Message from Austin Chapter President

BDPA Austin is the 24th largest chapter in the nation. The chapter, founded in November 2004, is at a crossroads. The situation is discussed in detail by chapter president Lorna Stewart-Booker in her letter to members and other stakeholders. I encourage you to reach out to Lorna to express your support once you read her message below:

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BDPA has become the premier information technology organization committed to promoting technology literacy. As an all-volunteer organization, our members have developed and maintained first-rate programs and activities.
BDPA is committed to providing IT professionals with the latest technological information and opportunities for professional growth and advancement. Ultimately, you control your professional destiny. BDPA can help you advance your career in the IT profession. BDPA gives professionals, executives, entrepreneurs and students an IT career pathway from the classroom to the boardroom. Through education, mentoring, business networking and services, BDPA promotes innovation, technical skills, business savvy and personal growth.
Join BDPA Austin and thousands in BDPA who are making a difference for themselves and for others.

On Tuesday, June 24, 2008 BDPA Austin Chapter Board Members held a conference call to discuss the "State of the Chapter". We considered the idea of discontinuing the Chapter due to low meeting attendance and inactivity from our members.
Instead, we decided to focus on the future – our Youth. We decided to continue building momentum in our High School Computer Competition (HSCC) training program. For the past three
years, we have successfully fielded teams to compete nationally for scholarships as well as instill the gift of computer programming into these student's lives.

We invite you to attend our July Town Hall program meeting on July 15, 2008 @ 6:30 at Mitchie's (6406 N Interstate 35 Ste. 2800 Austin, Texas) to discuss ideas on membership, recruiting, fund raising, sponsorship mentoring and HSCC. Please attend our Town Hall meeting, to discuss our new direction.

For more information call (512) 326-6350.

Sincerely,
Lorna Stewart-Booker, President
BDPA Austin Chapter
P.O. Box 270255
Austin TX 78727

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Take a moment to POST A COMMENT below if you have any thoughts you want to share with BDPA Austin chapter leadership.

10th Annual Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR-Austin)

Web teams from more than two dozen Austin, Texas, companies converged for a voluntary day of competition October 13th to build new Web sites or improve existing ones for non-profit organizations whose clientele includes those with disabilities. The 10th Annual Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR-Austin) is part of a nationwide initiative to make the Internet accessible for those with disabilities as a tool for gaining knowledge.

Hat tip to Lorna Stewart-Booker (BDPA Austin chapter president) for letting us know how her chapter's team did in the competition. She wrote,

"WOW!!! We Won! We Won! Can you tell we're excited! BDPA Austin chapter's new website has won First Place in the Air-Austin 2007 Stock Car Division. This is exciting for the BDPA family and for the Vesper Web Design team that designed our website. This win means that BDPA is eligible for the state competition scheduled for a later date.

Knowbility, who sponsored the Air-Austin event, supports the independence of children and adults with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology. Check out their website for more information."

Share some love in the comments section for Lorna and the others from BDPA Austin chapter!

Women in Technology (Austin)

We are very proud of the growth of our BDPA chapter in Central Texas. BDPA Austin chapter began the year as the 33rd largest chapter in the country. We are moving into the 4th quarter of the year ... and the chapter has increased their membership by 100% and moved up to become the 20th largest chapter in the country. The growth of this chapter is directly related to the meaningful programs and services provided for their members.

One such service is the monthly program meeting. BDPA Austin chapter will focus on Women in Technology at their October 16th program meeting. All IT professionals in central Texas are invited to share their concerns, ideas, thoughts and questions with some powerful women in our industry. The panel discussion with women from different levels of management who will discuss what it means for women to be in technology.

Here are the logistics for the meeting:

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Mitchie’s Fine Art and Gallery
Lincoln Village Shopping Center located at IH 35 and Hwy 290

This is a great topic ... and particularly timely for BDPA as our national presidents from 2006 thru 2011 are powerful sisters (Gina Billings, Denise Holland and Yvette Graham) and our current president in Austin is a sister entrepreneur (Lorna Stewart-Booker).

Any Austin area readers out there?