Happy Birthday Gina Billings!

Join us in wishing a Happy Birthday to past national BDPA president Gina Billings! Gina served on the national BDPA board of directors from 2002-2009 as BDPA Cincinnati chapter president, national president-elect, national president and immediate past president. Gina is a hard working BDPA leader with an expertise in finances, having served for ten years as the chief financial officer for the BDPA Cincinnati chapter.

Much of my success in BDPA is due to the support of Gina. In September 1998, Gina led an effort with Brenda Hogan, Tina Welch, Marilyn Wilson and myself to rejuvenate BDPA Cincinnati chapter.

The five of us met weekly for the remainder of 1998 putting together the organizational plans and goals for 1999. BDPA Cincinnati chapter went public in January 1999 with our first program meeting in over two years. There were approximately a dozen guests at that initial program meeting and we ended the month with six financially current members.

It's been all good since that day. The chapter has been winning awards at the national level, including 4-time Chapter of the Year (2001-2002, 2004, 2006) and 5-time Runner Up Chapter of the Year (2000, 2005, 2007-2009). Gina had the vision to be a founder of the chapter in 1989 and her vision positively impacted hundreds of students, IT professionals and entrepreneurs in the greater Cincinnati area ever since.


Gina will be a member of the BDPA Hall of Fame at some point in the future. For now, we honor her here in cyberspace. Happy Birthday Gina!

BDPA Scholarship Birthday Wish (Wayne Hicks)

Former National BDPA president Wayne Hicks celebrates his 57th birthday on January 30, 2016. He is fairly certain that his friends won't be getting him a trip to Hawaii, so he decided to 'give up his birthday' to raise money for his favorite cause -- the Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship Fund.

He hopes to raise $5,700 for is 57th birthday. Will he make it? So far, here are the folks who think that he has a good idea:

• Wayne Hicks (Cincinnati) - $57
• Mike Williams (Atlanta) - $500
• Liz Hicks (Los Angeles) - $57
  

It is really easy to support his BDPA birthday wish ... just click here!

Happy Birthday: Monique Berry (National BDPA President)

Today, we celebrate the born day of Monique Berry! Monique is our National BDPA president. She has been a member of the BDPA Philadelphia Chapter since 2003. Currently, she finished her 2-year term as National BDPA president in 2013. Anyone that knows Monique is aware of her passion for BDPA. In her own words,

"As anyone who knows me can attest, I am and have always been very passionate about BDPA. I can remember when I was elected president of the Philadelphia chapter people telling me that I would get tired and burnt out and that my passion would wear off over time. Well, it hasn't. I'm in my second year as a chapter president and as passionate as ever."

Monique is employed by Vanguard; a mutual fund company located in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Her background includes experience in ERP systems, LMS systems and software development.

Monique is a committed community advocate serving on the boards of community organizations, family and children's services, and faith based community ministries. She's been a volunteer elementary school instructor for Junior Achievement and a computer instructor for Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

Monique is a member of several professional and civic organizations, including the American Society for Training & Development, Project Management Institute, Network of Women in Computer Technology, Society for Human Resource Management and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Her experiences in a variety of boards and organizations bode well for BDPA.

"I can promise that I will conduct myself with civility and respect for others, discussing differences in an open and honest manner. Moreover, I promise to remain passionate about BDPA. I am looking for your passion and committed support of BDPA. Think you are up for the challenge? I urge you to join our conversation here. We are going to change the game."

I join with all of BDPA-nation is wishing national president a truly magnificent birthday!

Happy Birthday: Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)

Benjamin Banneker was born on this date in 1731. He was a self-taught, Black astronomer and mathematician.

He was born in Ellicott, MD. At the age of 22, Benjamin Banneker created a working clock from wood after studying the watch of a friend. It took him two years to finish the clock, which kept accurate time in hours, minutes, and seconds until his death.

Banneker became interested in astronomy through a local surveyor named George Ellicott, who loaned him astronomy books. In 1791, George Washington commissioned George Ellicott and French engineer Pierre L'Enfant to help plan the construction of the nation's capital on a ten-square-mile area of land. Ellicott asked Banneker to be his assistant. A dispute between some Americans and Frenchmen led L'Enfant to abandon it and take the drafted plans with him. Over the course of two days, Banneker reproduced the intricate plans from memory, preventing a major delay.

Shortly after returning to his farm in April 1791, Banneker issued his first of some ten annual almanacs, which were published by several printers and sold widely in both England and the United States. Banneker charted the movement of heavenly bodies and successfully predicted several solar eclipses. Farmers and navigators relied on this important information.

Banneker and his sisters were born free and grew up on a self-sufficient, 100-acre tobacco farm. Growing up, he spent much of his free time devising and solving mathematical puzzles. It was not until after his retirement from farming at the age of 59 that Banneker began to study astronomy through borrowed books, becoming a man of science and mathematics through unassisted experimentation and close observation of natural phenomena.

Benjamin Banneker died in 1806.

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!

Happy Birthday: George Williams, Past National BDPA President

Please join us in wishing a wonderful birthday to our past national president -- George Williams. I've known George since I first joined BDPA back in the late 1980s. He was a powerful figure in the BDPA Cleveland chapter before he set a record for the longest-tenured national president in BDPA history.

George has an information technology and business career background that spans thirty years of professional experience in marketing, sales and management within corporate, small business, non-profit and civic organizations. A number of major accomplishments occurred under George's leadership of the national organization in the late 1990s:

• implemented a new national Corporate Alliance program that increased annual sponsorship revenue
• implemented a comprehensive Enterprise Transformation Plan that completely reorganized the national organization
• inspired major annual conference events in Philadelphia (1995), Atlanta (1996), Houston (1997), Orlando (1998) and Atlanta (1999)
  
• signed Memorandum of Understanding to promote joint technology projects between BDPA and National Urban League

As a life-long Cleveland native, graduate of the Cleveland Public School System, John Carroll University and Leadership Cleveland, George understands the intricacies of doing business and volunteering time in the Northeast Ohio community. George was a co-founder of the Consortium of African America Organizations (CAAO). He has actively served on the Board of the Cleveland Education Fund, the Cuyahoga Community College Unified Technologies Center and the John Adams High School Vocational Education Advisory Group.

George is a father of two daughters and grandfather of four children. He is a remarkable role model for his family ... and for BDPA. I encourage you to share some BDPA-love with George as he celebrates his born-day! Happy Birthday George!

BDPA Birthday Love for Milt Haynes

Please join us in wishing Milt Haynes a joyous natal day! Milt served on the national BDPA board of directors for over a decade as BDPA Chicago chapter president, national president-elect, national president and immediate past president. He is currently the National BDPA chief information officer.

Milt is a husband, father, grandfather, brother and son. He is also one of the hardest working brothers in BDPA. I think it is fair to say that Milt has raised more funds for BDPA through corporate sales than anyone in the universe.

I appreciate Milt because he served as my BDPA mentor from 1999-2001 when I served as president of the BDPA Cincinnati chapter. We rejuvenated the chapter from oblivion to the second largest chapter in the nation ... and much of the success is due to Milt's willingness to share best-practice information from BDPA Chicago chapter.

Milt will be a member of the BDPA Hall of Fame at some point. For now, we honor him here in cyberspace.

Please share your memories of Milt and wish him a happy birthday!

Happy Birthday: Earl Pace (BDPA Founder)

I join BETF-Blog readers in wishing a glorious birthday to our visionary leader and founder -- Earl A. Pace, Jr. All current BDPA members and leaders should take a moment today to reflect on our organizational legacy ... the shoulders on which we stand today ...

---

I don't know the year of birth for Mr. Pace. I do know that National BDPA only had one president in the 1970s...

Earl Pace served as our national leader from 1976 thru 1980. Earl has been in the Information Technology (IT) industry since 1965. He began as a computer programmer trainee at the Pennsylvania Railroad. He left the PRR in 1967. Over the next ten years, he rose through the ranks of programmer, programmer analyst, programming manager to Vice President of a financial telecommunications company in Philadelphia, PA.

Earl Pace became a business owner in 1976 when he incorporated Pace Data Systems for which he is still president. Pace Data Systems is a full service information technology firm providing services through its Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC offices primarily to banks.

In 1975, he co-founded BDPA in Philadelphia and operated as its president for two years. In 1978, he coordinated the formation of BDPA into a national organization and functioned as its first National President until 1980. BDPA has grown into the largest national professional organization representing people of African descent in the IT industry.

In 1997, he received the National Technical Association’s National Technical Achiever Award as Computer Scientist of the Year.

In 2001 and 2002, Black Money Magazine named him as one of the 50 Most Influential African Americans in Information Technology.

Within BDPA and on a broader national scale, Earl Pace has been a vocal advocate for business ownership. His primary message since starting BDPA has been that African Americans should strive to rise above "just a job" to membership on the Board of Directors and beyond that to owning and operating their own business. Earl continues to be very active in the business and education community in Philadelphia, Washington DC and Baltimore, MD.

He is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and pursued graduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. He is married and has one daughter, one son and one granddaughter.

BETF-Blog readers, care to share your favorite memory about Bro. Pace?

OURstory: Jan Matzeliger (1852-1887)

I agree with President Obama ... Kanye West is a 'jackass'. However, he seems to be a cultural icon for African American youth. Perhaps it is time for us to get busy providing some alternative icons for our youth. We have large numbers of Black and Brown students with little or not preparation in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) subjects. Without STEM background in the future, these students may find themselves with no employment opportunities.

Jan Ernst Matzeliger realized as much. Did you know that Jan Matzeliger was born on this date in 1852. He used STEM knowledge to create a shoe-lasting machine that mechanically shaped the upper portions of shoes.

Matzeliger was born on September 15, 1852 in Suriname (South America), the child of a biracial marriage. His father was a white engineer from Holland and his mother was a Black woman in the Dutch colony. By his third birthday Matzeliger was sent to live with his father’s sister. By the time he turned 10 years old, Matzeliger became a worker in the machine shop that his father owned. It was at this time that he quickly became aware of his talent for working with machinery.

Although he was skilled in this area, Matzeliger did not initially pursue a career in engineering or inventing. In 1871 at the age of 19 he left Surinam and worked as a sailor for two years. By 1873 he settled in Philadelphia where he worked in a variety of trades.

In 1876 he moved to Lynn, Massachusetts. Matzeliger arrived in Lynn barely able to speak English. Nonetheless he began working in a shoe factory. Despite his language difficulties, Matzeliger began working on various innovations that would improve shoe manufacturing productivity. Working alone and at night for six months, he produced a model in wood and on March 20, 1883, received a patent. The patent number is 459,899.

His patent was subsequently bought by Sydney W. Winslow, who established the United Shoe Machine Company. The continued success of this business brought about a 50% reduction in the price of shoes across the nation, doubled wages, and improved working conditions for millions of people dependent on the shoe industry for their livelihood. Winslow’s corporation made $50 million in the next dozen years and put Lynn, MA on the map as the shoe capital of the world.

Matzeliger’s work habits and his neglect of his health, however, soon took a toll. In the summer of 1887, he caught a cold then developed tuberculosis. Jan Matzeliger died on August 24 of that year in his mid-30s, long before he had the chance to realize a share of the enormous profit derived from his invention.

Matzeliger is not a household name but it should be. He was honored on a 29 cent first class U.S. postage stamp in 1991.

I hope that he included in the 2010 history portion of the BDPA high school computer competition! Jan Matzeliger should be discussed with our young people ... not Kanye West.

BDPA Birthday Love for Curtis Jenkins

One of the most accomplished BDPA leaders in our history is Curtis Jenkins. He celebrates his birthday today!

Curtis has been an active member and leader of the BDPA Philadelphia Chapter since 2002. Curtis Jenkins served as the Immediate Past President for 2008 and 2009 and also the Corporate Advisory Council Chairperson for BDPA Philadelphia. In his duties as Immediate Past President, he served as an ambassador, mentor, and voting member of the BDPA Philadelphia Executive Committee sharing his experiences as a President and member of the National Board of Directors for BDPA. As Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) Chairperson, Curtis is primarily responsible for the solicitation of CAC membership, scheduling and facilitating the quarterly meetings, maintaining the CAC Charter and serving as the focal point for information between the CAC and the BDPA Executive Board.

Prior to serving as Immediate Past President and CAC Chairperson, Curtis served as the Chapter President from 2006 and 2007. Prior to Chapter President, Curtis served for 2 years as VP of Business Management responsible for running the BDPA Philadelphia operations and Vice President of Professional Development responsible for the chapter’s monthly program meetings.

In addition to local chapter responsibilities, Curtis works on various National BDPA committees including the responsibility for the Elections and By-Laws Committees and the Human Resources areas as National Director of Logistics. 

Curtis has over 20 years of IT and business experience. Curtis is a Project Management Institute (PMI) certified, Project Management Professional (PMP) currently working as a Program Manager in the Information Technology Department, at Amtrak, responsible for Stimulus funded Police and Security Equipment Modernization efforts.

Prior to joining Amtrak, Curtis was a Project Manager at DOW Chemical (formerly Rohm and Haas) responsible for Merger and Acquisition Integration and the M&A Strategy development for low cost/shorter timeline integrations. Curtis was a Project Management consultant at Bank of America and a partner at Eustice Associates LLC, where he was responsible for developing and implementing strategies and projects that improved operational efficiencies that had a direct positive impact on a client’s bottom line. He has also worked in the financial services industry at Fleet Credit Card Services, BankOne, and FirstUSA Bank. While in the financial services industry, Curtis transitioned from the area of software development to project management. Before this, he worked for Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic) and PECO.

Curtis has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Temple University and a graduate degree in Management of Technology from the University of Pennsylvania – School of Engineering and Applied Sciences & Wharton Business School.

Please join all of BDPA-Nation in wishing Curtis a very glorious birthday!

Happy Birthday: Diane Davis (Past National BDPA President)

Today is the birthday of past national president Diane Davis!

Diane Davis will be one of the charter members of the BDPA Hall of Fame when it is created. I went to my first BDPA program meeting in 1988 while living and working in Detroit. Diane Davis was president of the BDPA Detroit chapter. She sat up in the front of the meeting and shared her insights on BDPA. I was hooked. I joined BDPA that day ... attended my first national conference later that year in Chicago. Diane appointed me as Program Committee Chairperson for the BDPA chapter ... and recommended me for National BDPA Membership Director a few months later. BDPA Detroit chapter won back-to-back Chapter of the Year Awards under her leadership. Suffice to say I think Diane is a major part of the BDPA story...

Diane has over 25 years experience in the technology industry. Her work as a consultant with Hewlett-Packard’s Managed Services Division utilized her knowledge of local and global engagements in the manufacturing, government, and health care industries. She advised C level management teams of Fortune 500 corporations on infrastructure support practices, organization design, and the implementation of strategies, technology and principles to meet their specialized business requirements. Before this position, Diane was a Program Manager for multi-million dollar worldwide accounts and served as the CIO for a major automotive supplier.

Diane has lived and traveled throughout the United States, Canada, and South America as a software engineer and consultant in the design and implementation of management systems. Her technical career began developing robotic systems for the automotive industry. Later, she led the artificial intelligence development and implementation teams responsible for the support of corporate executives with “state of the art” technology including voice activation and annotation.

In 2003, Diane established her own consulting firm that provides strategic, organizational, and leadership services. In 2004, she expanded her business to include a robust Wellness Program established to help people improve their health, quality of life, and become financially independent. Diane has volunteered her time and supported several professional, community based, and educational organizations during her career, including BDPA. She has worked as an instructor at University of Detroit Mercy, led numerous strategic, leadership, quality, and team building workshops internationally for both profit and non-profit organizations.

Diane Davis was ol' school BDPA. Please share your remembrance of this powerful sister if you have time or inclination to do so.

Happy Anniversary: BDPA Cincinnati Chapter

BDPA Cincinnati chapter was founded in December 1989 when several African American IT professionals were approached at HP (formerly Digital Equipment Corporation) by BDPA Dayton chapter president Bill Maynard.  Bill wanted them to start a BDPA chapter in the city of Cincinnati.  After researching the organization and discussing the great opportunities that BDPA could bring to Black IT professionals in Cincinnati ... the challenge was accepted!

The charter group of visionaries began the search for chapter support by targeting technology-based individuals in the City of Cincinnati.  The strategy was to approach individuals affiliated with the Fortune-500 based companies in the area.  The discussions with these corporations focused on the needs and potential value of such an organization as BDPA.

The discussions with the Cincinnati business community were successful.   Everett Gregory, Neal Johnson, Brenda Johnson, Charles Cooper and Gina Billings were delighted with the BDPA Cincinnati chapter concept and what it would bring to the African American community.  They made the official request that National BDPA accept a charter as a new chapter.  The charter was approved in December 1989 ... and BDPA Cincinnati chapter was officially formed.

Chapter's Past Presidents

BDPA Cincinnati chapter has been very successful over the years.  The chapter has been recognized for its many community outreach programs and membership development.  The success of the chapter is a result of the efforts of chapter volunteers, supporters and sponsors.   The accomplishments were helped by the leaders that served on the chapter's board of directors and corporate advisory council over the years.  These people quietly and consistently gave their time, talent and energy to build up BDPA Cincinnati as a premier organization within the technology community.   These men and women of all races, ages and genders made a commitment to excellence with their BDPA involvement.  BDPA Cincinnati chapter will continue to grow, prosper and provide support to the membership and the community.

Join us in celebrating the 24th anniversary of BDPA Cincinnati chapter!

Happy Birthday Denise Holland (Past National BDPA President)

Happy Birthday to our past national BDPA president, Denise Holland!

Another BDPA Birthday Wish on Facebook - Teresa Williams (Atlanta)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) encourages you to use your birthday to change the world! We all get things we don’t need for our birthdays, why not use this special occasion to raise money for a cause you really care about? This feature allows any Facebook user to create a Birthday Wish and ask their friends to donate to the cause of their choice as a birthday present.

We've seen the following folks making BETF birthday wishes on Facebook:

Teresa Williams

1. Wayne Hicks (Jan 30) 
2. Teresa Williams (Feb 9) * NEW *
3. Henry Wiggins (Feb 14)
4. Chris Parchman (Feb 21) 
5. Julius Clark (Mar 11) 
6. Jeri Tolliver (Apr 2) 
7. Liz Hicks (Jun 25)
8. Raven Stevenson (Jun 26)
9. Janice Watson (Jul 5)
10. George Brooks (Jul 8) 
11. Philena Rush (Nov 3)

I would love to see us have a birthday wish for all 365 days of the year! Are you a Facebook user? If so, Will you be next to be added to the above list? Just click here to 'make it so'!

Happy Birthday President Barack Obama

Since his historic election, President Obama has been inundated with a barrage of venomous criticism. From the first cries calling for the failure of his administration by Vitter and Limbaugh to the media critique of his handling of the BP oil spill, his critics are unequivocal in telling us that he can do no right.

An overwhelming number of Americans elected President Obama and millions still support him, but too many of us do so silently. If the progressive agenda we elected the President to achieve is to be successful, we must help the President achieve it. We cannot allow the media to report from negative positions without challenge. Just as others demonstrate their hatred and disrespect of President Obama, we must actively demonstrate our support.

We call on ALL who support President Obama to take action.  Today ... on August 4th ... the President’s birthday, we ask those who support him to wear any campaign item from the Presidential election as a demonstration of our ongoing support. Bring out your old campaign paraphernalia.

If you don’t have caps, buttons or tee shirts, wear a red, white, and blue tri-color ribbon or clothing on August 4th. If nothing else, this simple demonstration of support for our President will provide a counteraction to the negativity that spews forth daily. We can do this. YES WE CAN. YES WE WILL.

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?