Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, January 2014)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. The streak of five straight months of membership growth ended in December and a new streak began last month!  The total membership increased by 3% in the first month of the new year.  This reflects the new excitement and energy brought to membership recruitment and retention under the leadership of National BDPA president Dr. Craig Brown and National BDPA VP-Membership Management Adrienne Thomas.

We want to congratulate BDPA Chicago chapter for maintaining its dominance when it comes to membership size.  The chapter has been holding the #1 spot for over a decade ... although I understand that there are a few chapters making moves to challenge them in 2014. BDPA Chicago chapter president Reggie Rush will have to stay on his toes this year!

Reggie Rush

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Dalric Webb 
6. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (up 2 spots from last month)
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (down 1 spot)
8. Dallas - president, Chad White(down 1 spot)
9. New York - president, Tyronne McKinney
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Related articles

• Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, December 2013)

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, December 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. The streak of five straight months of membership growth ended in December.  The total membership totals only dropped by two people ... but, it means that we need to enter into the new calendar year with renewed emphasis on recruiting and retaining members!  National BDPA president Dr. Craig Brown nominated Adrienne Thomas (BDPA Baton Rouge) to serve as the incoming national VP-Membership Management.  The full board is scheduled to vote on her confirmation at the 1st quarter board of directors meeting on January 24-25 in Orlando FL.

We want to congratulate BDPA Chicago chapter for maintaining its dominance when it comes to membership size.  The chapter remained in the #1 spot throughout the two years of leadership under its president, Pamela Sexton.   The chapter earned national recognition with the presentation of the 2013 Chapter Membership Management Award announced during the national conference by BDPA founder Earl Pace!

Pam Sexton accepts award from Earl Pace

The 'secret sauce' for the success of BDPA Chicago chapter can be found in its consistent delivery of tangible programs and services.  The chapter delivers a powerful value-proposition for IT professionals, students and sponsors.  If other chapters want to ever leap-frog Chicago into that top spot ... they will need to come up with consistently powerful programs and services in 2014.

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte 
6. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson 
7. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart 
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Related articles

• Message from National BDPA President
• Message from BDPA Atlanta Chapter President
• Message from Cincinnati Chapter President

This Week in BDPA (December 15-21, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Dec 17: BDPA Cleveland - Program Meeting, 'Cyber Security: Threats, Solutions and Opportunities'
• Dec 18: BDPA Cincinnati - Program Meeting, 'What Really is Cloud Computing?'
• Dec 18: BDPA New Jersey - Webinar, 'Build Automated Solutions Without Writing Code!' 
• Dec 19: BDPA St. Louis - Networking, 'Holiday Happy Hour' 
• Dec 19: National BDPA - Webinar, 'Career Triage'
• Dec 19: BDPA Washington DC - Networking, 'Annual Holiday Mixer & Member Appreciation'
• Dec 20: BDPA Washington DC - Fundraiser, 'Annual Student Alumni Pancake Dinner'
  
• Dec 21: BDPA Chicago - Workshops, 'Student Empowerment Retreat'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, November 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 5th straight month under the leadership of National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown over 43% from this same time last year! In fact, BDPA membership in November 2013 is higher than any month since February 2010!

We also want to congratulate the BDPA St. Louis chapter for advancing four places to become the 11th largest chapter in the nation over the past month.  Chapter president Dwana Franklin-Davis and her leadership team managed to increase membership in their chapter by over 14% in the month of November.  Much of this increase was due to corporate memberships purchased by Monsanto.

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte 
6. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (up 1 spot)
7. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart (down 1 spot)
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2012)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

This Week in BDPA (November 10-16, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 10: BDPA Chicago - Workshop, 'Virtualization, Linux, Security and Cisco'
• Nov 12: BDPA Education and Technology Foundation - Webinar, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
• Nov 13: BDPA New Jersey - Webinar, 'How Cloud Computing Can Cut Your IT Costs by Half'
• Nov 14: BDPA Dallas - Program Meeting, 'Text Marketing is Taking Technology to the Next Level'
• Nov 14: BDPA Atlanta - Fundraiser, 'Awards & Recognition Banquet'
• Nov 15: BDPA Dallas - Workshop, '3D Printing & Robots'
• Nov 15-16: National BDPA - Meeting, '4Q-2013 National Board of Directors'
• Nov 16: BDPA Dallas - Workshop, '3D Printing & Robots'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, October 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 4th straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown almost 35% from this same time last year!  In fact, BDPA membership in October 2013 is higher than any month since March 2010! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Detroit chapter for advancing five places to become the 10th largest chapter in the nation over the past month.  Chapter president Beverly Moore and her leadership team managed to increase membership in their chapter by over 36% in the month of October.  It is great to see positive news coming out of Detroit!

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter (up 1 spot)
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden (down 1 spots)
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte 
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore (up 5 spots)

We lost BDPA Middle Tennessee from the Top 10 for the first time in many moons.

We continue to have four chapters in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Sep 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2012)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Oct 2011)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Aug 2010) 
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Oct 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

This Week in BDPA (October 13-19, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 46 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Oct 13: Technology Expresso Cafe' - Podcast, 'A Conversation with BDPA's Dr. Craig Brown'
• Oct 13: BDPA Chicago - Workshop, 'Learn More About Virtualization, Linux, Security and Cisco'
• Oct 15: BDPA Cleveland - Program Meeting, 'Printed Circuit Technology in a Changed World'
• Oct 16: BDPA Cincinnati - Program Meeting, 'IT Certifications vs. Experience vs. Degrees'
• Oct 16: BDPA Atlanta - Program Meeting, 'The Turning Points: 16 Lessons to Propel Your Career to the Next Level'
• Oct 16: BDPA New Jersey - Webinar, 'How to Stop Wasting Your Precious Time and Get More Done ... Now!'
• Oct 17: BDPA New Jersey - Program Meeting, 'Change Your Career Trajectory'
• Oct 17: BDPA Washington DC - Networking, 'Sneak Preview of Surface Pro 2'
• Oct 17: National BDPA - Webinar, 'Resume Rescue: Getting Your Tools Together'
• Oct 17: National BDPA - Conference Call, '2014-2019 Strategy & Planning Session'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, September 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 3rd straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown almost 27% from this same time last year! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

Carl Hill

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Triangle chapter for advancing seven places to become the 14th largest chapter in the nation over the past month.  Chapter president Carl Hill and his leadership managed to increase membership in their chapter by over 68% in the month of September.  I wonder what is the 'secret sauce' in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina?

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte (up 2 spots)
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (down 2 spots)
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (up 1 spot)
9. New York - president, Renetta English (down 1 spot)
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation the past three months in a row. BDPA Cincinnati (up 3 spots) made the largest move in the top ten ... the chapter gained 40% more members in the month of September and 70% increase in membership over the past 12 months. move towards the top.

There is a new chapter in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that BDPA Atlanta chapter joined joined Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC as a fourth member of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2012)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Oct 2011)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Aug 2010) 
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Sep 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, August 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. As such it is good to note that BDPA membership has grown for the 2nd straight month. In fact, the total membership in BDPA has grown over 9% from this same time last year! Congratulations to National BDPA VP-Membership Management Curtis Jenkins for the work being done within his business area to move membership recruitment and retention in the right direction.

We also want to congratulate the BDPA Chicago chapter for winning the 'Chapter Membership Award' at the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference last month in Washington DC. Chapter president Pamela Sexton accepts the 'Chapter Membership Award' from BDPA founder Earl Pace as shown in the photo to the right.

Pam Sexton & Earl Pace

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New York - president, Renetta English
9. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation the past two months in a row. BDPA New York (up 1 spot) made a move towards the top. BDPA New Jersey (down 1 spot) is the only chapter to lose traction in this month's membership ranking.

There is a new chapter in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of hosting an annual conference are obvious when we see that BDPA Washington DC chapter joined Chicago and Philadelphia as a third member of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective:
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2013)
Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, July 2013)

Can you smell the excitement in the air when it comes to BDPA? We are only a couple of weeks away from the 35th annual BDPA Technology Conference and you can see the increased buzz at chapter meetings and throughout the various social media platforms. You can tell by the increased number of people that are joining or renewing their membership in BDPA that momentum is strong!

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

Corporate America recognizes as much. In recent weeks we've had financial commitment from the Environmental Protection Agency, Life Technologies and Wal-Mart to underwrite the annual dues for over 180 college student members. That is a wonderful testament to the powerful college student programs that BDPA deploys on a local, regional and national level.

The membership totals for July 2013 have been released. It is time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
4. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation last month. The only change from last month is with BDPA Washington DC (up 1 spot) who made their move on BDPA Atlanta chapter (down 1 spot). The move by BDPA Washington DC is even more remarkable ... the chapter grew by over 40% in a single month.

The top two chapters - Chicago and Philadelphia - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (July 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, Jun 2013)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

If you accept that truth then it is worth the time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
3. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
4. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
5. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
6. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
7. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
9. New York - president, Renetta English
10. Middle Nashville - president, Kendall Norris

These are the same ten chapters who led the nation last month. BDPA Washington DC (up 1 spot) and BDPA Los Angeles (up 3 spots) made a move towards the top. BDPA New Jersey (down 4 spots) lost 20 members last month, however, those numbers are likely to improve as the energy from their 10th annual Families in Technology Day take hold.

The top two chapters - Chicago and Philadelphia - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Jun 2010)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

This Week in BDPA (Jun 9-15, 2013)

BDPA offers strong programs in 45 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Jun 9: BDPA Chicago - Workshop, 'Learn More About Virtualization, Linux, Security and Cisco'
• Jun 11: BDPA Foundation - Webinar, 'BDPA iRadio Show' 
• Jun 12: BDPA New Jersey - Webinar, 'Analytics Powered by MicroStrategy'
• Jun 15: BDPA Washington DC - Regional Technology Summit, HSCC and IT Showcase, 'Career Opportunities & Disruptive Technologies'
• Jun 15: BDPA Chicago - Computer Camp, 'High School Computer Competition Team Training'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA Foundation Twitter Account
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events.

BDPA New Jersey Hosts 10th Annual Families in Technology Day

The New Jersey chapter of the largest organization of African Americans in STEM industries, BDPA, is hosting its 10th Annual Families in Technology Day on June 8, 2013. This all-day event will encourage students and their parents to explore the tech arena, and learn the ins and outs from many of the industries’ finest teachers. Held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the event will include workshops, instruction and an inspiring message from keynote speaker, Dr. Randal Pinkett.

Goldie Bonney

BDPA New Jersey president Goldie Bonney is excited about the 10-year mark of this event. “We’re proud to reach another milestone in technology for our organization. With the way STEM is constantly changing, it’s important for us to make sure the community, especially the students, are equipped and empowered with the tools to stay in demand,” explains Bonney. “Through the support of our sponsors JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, and Prudential, we’re anticipating hundreds to attend this year.”

Students have been notoriously intimidated by curriculum associated with going into the technology industry, yet the career opportunities are rapidly growing, with demand at an all-time high for STEM educators and industry professionals.

Laptops will be raffled to students between grades four and twelve who register and submit the required one-paragraph personal statement of their potential personal benefits from receiving computers via the chapter’s Eventbrite site.

The keynote speaker, Pinkett, says he embraces the opportunity to inspire young people, and help them become less intimidated by coursework and opportunities in technology. As the co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of BCT Partners, Pinkett knows about entrepreneurship and opportunity for growth in technology, and insists on giving back.

The venue is the New Jersey Institute of Technology, located at 323 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Newark, N.J., 07103, and the event’s low-cost admission is five dollars.

Wordless Wednesday: High School Computer Competition Team (BDPA New Jersey, 2011)

Coram Rimes Steps Down as BDPA Regional Director

I've always referred to Coram Rimes as one of the hardest working members in BDPA. It saddened me to know that he was stepping down as the BDPA Northeast Region director. Coram built a remarkable legacy in BDPA over the course of the past 18 years. He has been a member of the BDPA New Jersey chapter for most of its existence ... serving in a variety of chapter leadership roles including two terms (2003-2004 and 2008-2011) as its president. Coram received the highest award that BDPA gives out to individuals -- the Epsilon Award -- in 2007 for his outstanding community service. He was elected as the first-ever regional director in the nation's history in 2011.

Coram personally supported me in both BDPA and the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF). I've been a keynote speaker at his invitation for a chapter banquet as well as a guest speaker at one of his chapter's program meetings. Coram has been making regular donations in support of BDPA programs, scholarships and services over the years. In fact, he leveraged his own personal donations with a 100% matching gift through an employee-giving program offered by his employer, Prudential.

Coram is one of the few BDPAers in history to be elected to public political office ... serving as both a city councilman and housing authority commissioner for his community. In addition to his IT career with Prudential, Coram uses his entrepreneurial skills every year for a growing tax service business.

Coram's active leadership will be missed by BDPA on a local, regional and national level. But, our loss is somewhat tempered by the fact that he is a lifetime member of the organization that he loves.

I am sure that the entire BDPA nation wishes him the best in his retirement from the regional post and in his new adventures. We hope he will still find time to visit BDPA at local chapter events and the occasional national conference over the coming years!

Sincerely,
R. Wayne Hicks, executive director
BDPA Education and Technology Foundation

This Week in BDPA (Nov 25 - Dec 1)

BDPA offers strong programs in 45 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 27: BETF - Communications, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
• Nov 29: New Jersey - Fundraising, 'Annual Awards and Scholarship Banquet'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group.

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events

BDPA iRadio Show: November 13, 2012

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. The show on November 13th was the 38th episode of our Internet Radio Show. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog. FREE download from the iTunes Store is also available for our listeners!

Listen to internet radio with BDPA on Blog Talk Radio

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The guests on the November 13th show:  

John Saunders III - Chief Program Officer, Institute for Responsible Citizenship - The Institute for Responsible Citizenship prepares high-achieving African American men for successful careers in business, law, government, public service, education, journalism, the sciences, medicine, ministry, and the arts. John T. Saunders, III (I ’05) is Chief Program Officer. He is a native of Lynn, Massachusetts and attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he participated in the distinguished Commonwealth College honors program and earned Phi Beta Kappa honors. After graduating from UMass in 2006, Saunders enrolled in a Master’s degree program at the Robert H. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University and graduated in 2008. Immediately following his graduation from NYU, he moved to Washington to begin his work with the Institute. Saunders was a member of the Institute’s second class, attending the 2004 and 2005 sessions. We look forward to hearing his story on the BDPA iRadio Show. His twitter handle is @ir4c  

Goldie Bonney - Chapter President, BDPA New Jersey - BDPA New Jersey is the 4th-largest chapter in the nation. Under the leadership of its president, Goldie Bonney, we have watched the chapter become a national powerhouse with powerful programs for young people and IT professionals. One of the unique programs hosted by BDPA New Jersey is its annual ‘Families in Technology Day’ complete with workshops, booths, games and a give-away of hundreds of laptop computers. Goldie wants to share plans for her chapters upcoming banquet as well as its 2013 HSCC program. We look forward to hearing her story on the BDPA iRadio Show. Her twitter handle is @afrikan_qween

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We hope you enjoy the insights and commentary on the show from each of these guests. Please take a moment to post a comment to let us know that you care!

This Week in BDPA (Nov 11-17)

BDPA offers strong programs in 45 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 12: Middle Tennessee - Workshop, 'PMP Boot Camp'
• Nov 13: BETF - Communications, 'BDPA iRadio Show'
• Nov 14: Philadelphia - Networking, 'Worldwide Wine Tasting'
• Nov 14: New Jersey - Webinar, 'Career Search Best Practices'
• Nov 15: Detroit - Program Meeting, 'Entrepreneurs: Are We Being Left Out of the Detroit Rebirth?'
• Nov 15: Dallas - Webinar, 'Internet Marketing: How to be Found on the Internet'
• Nov 16-17: Orlando - Board Meeting, 'BDPA Leadership Summit'
• Nov 17: National BDPA - Webinar, 'Career Triage: Work/Life Balance'
• Nov 17: Northern Delaware - Fundraiser, 'Annual STEM Showcase & Awards Banquet'

Please let us know of other BDPA events 

that we may have missed! 

You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group.

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events

This Week in BDPA (Nov 4-10)

BDPA offers strong programs in 45 cities around the nation. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the centralized BDPA calendar :

• Nov 5: Middle Tennessee - Workshop, 'PMP Bootcamp'
• Nov 7: Washington DC - Fundraiser, 'Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner & Fundraiser'
• Nov 7: Los Angeles - Program Meeting, 'Building and Monetizing Websites'
• Nov 8: New Jersey - Fundraiser, 'Annual Awards and Scholarship Banquet'
• Nov 8-10: Orlando - Board Meeting, 'ITSMF 4th Quarter Symposium'
• Nov 8-9: Columbus - Conference, 'DogFood Conference 2012'
• Nov 10: Cincinnati - Fundraiser, '17th Annual Education Banquet'
  

Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed! You can always find BDPA programs, services or networking activity online at places such as:

• BDPA Facebook Group
• BDPA Foundation Facebook Page
• BDPA LinkedIn Network Group.

BDPA supports your efforts for career advancement in the IT industry. Our hope is that you find reasons to provide tax-deductible support to our Causes, our HSCC Scholarship Funds or Your Causes! We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, Nov 2012)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. Success with organizations like BDPA can be distilled into three words: MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERSHIP.

If you accept that truth then it is worth the time to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Pamela Sexton
2. Atlanta - president, Felicia Jones
3. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
4. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
5. Cincinnati - president, Clarence Larcarte
6. New York - president, Renetta English
7. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson
8. Dallas - president, Stacy Stewart
9. Southern Minnesota - president, Melcon Hinds
10. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter

The top two chapters - Chicago and Atlanta - are members of the 'BDPA Century Club', which means that they have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Historical perspective - Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Nov 2009)

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?