Message from Greater Tampa Bay Chapter President

BDPA Greater Tampa Bay Chapter (GTBC), founded May 1993, is the 26th largest country in the nation. However, the chapter is at a crossroads in many ways. Chapter president Leslie Mozon writes:

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"BDPA GTBC is in jeopardy of becoming defunct. To continue as a chapter we need new leadership and more members!

BDPA GTBC has limped along for the past few years primarily due to good leadership and participation in our Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) computer camp program. Much thanks for this success goes to our SITES coordinators, lead instructors, faithful parents and students. Thanks to the Computer Mentors organization for partnering with us in training and sponsorship of part of the SITES team. Much thanks also to Verizon IT and Syniverse Technologies, who made in-kind donations of their training facilities.

The training facilities may be available to GTBC again this year. Several inquiries about the continuance of the SITES program have been made from both parents and students wishing to participate. However, we are greatly in need of dedicated IT professionals willing to volunteer their time and talent to continue this program.

During this last year BDPA GTBC has consistently held monthly program meetings featuring several guest speakers on a variety of topics pertinent to the IT professional and novelist. Much thanks to PricewaterhouseCoopers and their HR staff for providing an in-kind donation of an outstanding meeting place, for hosting a few of the meetings, and for providing several of the featured presenters. Unfortunately participation and attendance has waned to a level that is less than complimentary to the program meeting organizers and presenters.

This meeting facility is available for GTBC again this year. Presenters can be ascertained and scheduled. However we are greatly in need of dedicated IT professionals and novelist desiring to participate in this experience of sharing their experiences and growing their experiences through planning and participating in these program meetings.

These are just two of several ways BDPA GTBC has shared with this community lately. There are several other programs that have been offered in the past, and there are several more that can be offered in the future. It would be a great shame for it all to continue to dissipate to nothing.

The bottom line is BDPA GTBC NEEDS MEMBERS! Is that you? If you find that a Tampa Bay area chapter of BDPA is something that must have a future, and you are willing to put some effort toward assuring that it does, then I encourage you to make a way to attend our next meeting, or contact me directly.

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We encourage all BETF-Blog Readers in the Tampa Bay area to attend their upcoming program meeting and discuss 'The Continuance of This Chapter'. Here are the logistics for the meeting:


Thursday, January 24, 2008
6:00 PM - 7:30 pm

PricewaterhouseCoopers Office Complex
3109 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 6th Floor
Tampa, FL 33607

Please reach out to Leslie Mozon by email or phone (813.215-5902).