hope to raise awareness of the Catholic Business Network, continue to build our relationship with the bishop and the diocese, strengthen the relationship between our membership and Church leadership, and to continue to build our reputation within the Catholic community," Franco said.

CBN was reorganized about a year ago and now has 70 members. The group hosts quarterly networking dinners.

"At a very high level, our purpose is to bring business members within the Catholic community together to further business initiatives within the Catholic community," said Jennifer Hurst, CBN's marketing officer. "It's bringing a bunch of business owners together to share their experiences, to network with other Catholic individuals, all under this umbrella of shared faith."

The awards dinner will be the organization's highlight event of the year, she said. "It'll be a great opportunity to see what the organization is about and meet some other members. Very few times do we have the opportunity to hear from the bishop in such an intimate setting."

The Catholic Business Award Dinner will be Friday, June 11 at Market Street Grill in Cottonwood. Social hour begins at 6 p.m.; dinner at 7 p.m. Seating is limited to 140 people. The cost for the event is $75 per person for CBN members and $125 for non-members. RSVP to Craig Franco at rarecoin@pacificrarities.com. More information is at www.thecatholicbusinessnetwork.org.