BDPA Foundation: Message from BDPA Cincinnati Chapter President

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Message from BDPA Cincinnati Chapter President

As we start the first month of the 2nd quarter for 2014 – Your chapter is working hard!

Hadiya Harrigan

The weather is warming up for April and BDPA Cincinnati chapter has a another full month of activities planned. But first, we want to congratulate our student member and High School Computer Competition (HSCC) alum Hadiya Harrigan for accepting her 2014 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award in Charlotte NC last month. From a membership perspective, our chapter grew its membership by more than 60% so far this year, making it the 3rd-largest chapter in the National BDPA organization! This growth is testament to the renewed interest in the VALUE the organization brings to its members, corporate sponsors and the communities in which we live and work.

For the month of April, we encourage and invite all members and the community to join us as we 'Explore Entrepreneurship', with our guest speaker, Crystal Kendrick (owner, The Voice of Your Customer). Also, we want to say a special THANK YOU to our corporate sponsors who have come on board in the past quarter to support our BDPA vision and mission. Thank you to Brown Mackie College, Cincinnati Bell, Cincinnati State Technical College, GE, Kroger, Northern Kentucky University and Procter & Gamble. As an organization of volunteers, we cannot be successful without the support of our corporate sponsors. We continue to drive the value-proposition in a positive director for members and sponsors, giving each of them powerful return-on-investment.

Dalric Webb

For our adult members and the technology professionals in our communities, we are planning several professional development workshops this year! Look for the marketing material that is coming out THIS month as these small sized classes will quickly fill up!

We want to welcome new volunteer leaders who came on board last month:

Carmen Byes (Fifth Third Bank) - Director, Communications Department
Carl Matthews (Group Three Systems) - Project Leader, BDPA Midwest Regional HSCC and IT Showcase
Brenda Gunn Hogan (Duke Energy) - Project Leader, Annual Banquet

Again, it takes these dedicated volunteers to step forward and drive our goals and objectives into execution and reality so that we can meet the needs of our community. Welcome aboard and thank you for your service!

That being said, BDPA Cincinnati needs YOU to step forward and lend a hand as there is much more work that we need to accomplish and "many the hands make lighter the load". We need to fill our remaining open board positions in the coming months. If you are not ACTIVELY participating on the BDPA board of directors, please consider lending your time and talent to the success of this organization.

We need you. Your community needs you. Our students need you. The time commitment is roughly 4–6 hours a month when we are at full board strength. Can you lend a hand? Contact me directly if you are interested and visit our Chapter landing page to see which open positions interest you. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the 36th annual National BDPA Technology is set for Indianapolis, IN on August 5-9, 2014. We plan to take a strong team of high school students to WIN the national HSCC championship this year. Supporting the dreams and technical growth of these students is a large part of what BDPA strives to accomplish. If you find value in investing in the technical growth and development of our youth then perhaps it is time for you to connect with BDPA. BDPA engages our youth, college students and professional on their developmental journey 'from the classroom to the boardroom'!

As always, we want your feedback! How is your BDPA membership working out for you? How can we improve the value of your membership? Send me a note or pull me to the side at the monthly program meeting. This is YOUR chapter. Are you feeling engaged?

Lastly, are you a member of the BDPA Cincinnati online community on Groupsite? Take a moment to join now and stay connected with what is going on with the chapter. Keep a look out for our upcoming BDPA “Members Only” events and outings! We want to see you soon at these very unique opportunities to connect with other active chapter members.

Sincerely,
Dalric Webb, President
BDPA Cincinnati Chapter