Monday, November 2, 2015

Message from National BDPA President (Nov 2015)

Pamela Mathews
Hello everyone! Since my last update, we have continued to plan and execute strategy and tactics that will enable BDPA to thrive for the next 40 years. It has been a whirlwind to say the least, however your leadership completed or engaged in the following activities:
  1. Completed our 37th Annual Technology Conference & Career Fair which included celebrating the 40th anniversary of our illustrious organization. The feedback from the Conference has been incredible and we saw a lot of “old faces” who have resumed their membership and commitment to BDPA;
  2. Attended and spoke at the O’Reilly Media Velocity Conference in New York. BDPA was selected as the diverse association they chose to recognize this year. My talk focused on the purpose of BDPA, our desire to partner with like-minded organizations and how the participants should not take their ability to pursue and thrive in the technology profession for granted; and
  3. Attended and represented BDPA at CompTIA’s annual ChannelCon conference in Chicago. During the Conference, we hosted a reception and participated in various leadership meetings and seminars aimed at strengthening our partnership and understanding of each other.
Our 37th Annual Technology Conference was absolutely incredible. The Opening Session featured General Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State, sharing his life lessons with the conference attendees. Over the course of the week, several competitions took place including a Hack-a-thon, High School Computer Competition, Mobile Application Showcase and IT Showcase. BDPAConnect, our college engagement program, was successfully launched to cater to our college students and their specific needs.



In addition, there were a number of general sessions and adult professional workshops that educated and inspired our membership. A number of the presenters will be sharing their content in future webinars hosted by National BDPA. Finally, congratulations to our award and scholarship recipients that were presented during the Awards Gala and throughout the week of the conference.

I would like congratulate and welcome our newest chapter, BDPA Kansas City, on the activation of their chapter during the Conference. 2015 was an election year and the following individuals were elected to lead BDPA nationally and regionally in 2016-2017:
Please be advised that preparations are already underway for the 2016 BDPA Technology Conference and Career Fair. The event will occur from August 10-13 at The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, GA. The reduced member rate, through January 1, 2016 is $350. Please visit www.bdpa.org to register and take advantage of this incredible reduction.

As we continue our brand rejuvenation efforts, we are evaluating all of our programs to determine what changes are required to ensure they stay or become more relevant to our members. To that end, our Programs Committee has begun to have weekly meetings to support this effort.

Our 4th Quarter Membership Drive Campaign is underway. We are soliciting everyone this quarter to become a Lifetime Member. The cost is $1,000 and payment options are available.

 As you know BDPA is a volunteer organization, our membership has a vast skillset. We invite all members to get engaged! We need your support to continue making BDPA a success. Numerous volunteer opportunities exist locally and nationally, send a message to info@bdpa.org and tell us what area you would like to be involved with.

In closing, THANK YOU again for the privilege to serve our great organization as President. Please feel free to contact me at president@bdpa.org if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,
Pamela L. Mathews, president
National BDPA
Posted by Unknown at 3:30 PM
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)