BDPA Birthday Love for Ollie Morgan

Please join us in remembering Ollie Morgan on his natal day! Ollie served on the national BDPA board of directors for a number of years as BDPA Chicago chapter president, national president and immediate past president. At the time of his passing he was an author and photographer living out his dreams in New Mexico.


Ollie was a key player in the growth of corporate sponsorships. He created the concept known as 'Corporate Advisory Councils'. We now have active CACs in many of our larger and more successful chapters around the nation. Ollie was the first to understand the importance of developing a 'return on investment' value proposition. Ollie's vision turned into the record-setting corporate sales revenue coming into the BDPA Chicago and National BDPA treasury over the past decade.

Ollie was a prolific writer. His articles about BDPA regularly appeared in the National JOURNAL and the BDPA Chicago PROFESSIONAL newsletters.

I appreciate the powerful legacy of Ollie Morgan ... particularly in the 1993-1995 era. Ollie should be a member of the BDPA Hall of Fame. For now, we honor him here in cyberspace.

Please share your memories of Ollie and think a good thought of him on his date of birth!

BDPA Legacy: Ollie Morgan (1944-2009)

BDPA Foundation Blog pauses to share memories of one of our fallen leaders, Ollie Morgan, who passed away on Monday, March 2, 2009 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Ollie Morgan is a legend within the BDPA family. Ollie served on the national BDPA board of directors for a number of years as BDPA Chicago chapter president, national president and immediate past president. Over the past decade he was an author and photographer living out his dreams in New Mexico.

Ollie was a key player in the growth of corporate sponsorships. He created the concept known as 'Corporate Advisory Councils'. We now have active CACs in many of our larger and more successful chapters around the nation.

Ollie was the first to understand the importance of developing a 'return on investment' value proposition. Ollie's vision turned into the record-setting corporate sales revenue coming into the BDPA Chicago and National BDPA treasury since the mid-1990s.

Ollie was a prolific writer. His articles about BDPA regularly appeared in the National JOURNAL and the BDPA Chicago PROFESSIONAL newsletters.

I appreciate the powerful legacy of Ollie Morgan ... particularly in the 1993-1995 era. Ollie should be a future member of the BDPA Hall of Fame. For now, we honor him here on our blog.

Please share your memories of Ollie in the COMMENTS area below!

BDPA Chicago Chapter in Review (1993)

Hat tip to Milt Haynes and his new Blacks Gone Geek blog for sharing historical video entitled 1993 BDPA Chicago Chapter in Review Video. This video was a collaborative effort with BDPA leaders (Ollie Morgan, Sheila McCaskill, Mike Davis) and Chicago Access Cable (producer, Derek Grace). The video provides an up close and personal look at BDPA students, members and corporate sponsors.

I wonder where the 1993 BDPA Chicago Chapter HSCC Team is now? They are named in the middle of this video. Do any of you know where they are now?

Where Are They Now? BDPA Chicago Chapter Presidents

BDPA Chicago became the 14th chapter in the nation when it began on March 15, 1986. The chapter had eight founding members (Marvin Walker, President; Hazel Beason, Vice President; Anthony Pittman, Treasurer; Michelle Walker, Recording Secretary; Wallace Neal, Education Chairperson; Roy Peeples, Public Relations Chairperson; Greg Walker, Finance Chairperson; and Fidelis Umeh, Member)

The chapter has a potent legacy in BDPA history that includes 'BDPA Chapter of the Year' honors in 1991-1993, 2000 and 2005. I used BDPA Chicago chapter as my role model when I served as BDPA Cincinnati chapter president in 1999-2001. It amazes me that BDPA Chicago maintained its spot as the chapter with the largest membership for over a decade. The ability of this chapter to recruit and retain members over the years is simply remarkable.

The chapter hosted national BDPA technology conferences in 1988 ('Growth and Success by Design')and 2001 ('Empowering the Nation Through Information').

BDPA Chicago students won national high school computer competition (HSCC) two times (1994 and 2006). The students from these three championship years are: Joseph Huggins (2006), Nickesha King (1994), Demmie Quinones (1994), Lee Reed (2006), Andreaus Robinson (2006), Joey Rojas (2004), Maurice Shelton (2006) and Walter Webster (2004).

I hope that these HSCC alumni are still connected to BDPA. We want HSCC testimonials from each of these young people if they can be located.

Five of the past BDPA Chicago chapter presidents (Ollie Morgan, Milt Haynes, Ricky Penick, Reggie Gardner and Yvette Graham) also served as members of the National BDPA Executive Committee. It would be great if we could hear from each of the past BDPA Chicago chapter presidents:

• Marvin Walker (1986-1988)
  
• Ollie Morgan (1989-1993)
  
• Sheila McCaskill (1994-1995)
  
• Jack Edwards (1996-1997)
  
• Milt Haynes (1998-1999)
  
• Ricky Penick (2000-2003)
  
• Reggie Gardner (2004-2005)
  
• Yvette Graham (2006-2007)
  
• Rhonda Boyd (2008-2009)
• Pamela Sexton (2010-2013)

Where are they now?