BDPA Cleveland is the 20th largest chapter in the nation. The president of this northern Ohio chapter is Ken Wilson (shown in photo with Cleveland chapter founder Norman Mays). I've known Ken for 20 years. He served as the chapter president back in the early 1990s as well. In fact, Ken probably holds the world record for most years between service as chapter president. Ken shared the following message with his chapter stakeholders:
Dear BDPA Members & Friends:
For a while now we have sought ways to rejuvenate our Cleveland Chapter by doing new and exciting things. A while ago, we announced the initiation of a “technology peace corps” type initiative called the BDPA Information Technology Corps (IT Corps) which is intended to address community development by applying our members and students’ computer skills throughout the year on short projects. We have an opportunity to start that process in earnest now.
I first need your participation in a special recognition event to honor our students that participated in this year’s Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) program and High School Computer Competition (HSCC). The event will be on November 17th at John Carroll University, at 6:00 P.M.
To attend this event, we additionally invited civic leaders, business persons, and parents to explore two simple questions in a brief panel discussion: What are the pressing issues in our Greater Cleveland communities that impede the growth of this area? Do you foresee a role for computer technology to address these priorities?
The most important contribution we are asking for is candid input on development priorities so that we can get the IT Corps rolling relevantly. Our youth teams will be using this information to shape projects that they will undertake here in Cleveland and later on internationally. For example, next year, the BDPA IT Corps has been invited to Nairobi, Kenya to extend the same format of inquiry and community development in our first international mission.
I would appreciate that you attend and send a confirmation email. The recognition ceremony and panel discussion will take place on the John Carroll University campus, University Heights, Ohio, 44118, in the Dolan Center for Science & Technology, Room A202 & 203, on Tuesday, November 17, 2009, at 6:00 P.M. Light refreshments will be served. The program will begin promptly at 6:30 and will last 90 minutes. We would appreciate that you confirm your intentions to attend by sending a confirmation email to rsvp@bdpa-cleveland.org, or calling (216) 773-0700 and leaving a voice-message, or sending a text-message to this same number, at your earliest convenience.
We will have parents and their students there being honored that evening. It would be great for us to show up in force to show we truly appreciate them and their continuing interest in BDPA and our Chapter. Also, this event is our very best opportunity to put our information exchange back on track. I hope I can count on you to be there. Please RSVP.
Sincerely,
Kenneth L. Wilson, President
BDPA Cleveland Chapter
I hope that BDPA Cleveland chapter has a large turnout for the event on November 17. If you cannot be there in person ... but, you want to show your support for the chapter's youth education programs --- please consider leaving a COMMENT below with a pledge for the BDPA Cleveland chapter fund maintained by the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF). The funds will be restricted for use in the Cleveland area. What say u?
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