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Business Network International members usually network weekly at Ryan's restaurant in Hunters Crossing, Alcoa.

They skipped their luncheon this Tuesday. Instead, the Blount Business Pros Chapter of BNI exchanged tableware for hand tools and went to work early in the morning for the Christina Reagan family.

They put the BNI motto into action — "givers gain."

"We wanted to give back to the community, so we gave up our meeting and decided to come out here and build a Habitat house," said Denise Evans, owner of LaNese' Salon & Spa.

Evans is president of the Blount Business Pros Chapter of BNI, a group that bills itself as the world's largest referral organization.

The chapter members spent Tuesday putting up a deck and doing other work at a home at Norwood Village off Morganton Road in Maryville. The subdivision is a partnership of Foothills Community Development Corporation (FCDC) and Blount County Habitat for Humanity. The goal: a new neighborhood of 35 affordable homes.

Habitat is rushing to meet a deadline. The homeowners need to be able to close by Nov. 30 to qualify for a $8,000 federal tax credit.

The idea to join the Habitat build came from chapter Vice President Sue Walls, owner of Independence Title. She figured her fellow BNI members would pitch in when they learned about the deadline.

"Everyone said 'yes' immediately. Everybody in this group helps everybody, whether it's a personal or business thing," Walls said. "We've got a lot done. I've been on three builds, and this is the biggest accomplishment I can see."

Members join BNI to better themselves professionally, but there's more to it than business as usual, according to Walls.

"It goes beyond that. I've only been a member six or seven months, and I would consider them all friends. I could call on any of them if I had a flat tire and they would come and help me."

The connection that develops between group members pays off, according to Evans.

"It's like having 25 to 40 business people promoting our business for us. We go out and promote each other. We gain trust and respect among each other. We know that they're going to take care of our clients."

Evans estimated referrals generated over $600,000 in 2008 for chapter members. According to BNI, there are more than 5,290 chapters over 40 countries generating over 5.6 million referrals resulting in more than $2.3 billion in business.