2004 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Rankings

The 2004 National BDPA Technology Conference was held in Dallas TX. It was memorable for me as it was the first time I convened the annual conference as 'national president'. One of my favorite BDPA memories is having Dr. Mae Jemison as our keynote speaker for the opening ceremony. I also enjoyed the creativity of our conference director, Jackie Ockleberry, who suggested that we eliminate the dais from the Awards Gala ... it resulted in a wonderful Gala experience.

However, the other major news from the 2004 conference came from the national High School Computer Competition (HSCC). It turns out that the HSCC team trained by BDPA Memphis chapter accomplished something never done before or since ... they earned a fourth consecutive national championship.

Here are the final rankings from the 2004 HSCC championships:

1. Memphis (Auriel Echols, Cornell Gaulmon, DeOnna Johnson, Brittany Middleton and Mitchell Word)
2. Southern Minnesota
3. Albany
4. New Jersey
5. Detroit
6. Hartford
7. Richmond
8. Cincinnati
9. Central Illinois
10. Washington DC
11. Baltimore
12. Chicago
13. Greater Tampa Bay
14. Atlanta
15. Boston Metrowest
16. Cleveland
17. Rhode Island
18. Philadelphia
19. Los Angeles
20. Dayton
21. Orlando
22. St. Louis
23. Dallas

The BDPA Memphis HSCC team demolished their opposition in the final scoring at the 2004 competition. Oddly enough, BDPA Memphis never came back to defend their title. Three other chapters (Albany, Boston and Orlando) have never been back since 2004.

Perhaps we will see them in Raleigh NC later this year...