Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, February 2018)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. We continue to have a chapter who leads the nation in BDPA members.... BDPA Cincinnati. The chapter ... led by its president, Frank Hill ... continues to amaze others by its consistent growth. The chapter is significantly larger than the second largest chapter as they continue moving towards the next milestone of having 200 members this year.

We would also like to congratulate BDPA Bay Area (led by Gina Tomlinson) and BDPA Greater Tampa Bay Chapter (led by Andrea Johnson) for becoming an 'active' chapter by having more than the minimum level of membership. Gina and Andrea both realize that we need to work hard to keep membership growth and retention higher.

Frank Hill

BDPA believes in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members.  Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Cincinnati - president, Frank Hill
2. Detroit - president, Loraine Stewart-David
3. St. Louis - president, Marvis Hollis
4. Indianapolis - president, Delano Robinson
5. Chicago - president, John Coleman
6. Atlanta - president, Victor Montgomery
7. Southern Minnesota - president, Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour
8.  Philadelphia - president, Cedric Edwards
9. New Jersey - president, Anthony Dupree
   
10. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter

The number of chapters now belonging to the 'BDPA Century Club' has grown to three.  The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Cincinnati,Detroit and St. Louis each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their  members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, October 2017)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership. We have a chapter who leads the nation in BDPA members.... BDPA Cincinnati.   The chapter ... led by its president, Shawnda Peterson ... continues to amaze others by its consistent growth.  The chapter recently hosted the 39th BDPA Technology Conference in downtown Cincinnati and it was a remarkable event and everyone appeared to have a great time!

Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour

The largest movement came from BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter who moved up to 8th place as a result of their success at the 2017 National BDPA High School Computer Competition.  Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour is the president of the chapter and they are doing well. His efforts have allowed BDPA to continue to grow.   He realizes that we need to work hard to keep membership growth and retention higher.

BDPA believes in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members.  Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Cincinnati - president, Shawnda Peterson
2. Detroit - president, Loraine Stewart-David
3. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush 
4. St. Louis - president, Malcom Mathis
5. Indianapolis - president, Delano Robinson
6. Philadelphia - president, Cedric Edwards
7. Atlanta - president, Victor Montgomery
8. Southern Minnesota - president, Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour
9. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter
10. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney
    

The number of chapters now belonging to the 'BDPA Century Club' currently stands at two.  The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Cincinnati and Detroit each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

National president Mike Williams recently touted the value that organizational re-branding has made on BDPA.  What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Preethiya Sekar Uses Her Many BDPA Scholarships at Carleton College

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Preethiya Sekar will use the Bemley Scholarship awarded all the members of the BDPA Southern Minnesota High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team with a $2,500 college scholarship at Carleton College. She also applied the Monsanto Scholarship ($2,500) and Oracle Scholarship towards her education at Carleton College as well!

Preethiya Sekar * Multiple BDPA Scholar!

Preethiya Sekar was a member of BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter since 2010. She graduated from high school in June 2015 and decided to attend Carleton College in the fall of 2015. Currently her major is undecided but she would like to go to medical school. She haven’t had much experience in the working world but she did hold a research mentee position in a molecular medicine lab. As for what she would like to do when she grows up ... she's leaning towards becoming a pediatric surgeon!

We asked her to share her thoughts on BDPA:

"For the past four years (2012-2015), I spent most of my Saturdays at BDPA talking with friends, checking my rank, and learning new things. Before BDPA I didn’t know anything about computers or programming, much less did I have any interest in learning. However, my instructors made what I was learning exciting. They taught me things and then encouraged me to go out and learn more. What was most thrilling for me was being able to create something. Seeing my code transform into a web page was just so incredible.

2014 So. Minnesota HSCC Team (Preethia, 2nd-from-right)

Being selected to go to the National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) after class was done was probably one of the most rewarding things. After all who wouldn’t like to go to big cities and meet new and important people? But, when I became a part of the competition team I remember all the work we put in. We refer to the summer before competition as “boot camp”. So while all my friends were out enjoying summer, I was sitting with my BDPA friends staring at a computer screen. But I guess, it was always worth it in the end. It’s a good feeling going through the competition and knowing all your hard work was paying off. But no amount of preparation takes away the nerves and angst during the programming portion. They give you seven hours but it feels like less than one. I think we all learned to thrive under the stressful conditions. We knew our part in the team and held ourselves accountable. No matter the outcome, it was always a great experience: either something to learn from or something to remember.

2015 BDPA IT Showcase * Preethiya Sekar

The people in BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter did more than just teach me computer programming, they taught me to believe in myself (sometimes that was the biggest obstacle), they taught me to carry myself with dignity and pride, and to be thankful for everything I have. Over the past four years, BDPA has had a major impact on the person I have become, they remind me to give back selflessly and help others around me."

We just completed the 32nd anniversary of the High School Computer Competition. We are grateful to Monsanto and Oracle for sponsoring their scholarships. BDPA has given out hundreds of Bemley Scholarships over the years. However, this is truly a scholarship fund that is supported by BDPA members and supporters. I encourage you to make a secure online donation today! BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student as a winner of the Bemley Scholarship. We look forward to supporting Preethiya's career as she seeks to advance in the medical industry!

Tristan Trejo Will Use Bemley Scholarship at University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to announce that Tristan Trejo will use the Bemley Scholarship awarded all the members of the BDPA Southern Minnesota High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team with a $3,000 college scholarship at the University of Minnesota.

Tristan Trejo * Bemley Scholar

Tristan is a young man who plans to become a well-known architect, who can find ways to incorporate Computer Science to experience the design process in each stage of Architecture, to benefit both the Architects and the client. He had a wonderful high school experience at Century High School serving at a referee in the Minnesota Soccer League, rink Attendant for the city at the Recreation Center. Tristan was also on the varsity track and field team (state medalist for pole vault) and varsity soccer team.

Tristan has been a member of BDPA Southern Minnesota for six years and a part of the chapter's youth computer team for the past 3 years. We asked him to share his thoughts on BDPA:

The most memorable moment of BDPA, was when our team was named the National winner at the High School Computer Competition (BDPA Disrupt 2017) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our team members were all first-time competitors, but we surprised ourselves and won! The competition was tough, and requirements for the competition were very challenging and complicated. All of the other teams were very good teams. Our team members looked at each other, paused, pondered, and simultaneously, put our heads together, and strived for the best.

2017 BDPA SMN HSCC Team (Tristan is 2nd-left)

We really astonished ourselves! BDPA has had a great impact on my life. I have learned many lessons over the course of 6 years as a member, and not just lessons on coding, but I have learned to be a leader, a good public speaker, and learned how to understand my peers better, and much more. I have been able to help promote this program to the community, and I’m proud of it. The amount of knowledge I have obtained through out my BDPA career is immense, and I am very grateful that I was part of such a giving organization. I am very thankful to the people who made this opportunity available.

BDPA is blessed to have such a young and talented student as a winner of the Bemley Scholarship. We look forward to supporting Tristan's career as he seeks to advance in the architecture industry!

President Profile: Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

Rochester, Minnesota

BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter was chartered in May 1999. The chapter has been financially supported by Mayo Clinic over the past decade.  This chapter has one of the smallest population bases with the BDPA family, however, the chapter has managed to win seven (7) High School Computer Competition (HSCC) national championships.


Ebenezer became the president of BDPA Southern Minnesota in 2016 when the former president, Will Smith, became the Midwest Regional Director. The BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter not only has a track record and a powerful legacy in the HSCC program at the National level, but it’s also respected by the Rochester Minnesota Community as an organization making huge impact in the lives of middle and high school students. My goal is to attract new volunteers, aggressively look for new grants funding, and increase our membership by attracting the college communities and also IT professionals in Southern Minnesota.

Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour, President

BDPA Southern Minnesota Chapter

Address:

PO Box 6981

Rochester, MN 55903

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Favorite quote? “As long as poverty, injustice, and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest” – Nelson Mandela.
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Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour

Ebenezer Kyei-Baffour is a supervisor in Research Finance at Mayo Clinic responsible for the management of research grant funds from the federal government, foundations, industry, benefactors, and internal Mayo funding. He has over twenty five years of experience in financial management particularly in the areas of commercial credit analysis, financial analysis, financial reporting, financial forecasting, budgeting and variance analysis, capital expenditure analysis, project management, grants and contracts management, and strategic financial management.

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Favorite motto or favorite scripture? – “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” – 1 Corinthians 15:19.
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Part of the success formula for BDPA Southern Minnesota is the effort that they place in recruiting middle- and high-school students for their computer camp. The chapter's computer camp creates educational opportunities for a diverse range of students. Computer camp students pack the computer lab each Saturday between December and May. The teamwork and enthusiasm displayed by both students and a dozen corporate volunteers from Mayo Clinic and IBM is truly awe inspiring. Computer camp course topics include HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, My SQL and builds towards a goal of attaining high school credit to reward the students for their effort and education.

Please use the POST COMMENT link below to share some BDPA-Love with the president our BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter!

Bemley Scholar Isaac Gullickson Continues STEM-Based Education at University of Minnesota

Isaac Gullickson * University of Minnesota

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) proudly announces that a Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship has been awarded to Isaac Gullickson. Isaac earned the Bemley Scholarship as a result of participating in 2013 (1st place); 2014 (3rd place) and 2015 (fourth place) won by the team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter at the National High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship.

Isaac is now a freshman at the University of Minnesota majoring in Computer Science. He is passionate about programming and web development thanks to the experiences he received in BDPA. He seeks to be a computer programmer or a full stack web developer. Isaac has a host of experiences with web development that he learned in high school. He was on a mentorship with Mayo Clinic and IBM. He also participated on his first robotics team.

We asked Isaac to share his insights about BDPA, and he wrote,

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"I had a friend in 9th grade who I thought was the bee’s knees when it came to anything technical. I’d ask some vague question about recent inventions or coding and he’d answer, narrating the tale of how programming languages were developed or describing the latest tech from Google, for instance. He’d do so with a passion that was contagious. It was from him that I heard of BDPA and the weekend class that taught some of this wondrous programming that he had told me about. I took the leap and signed my Saturday mornings away. I could not have imagined the impact that my experiences in BDPA would have. BDPA defined my future goals and gave me the skills to achieve them.

Even before I had any goals, I always liked computers. Though this was mostly because of the games I played on them as a kid, the science behind how they worked intrigued me. My only goals at the time for this interest were to wait until college, where I knew I could take courses on coding. This remained my mindset and I never took advantage of the wealth of information the internet could have provided, as I didn’t have the drive to take advantage of it. BDPA changed that very quickly. Creating website applications - tangible products of my work - was immensely rewarding. I worked on projects in class on weekends, at home, in school, whenever I could. BDPA transformed my dormant interest into an active passion. My goals became to teach myself more about web development, to take it further in college, and then a career in programming. However, skills are essential to achieving any goal.

BDPA taught me many skills, including the technical skills of web development programming, to using IDEs, CPanel, and database manipulation. Equally if not more important however, are the soft skills that are transferable to any career. These include public speaking, people skills, networking. Developing these made for some of the most memorable experiences. The experiences of preparing many summers with a team of fellow BDPA students for the competition, developing our communication, programming, and teamwork skills, but more importantly, bonding and becoming friends. Some of my favorite memories are sweating over the programming problems each year at the competition, slowly figuring them out, and implementing the solution with my friends.

2013 HSCC Champions from Southern Minnesota

In 9th grade, I never thought I could have programmed in part a complete web application that created routes for a lawn care company, or a bus routing service, or any of the professional grade problems that we worked on at the national competition. I never would have believed that I would have the focus and passion to be a part of technology and programming so soon, or to realize my childhood interest. Now in college, I find myself trying to keep building on the impact BDPA has had on me, to continue developing the skills and chase the goals I found in that Saturday morning web development class with my friends."

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BETF is proud to support young people like Isaac! However, we need your support. Please take a moment to make a secure online donation in support of the Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship Fund so we can help more young squires like Isaac!

2011 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Rankings

The 2011 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships were held in Chicago. We had 19 teams competing in 2011. The 2011 HSCC Champion were from BDPA Southern Minnesota and they earned $1,500 Dr. Jesse Bemley Scholarship for attending college. They beat out the student members from BDPA Detroit and BDPA Atlanta.

The winning HSCC team from Rochester MN included: Zakaria Ahmed, Hassan Hassan, Daniel Sheppard, Herchran Singh and Adwait Walimbe.

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to note that we provided financial support to over half of the HSCC teams that competed this year ... including the Bemley Scholarshps provided to the top five (5) performing chapters in the national HSCC championships.

Here are the rankings for all 19 teams that competed in 2011 national HSCC championships with the scholarship winnings for each student in parenthesis:

2011 Southern Minnesota HSCC Team

1. Southern Minnesota ($1,500 Bemley Scholarship for each student)
2. Detroit ($1,000 each)
3. Columbus ($500 each)
4. Atlanta ($500 each)
5. Twin Cities ($500 each)
6. Washington DC
7. St. Louis
8. Indianapolis
9. New Jersey
10. Chicago
11. Charlotte
12. Richmond
13. Cincinnati
14. Los Angeles
15. Middle Tennessee
16. Triangle
17. Greater Columbia
18. Philadelphia
19. Dallas

Our foundation seeks to increase the number of students that receive Bemley Scholarships. To do so, we need your help. Please consider making an online donation to help us interest young people in science and technology.

2013 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) Rankings

2013 HSCC Champions from Rochester, MN

The 2013 National BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships were held in Washington. We had 16 teams competing in 2013. The tension during the 2 days of the competition centered around the team trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter. This chapter won 6 of the past 7 national competitions and arrived in Washington DC seeking to defeat the defending champion BDPA Atlanta chapter.

The winning team from Southern Minnesota included five students --  Isaac Gullickson, Preethiya Sekar, Daniel Sheppard, Herchran Singh and Prabhjot Singh.

Here are the rankings for all 16 teams that competed in 2013 national HSCC championships with the scholarship winnings for each student in parenthesis:

• Southern Minnesota ($1,500 college scholarship for each member)
• Los Angeles ($1,000 each)
• Atlanta ($500 each)
• Washington DC ($500 each)
• Cincinnati
• Twin Cities
• New York
• Greater Columbia
• Chicago
• Charlotte
• Detroit
• Dallas
• Middle Tennessee
• Philadelphia
• Triangle
• New Jersey
• St. Louis

Our foundation seeks to increase the number of students that receive Bemley Scholarships. To do so, we need your help. Please consider making an online donation to help us interest young people in science and technology.

Kunle Roberts Reflects on Bank of America Scholarship for BDPA Students

Kunle Roberts

Kunle Roberts was a member of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) teams trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota in 2006-2008. He was part of two national HSCC championship teams (2007-2008) and the other team took home a silver medal (2006).

Kunle earned many scholarships for his efforts within BDPA including the Jesse Bemley Scholarship issued by the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF).   Kunle learned about the Bank of America Scholarship for BDPA Students while he was gaining his STEM experiences with BDPA. He became one of the first recipients of that college scholarship funded by Bank of America.  He used the scholarship to further his education at Rice University.

We asked Kunle to reflect on the impact that the scholarship had on the direction of his college and professional career. Here is what he had to say:

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"My experience in BDPA was instrumental in my development as a young adult. The organization, from the local to the national level, has supported me throughout my entire high school and college career. I am very thankful for this great organization and all that they have accomplished to enrich the youth of today. By collaborating with Bank of America, they have found yet another way to provide support and recognition to individuals like myself. As higher education gets more and more expensive, scholarships such as the Bank of America scholarship are an absolute blessing and a motivation to continue to succeed. I ask that you continue your partnership with BDPA to truly enrich the lives of students and provide them with additional support to reach their goals. I am extremely grateful for what I received from Bank of America and BDPA, and I really hope that others get the same chance to benefit."

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BETF is hopeful that Bank of America will consider renewing its funding of these college scholarships for exceptional BDPA student members in 2016. If not, we hope that other corporations or entrepreneurs will consider working with us to significantly increase the quantity of college scholarships that we provide to young people interested in careers within the IT industry.

You've heard Kunle's story. What say u?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, May 2015)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership.  There is a new membership champion in the BDPA family -- BDPA Cincinnati!   BDPA Cincinnati chapter, under the leadership of Dalric Webb, broke a streak of over 10 years that had been held by BDPA Chicago.   BDPA Cincinnati implemented a number of strategies and initiatives that allowed it to power up from the #5 slot it held in January 2014 ... leapfrogging BDPA chapters located in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

Michael, Wayne, Audra, Patrick

The major membership growth by BDPA Cincinnati chapter can be attributed to its leadership in the Membership Management business area.  The chapter VP-Membership Management is Wayne Hicks.  He leads a team of directors -- Shelton Graves (Marketing), Patrick Nelson (Member Benefits), Michael Pulliam (Contact Management) and Audra Sweeney (Membership) -- who worked hard to improve the brand awareness of BDPA in the greater Cincinnati area.   The chapter effectively used its monthly program meetings to introduce itself to the community.  Finally, the chapter actively works to ensure a high retention rate amongst its members.

BDPA believes in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Cincinnati - president, Dalric Webb (up 1 spot)
2. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush (down 1 spot)
3. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore (up 1 spot)
4. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden (down 1 spot)
5. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
6. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown (up 1 spot)
7. Milwaukee - president, Carmen Giles (up 3 spots)
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (down 2 spots)
9. Southern Minnesota - president, Will Smith
   
10. Indianapolis - president, Terry Morris (down 2 spots)

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Only three chapters remain in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Chicago and Cincinnati and Detroit each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

Our national president recently announced that BDPA is offering complimentary renewal for any former BDPA member.   Just come to the website and use the membership code - juneonly.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, December 2014)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership.  BDPA membership grew by 23% in 2014.   December 2014 marked the first time in a year that our membership total declined.  However, it is likely that the growth will continue in 2014 under the leadership of National BDPA VP-Membership Management Mildred Allen.  She works with local, regional and national leaders to provide a value proposition to members (and potential members) with robust BDPA programs, scholarships and services.

Beverly Moore

One of the largest membership moves in December came from our BDPA Detroit chapter (president, Beverly Moore).  The chapter grew by over 66% in the past year to become the 8th largest chapter in the nation.  The chapter effectively used its monthly program meetings to introduce itself to the community. 

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush
2. Cincinnati - president, Dalric Webb
   
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
4. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden (up 1 spot)
5. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown (down 1 spot)
6. Southern Minnesota - president, Will Smith
   
7. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (up 1 spot)
8. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore (up 2 spots)
9. Dallas - president, Chad White (down 2 spots)
10. Los Angeles - president, David Malonson (down 1 spot)

)

The top five chapters on the list remain in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, November 2014)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership.  BDPA membership continues to grow!  The membership total in November 2014 marks the 11th straight month of growth.  In fact, the total membership increased by 29% from this time last year!  The growth is a direct result of efforts by local, regional and national leaders to provide a value proposition to members (and potential members) with its programs, scholarships and services.  Kudos to the National BDPA president Pamela Mathews and her newly-appointed vice-president of membership management Mildred Allen for the continued positive trending in this core metric.   

BDPA Cincinnati chapter (president, Dalric Webb) is to be commended for a remarkable milestone as well.  This chapter doubled in size this calendar year!   They began the year as the 5th largest chapter in nation ... and now we find them sitting as the 2nd-largest chapter ... having grown by over 130% in the past 11 months!  The chapter effectively used its monthly program meetings and corporate sales to grow the chapter.  BDPA Cincinnati chapter grew faster than any other chapter in the past quarter!

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush
2. Cincinnati - president, Dalric Webb
   
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
4. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown (up 1 spot)
5. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden (down 1 spot)
6. Southern Minnesota - president, Will Smith
   
7. Dallas - president, Chad White (up 1 spot)
8. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (down 1 spot)
9. Los Angeles - president, David Malonson 
10. Detroit - president, Beverly Moore (up 1 spot)

The top five chapters on the list remain in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, August 2014)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership.  We are tickled to announce that membership has grown for the 8th straight month to its highest level since January 2010.  In fact, the total membership increased by 27% so far this year ... and up 58% from this time last year!  The membership growth is a direct result of efforts by local, regional and national leaders to provide a value proposition to members (and potential members) with its programs, scholarships and services.  Kudos to the National BDPA president Craig Brown and his team for the continued positive trending in this core metric.

This month we pay homage to BDPA Atlanta chapter (president Derrick Brown) for its continued success in terms of membership retention and recruitment. BDPA Atlanta was named 'Chapter of the Year' at the 36th Annual BDPA Technology Conference held last month in Indianapolis. They also took home the 'Membership Award', which is bestowed upon an individual chapter and its members for their outstanding achievements in increasing the National organization, being 'a member-focused organization' and ensuring that each member of BDPA feels valued as a member of the association.

BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter (president, Will Smith) is to be commended for a remarkable milestone as well.  This chapter doubled in size this calendar year!   They began the year as the 14th largest chapter in nation ... and now we find them sitting as the 6th-largest chapter ... just short of entering the 'BDPA Century Club' (see below).  Much of the growth is a result of the chapter's powerful Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush
2. Cincinnati - president, Dalric Webb
   
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
4. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
5. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown 
6. Southern Minnesota - president, Will Smith (up 10 spots)
7. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (down 1 spot)
8. Dallas - president, Chad White (down 1 spot)
9. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (down 1 spot)
10. New York - president, Tyronne McKinney (down 1 spot)

The top five chapters on the list remain in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?

Long Story Short: Will Smith (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

Will Smith is senior project manager with Mayo Clinic. He is an experienced information technology (IT) professional who has managed multimillion dollar projects through all phases of the IT project life cycle. Will has in-depth knowledge in cost management, risk management, time management, and integration management and a proven ability to deliver high quality IT products and services on schedule and under budget.

In August 2013, Will took on responsibilities as president of our BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter. This isn't a minor chore as this small chapter in Rochester, MN has a powerful legacy in BDPA folklore! Will is attracting new volunteers and funding ... and he is planning an aggressive schedule of programs and services for both students and IT professionals in Rochester. His chapter is currently the 16th largest in the nation.

Will Smith

This blog wanted to get a more personal look into the personality of this rising BDPA leader. We asked Will to give brief answers to some odd questions. We hope you enjoy this new feature that we simply call, 'Long Story Short...'

1. Favorite way to exercise? - My favorite way to exercise is to play basketball.
2. Least favorite chore? - My least favorite chore is shoveling snow.
3. Simple things that make you happiest? - The simple thing that makes me the happiest is spending time with my family.
4. Who you'd like to meet? - I would like to meet President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Eric Schmidt (Google), Tim Cook (Apple), Bill Russell and Melissa Harris-Perry.

I wonder if Barack, Michelle, Eric, Tim, Bill or Melissa might show up at our 36th annual BDPA Technology Conference on August 5-9, 2014 in Indianapolis to surprise Will?

Related articles

• Rochester Post-Bulletin, 10/1/2013 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)
• Rochester Today, 11/1/2013 (Betty Hutchins, Will Smith)
• KTTC Rochester, 9/9/2013 (Herchran Singh, BDPA Southern Minnesota)
• History of BDPA Awards (1986-2011)
• Long Story Short: LaDonna Crum (BDPA Greater Birmingham)

2005 National BDPA HSCC Champions (So. Minnesota)

This photo taken at the 2005 National BDPA Awards Gala held in Detroit, MI. It was taken moments after BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter learned that they won the national High School Computer Competition championship. This victory was sweet for many of these youngsters as they placed in 2nd place the year before.

Can you name the people in the photo? I wonder if we can get any of the folks in the photo to leave a comment below about their personal memory of the event? What say u?

BDPA iRadio Show - March 25, 2014 (James Arama, LaDonna Crum, Michael Wulf)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog. FREE download from the iTunes Store is also available for our listeners!

Popular Technology Internet Radio with BDPA on BlogTalkRadio

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The guests on the March 25th show:

James Arama - software engineer, Funeral Innovations - Five years ago James was trained by BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter as part of its Student IT Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. He was chosen to be part of a 5-person team to compete in the 2009 national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championship held in Raleigh, NC. His team won the HSCC championship that year!  James earned scholarships that helped him finance his college education at Marist College. He is now a software developer and entrepreneur working side-by-side with his HSCC coach, Zack Garbow, for a company called Funeral Innovations. James is the embodiment of the BDPA tagline, '...classroom to the boardroom'.  You can follow James on Twitter -- @thejamesarama

LaDonna Crum - chapter president, BDPA Greater Birmingham - LaDonna Crum is an applications support analyst. She took on another critical role last year as the president of our BDPA Greater Birmingham chapter and she has been lighting things up in Alabama with a fervent roar about the benefits of membership in BDPA. She is attracting new volunteers and funding ... and she is planning an aggressive schedule of programs and services for both students and IT professionals in Birmingham.  Her chapter is currently the 36th largest in the nation.

Michael Wulf - vice president, BDPA Midwest Region - Michael Wulf began his term as the BDPA Midwest Region vice president in January 2014. Michael provides leadership and guidance to 11 chapters located within his region. He hosted a regional conference in Columbus OH on March 21-22, 2014. Our BDPA iRadio show listeners will learn about Michael's accomplishments over the first 100 days of his administration as well as his vision for the future of BDPA on both a regional and national level.
Michael can be found on Twitter - @michaelgwulf

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We hope you enjoy the insights and commentary on the show from each of these guests. Please take a moment to post a comment to let us know that you care!

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• BDPA iRadio Show - March 11, 2014