Message from the National BDPA President

Greetings! I pray that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed your time with family and friends. 2014 has been an incredible year for BDPA. As I mentioned in my December 1st update, we experienced transition, celebration and collaboration. In addition, through the generosity of our corporate partners and sponsors, we awarded over $120,000 in scholarships to our students! Talk about making a difference in the lives of our student members. But the best is yet to come…

I am very excited about 2015 and hope you share my enthusiasm. 2015 represents the 40th year of existence for our beloved BDPA! The vision of our Founders is alive and well. We have over 30 active chapters, 100 corporate partners and sponsors, and 2,100 members who comprise the largest minority Information Technology organization in the world! This is something that we can all be proud of and celebrate. However, we are not done and have much work to do.

In 2015, we begin year two of our 2014-2018 National Strategy. As a reminder, we are focused on:

• BDPA 2.0, specifically brand rejuvenation;
• Organizational growth and efficiency; and
• Enhancement of our member value proposition.

We have a very strong national and regional leadership team in place to bring this strategy to life across the organization. The team and I look forward to working and visiting with all of you throughout the year and celebrating our accomplishments. Please know that in order to realize our National Strategy, we need your help.

We need your active participation, teamwork, input and support to achieve our strategic and growth goals. As we begin a new year, I encourage each of you to partner with your regional and local leadership on the development and execution of your respective plans. Finally, please remember to renew your membership, visit bdpa.org on a regular basis to stay abreast of organization activities, AND register for our 2015 Technology Conference and Career Fair (early bird registration is extended until January 31, 2015) as soon as possible.

In closing, THANK YOU again for the opportunity to serve our great organization as President and please feel free to contact me at info@bdpa.org if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Sincerely,
Pamela Mathews, president
National BDPA