Message from National Vice President (Membership Management)

Coretta Poole served as National BDPA vice president (membership management) in 2006-2007. Coretta shared a final message with the national board of directors on 12/31/2007. I thought that you might enjoy seeing what she had to say ...

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Chapter Renewal
If you have not already done so, please be sure to renew the chapter term for your respective chapter in the global database. This may be accomplished by logging into the global database, navigating to your chapter page, and left-clicking the Renew this Chapter link near the bottom of the screen. You have the option of renewing for either a one-year or two-year term, in accordance with your chapter bylaws and procedures.

For those chapters that are experiencing a leadership transition, Immediate Past Presidents are asked to assist incoming Chapter Presidents with this task. When renewing the chapter, it is also important that chapter leadership roles be assigned to accurately reflect those member-volunteers who have stepped up to serve in a leadership capacity.

Lifetime Membership

Lifetime memberships are now available for purchase at the global database. Recently approved at the 4th Quarter NBOD meeting, this new membership type has been fully integrated into the global database. Chapters are encouraged to promote this new membership type as it will lay the foundation for BDPA member retention for years to come.

BDPA Digital Library Metrics

Although the usage metrics for the BDPA Digital Library were not available at the 4th Quarter NBOD meeting, we are pleased to report that from January 2007 through November 2007, more than 1400 searches were conducted in the two modules that comprise the library. Not bad for a resource that was first introduced to the members in 2007. This truly demonstrates that a number of our members have used this important members-only resource to access current information across a variety of IT topics. Thank you for promoting this resource to our members.

Farewell
Serving as BDPA’s VPMM for the last two years has truly been a privilege that has inspired me in all areas of my life. Thanks so much to each of you for your dedication to BDPA and our community. And thank you for the opportunity to serve. Having met with the incoming National VPMM, Eatonia Williams of BDPA Detroit, I feel truly encouraged that great success lies ahead for BDPA, the dedicated chapters and the deserving members. BDPA is truly fortunate to have her as the next VPMM. Here’s to great success in 2008-09! For matters related to Membership Management, Eatonia may be reached at the official VPMM email address, vpmm@bdpa.org.

Kind regards,
Coretta Poole, 2006-07 VPMM
National BDPA

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I hope that those of you reading this farewell message from Coretta Poole will take a moment to share some BDPA-Love with her by using the POST A COMMENT feature below. What say u?

BDPA Opens New Chapter in Delaware

BDPA recently chartered a new chapter in the northern Delaware area to provide greater career opportunities for information technology (IT) professionals. BDPA is a global organization with 49 chapters focused on the advancement and technical development of IT professionals.

"We are delighted that BDPA has a home in northern Delaware. With the support of sponsoring companies such as JPMorgan Chase, IT professionals throughout the area will be able to tap into new resources and networking opportunities to help advance their careers. In addition, this chapter will enable companies to grow a diverse talent pool across a range of IT specializations," noted National Vice President Coretta Poole.

The newest BDPA chapter will assist African Americans and others throughout the Northern Delaware area to advance their careers in the IT profession through education, mentoring, and business networking. The BDPA Northern Delaware chapter will also mentor area high school and college students interested in technology careers.

The founding board members of the BDPA Northern Delaware chapter are: President, Karen Smith; Vice President Elect, Brenda Roselle; Vice President of Finance, Frederick Smith; Vice President Membership Management, Estelle Cephas; Vice President Member Services, Marc Wilson; and Vice President Strategy Planning, Kevin Evans.

Founded in 1975 by Earl Pace and the late David Wimberly, BDPA is a global member-focused organization that serves the professional well-being of its stakeholders. BDPA remains committed to excellence in delivering expertise by providing a wide spectrum of resources to its members, corporate sponsors, businesses, educational institutions and the community. BDPA national headquarters is located in Largo, Maryland. Click here to join the BDPA Group on the LinkedIn Network!