Grant Award: Walt Disney World

We have had a strong relationship with Walt Disney World over the years. The 2002 National BDPA Technology Conference was held on Disney property. A number of Disney cast members served as officers of our BDPA Orlando chapter. One such member is Bessie Peoples who is a co-founder and past president of the chapter. Bessie submitted a volunteer Ears to You grant request through the Disney VoluntEARS program.

Walt Disney World informed us that Bessie selected the BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF) as recipient for this grant. The funds will be placed in BETF chapter fund restricted for use in Orlando-area programs and services.

Our friends at Disney wrote,

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Dear Charity Recipient,
We are happy to inform you that Bessie Peoples has chosen BETF to be the recipient of a $1,000 EARS To You grant in recognition of volunteer service accomplished in 2008.

Volunteerism and commitment to community service are on important part of the Disney culture. Both through the Disney VoluntEARS program and on our own, our cast members selflessly give of their time to make our communities and the world is a better place.

Thank you, and continued good luck to you on your mission of community outreach and making the world a better, more compassionate place.

From your friends at Disney

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I encourage all BDPA members ... especially those of you that serve on your chapter's board of directors ... to contact BETF about possible volunteer grant opportunities with your corporate employer.

Asante sana to Bessie Peoples for leveraging her volunteer commitment into financial support!

Where Are They Now? Dr. Stephanie Parson

One of the great friends of BDPA over the years is Dr. Stephanie Parson. She was a charter member of the BDPA Rocky Mountain chapter when it was founded in April 1989. It is also worth noting that today is Stephanie's birthday!

I met Stephanie when she was an executive at Walt Disney World. She was a key player in the successful 2002 national BDPA conference held in Orlando. Stephanie helped us land Roger Berry, WDW Chief Information Officer as the keynote speaker for the Awards Gala that year.

Stephanie served in national leadership positions with BDPA from 2002 through 2005 as both one of our Outside Directors and as VP-Strategy & Planning. Her place in the BDPA Hall of Fame is based on the intense passion that she brings to vision and strategic planning for our organization. She taught us how to create a shared 3-year stategic direction and base on current year budgets on a detailed 1-year business plan. We still use that methodology in our strategic planning today.

On a professional level, she left WDW and started her own company ... Crowned Grace. She is very active with an organization of chief executive officers known as CEO Space. In fact, her involvement in CEO Space resulted in recent opportunity for her to become part of an investment opportunity in Costa Rica. Here is what she had to say about her visit to South America:

"Wow!

• 4 hour drive from the airport to our cabins!
• 1 hour drive each day to the plantations
• 3 hour walk on 1 plantation (only able to see ~1/4th of this plantation)
• 3 hour horseback ride on another plantation (able to see ~1/8th of this plantation) My horse knew that it had been years since I had been on a horse
• 2 hours down (and up again) 500 steps to get to the waterfall
• 2 hour hike in the rain forest (rained for about 1.5 hours --- HEAVY RAIN!)
• Saw an active volcano Saw monkey's, creatures with long tails, beautiful birds, dogs, flowers and so much more Met wonderful people!
• Created LONG TERM Strategic Alliances
• Wet...Covered in Mud...Covered with Ant Bites...Broken fingernails...Broken toenails...don't even get me started on my hair :->
• WOULDN'T TRADE THE EXPERIENCE FOR THE WORLD!!!

Who knew that wood was a profitable venture??? Who knew that replanting the rain forest would be such a profitable experience???"

You can see Stephanie and her partners in this 4-minute video from Costa Rica. Hmmm, I need to get that sista a BDPA Foundation T-Shirt that she can be wearing for her next YouTube video (smile).




Do any of our BETF-Blog Readers remember working with Stephanie? Care to share your rememberances with us?