Message from Columbus Chapter Past President

Reggie Hillery

Happy New Year from the BDPA Columbus Chapter

We have finally reached the end of the year. This is a special time of year where we reflect on the highs and lows. It's also the time of the year where we start to reflect on the upcoming year. On that note, I'm excited because BDPA Columbus is about to move to new heights as a chapter. We are about to welcome a new era of leadership.

This is my last email newsletter as President of the Columbus chapter. I truly enjoyed serving as your President and helping shape the chapter into it's current form. My message for us is to "Look Forward". We sometimes have a tendency to look back on our accomplishment and defeats to own detriment. We hold ourselves back because we constantly look in the rear-view mirror of life and miss out on what's ahead of us.

Our accomplishments over the past 4 years has touched lives, changed mindsets and brought awareness to the various careers in IT. This manifest itself through our building and strengthening of the African American IT pipeline through the High School Computer program, mentoring college students and assisting IT professionals. We truly exhibit our motto "Advancing IT careers from the classroom to the boardroom".

Deborah Smedley

I look forward to the future of the organization. On the horizon I foresee exponential chapter growth, self-sufficient financial stability and impressive organization community awareness. I charge you to be a catalyst for change and growth in the organization and personal lives.

As I close my administration, I would like to say "THANK YOU" to our sponsors, members, chapter advisers and supporters. This journey has not ended, it has just begun. Let's keep looking forward and welcome the new President, Deborah Smedley and the new administration with open arms and support.

Thank you with love and happiness,
Reginald Hillery
Immediate Past President
BDPA Columbus Chapter

Lakeesha Alert: Kiarra Robinson (Columbus OH)

BDPAers, we need your help. We know that the Amber Alert system only works for the Ambers of the world. For people of African descent we need to let the drums ring out with our own Lakeesha Alert! This blog is putting the call out for a Lakeesha Alert on a young woman who has been missing for a week in Columbus OH.

Reggie Hillery is a colleague of ours in Columbus OH. He shared the following message on Facebook tonight:

Hey Columbus- Help me find my niece Kiarra Robinson. She has been missing since Sat. Oct 30th. She is 17 yrs old and was last seen possibly on the North side or Hilliard area. She was wearing sweat pants, tank top and a blue hoodie.

My family would appreciate all your help in locating her. Thanks for your help and prayers. Her picture is my profile picture.

That is picture of Kiarra shown above.  Any support you can provide in helping Reggie and his family locate Kiarra would be very much appreciated!  Reggie can be reached via his email address or his Facebook page.

Top 10 BDPA Twitter Users

Twitter is a microblogging service is gaining popularity as a real-time communication platform. There are at least a dozen local BDPA chapters with Twitter accounts.

However, Twitter is driven by individuals. As such, I thought it would be interesting to share with you our pick of the top 10 BDPA-nation Twitter users (in alpha order) that you should be following:

1. Billy Cunningham - Billy Cunningham is one of the unsung heroes of BDPA Chicago chapter. He is at every national conference and is very supportive of BDPA on a local level.  Most recent tweet: I'm at CompUSA. http://4sq.com/cKA7yw
2. Milt Haynes - Haynes is past national BDPA president and a long-time BDPA leader. His focus on Twitter is to promote social networking to help African Americans in IT stay connected.  Most recent tweet: The BDPA Insider – August 15, 2010 #BDPA http://ow.ly/2pRn0
3. Callie Herd - Callie is a member of BDPA Memphis chapter. She wants to be part of the future growth and expansion of the BDPA vision in Tennessee. Her passion is getting scholarship information to young African Americans.  Most recent tweet: The Hickory Hill Community Redevelopment Corporation Youth Reformation Initiative’s FREE after-school ... http://tinyurl.com/2678flf
4. Wayne Hicks - Hicks is executive director of BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF) and a long-time BDPA leader. He uses Twitter to share information about fundraising, nonprofit finances, BETF grants and such.   Most recent tweet: Re: The role of Black inventors in the Computer and Data Processing.: Wayne said: "Keith - I've not read your book... http://bit.ly/d3W0qv
5. Reginald Hillery - Reggie is president of BDPA Columbus chapter.  I have watched Reggie quietly and effectively building the strength of his Ohio chapter.  His tweets are primarily focused on BDPA.  This is an African American IT professional who should be followed on Twitter by others in BDPA.  Most recent tweet: I'm attending BDPA Columbus August I/E Meeting - Embracing Technology: Virtual Reality -- http://august2010exchange.eventbrite.com/  
6. Michael Holman, Sr. - Holman is a long-time member of BDPA New York chapter. Michael was one of the SysOps that created BDPANet back in the early 1990s. He was a visionary when it came to taking BDPA into cyberspace.  Most recent tweet: Your next move in God, like a Surfer and that next Wave. Do not try to MAKE it happen! Be alert and when you RECOGNIZE it, you just RIDE!
7. Kevin Minus - Kevin is an HSCC alumni. He competed in the 2004 national HSCC championships as a member of the team trained by BDPA Dayton chapter. He now lives and works in the greater Cincinnati area and is very active within the Blacks In Technology network.  Most recent tweet: Man I slept to long. Time to read a little, map out my plan for the week and go to bed. See you later all.
8. John Malonson - John was one of the first BDPA leaders that I saw on Twitter. He is president of BDPA Los Angeles chapter.  Most recent tweet: I'm going to use the "smurf" equivalent for all of my future expletives
9. Pablo More - Pablo is the president of BDPA Orlando chapter. He is a business analyst for major bank with an interest in politics, technology, economic development, law, green technology, Black studies and Latin America.  Most recent tweet: WSJ: Brands Are Friending Social Gaming. http://tinyurl.com/22re2et    
10. Keith Warrick - Keith is a member of BDPA Atlanta chapter. He is a master networker, especially on the LinkedIn Network. His conference workshops have been heavily attended over the past two years.   Most recent tweet: recommends reading The Skinny on LinkedIn Recommendations...a good primer for writing the perfect LI recommendation! http://lnkd.in/hDkGn3

Are you on Twitter? What BDPA Twitterer do you follow that should be in the Top 10?

Message from Columbus Chapter President

Dear BDPA Family,

On behalf of BDPA Columbus Chapter, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. By now, you have started thinking and hopefully written down your New Year resolutions. This is one of the most important times of the year because you give yourself time to dream about the future. You set your eyes on goals for the year. You envision what your life will look like when you reach your goals. Well, here at BDPA we set our eyes on the future as well. We are excited about the upcoming year because we see how as an organization we have the opportunity to affect and improve our members, stakeholders, and community lives.

We have a new mission for the chapter:

"BDPA Columbus will be essential to Central Ohio by empowering minority stakeholders with innovative programs that advance information technology excellence amongst our members & serve to close the digital divide in our community."

This new mission will guide our strategic plans for the next three to five years. Our success will be measured by the implementation and execution of the mission.

My personal motto for the year is to "Keep it Simple." At BDPA, we will do the same by keeping our focus simple. We will focus on three P's.

1. Preparation - Prepare our stakeholders for their future by providing top notch Information and Exchange meetings and training sessions that will assist them in their careers and businesses. Provide our stakeholders opportunities to interact and share knowledge with others through offline and online tools.
2. Promotion - Provide young teenagers a vehicle to enhance their interest in technology through our High School Computer training program. Provide a conduit for the community and members to learn about Information Technology news, business, and career opportunities.
3. Personalization (People) - Provide our stakeholders an opportunity to give back to the community through community service projects. Promote a family environment through positive and supportive interaction with each other.

We will kick off the New Year with a bang! At our January Information and Exchange meeting (I/E) we will have one of Central Ohio's most dynamic Chief Information Officers (CIOs) - Deborah Smedley as the speaker. You do not want to miss this event. This event will start our journey for 2010 and set the stage for the organization. I look forward to talking to each of you at this event. For more information regarding the I/E meeting, please visit our cutting edge website.

Thank you,
Reginald Hillery, President
BDPA Columbus Chapter
(614)746-1963

Message from Columbus Chapter President

BDPA Columbus is the 17th largest chapter in the nation. It has been fun to watch the increased activity of the Ohio capital city chapter over recent months under leadership of chapter president Reggie Hillery.

Here is message that he shared with his stakeholders earlier today:

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I still can't believe a year has passed since I began my tenure as your chapter president. This has been an outstanding year for the chapter. We have had ups and downs, and have used these experiences to grow as a chapter. I want to thank all of the volunteers and sponsors who have sacrificed their time and effort in making this a great organization.

Here is a recap of some of the exciting events and news that occurred over the past year:

• Strategic Planning Session/Retreat and drafted revisions to the chapter bylaws and strategic plan


• Held first ever BDPA Town Hall & Sunday Brunch Meetings to get input from the community and members on their needs


• Held seven Information and Exchange Meetings with sponsorship by Computer Associates, JPMorgan Chase, Tech Columbus, Compuware and Microsoft


• Conducted weekly computer workshops for high school students


• Competed in Regional and National BDPA High School Computer


• Two Members (Cecil Jones and Jeff Daniels) led workshops at the National BDPA Technology Conference


• One Member (Ricardo Wilkins) led a National webinar on Application Development


• Participated and supported JPMorgan Chase BDPA Affilate Chapter


• Building the foundation for a College Affiliate Chapter to be launched in 2010


• Initiated and consulting on computer center for a local church


• Consulted on new websites for a local church, a fine arts focused community organization, and a non-profit that promotes self-esteem in high school girls


• Partnered with NSBE for a Joint Networking & Holiday Party


• Redesigned the Chapter Website


• Launched Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Network groups


• Many, many more events

As you can see, our chapter has been busy supporting and advancing information technology in the Central Ohio area. We can't wait to continue our programming and events in the remainder of 2009. We want you to join us in serving the Central Ohio community.

It has been a pleasure to serve as your chapter president and I look forward to 2010. If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering, please send me an email. Also, don't forget to check our website for upcoming Information and Exchange Meetings.

Sincerely,
Reggie Hillery, president
BDPA Columbus Chapter

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I encourage BETF-Blog readers to share some love with Reggie by using the COMMENTS link below!

Message from Columbus Chapter President

BDPA Columbus is currently the 19th largest BDPA chapter in the nation. Reggie Hillery came on board this year as the new chapter president in Ohio's state capital city. Reggie and his leadership team have big goals for the chapter in 2009 and beyond.

He shared some of his thoughts in the following holiday message to his chapter members and supporters:

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On behalf of the BDPA Columbus Chapter, I want to wish you and your family a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year. I want to thank our members, guests, chapter sponsors and executive board members for making this one of the best years for the chapter.

As we reflect back over 2008, we can see how much our chapter has
accomplished and the value we have provided to the community:

• Career Building Information Exchange meeting with over 100 attendees
• Participated in one the largest Leadership and Empowerment Networking
  events for African-American organizations in Central Ohio (National Association of Black Accountants, National Black MBA Association and National Society of Black Engineers)
• Provided the Community with Voting Information
• Reached a Membership Milestone (Top 10 Nationwide in August 2008)
• Joint Holiday Party with National Society of Black Engineers (Pictures)

In 2009, we will continue to provide the community, our members and sponsors with outstanding programs, training and networking opportunities.

Things to come...

• CIO Forum
• Revamped Website
• Opportunity to Mentor High School Students
• Increase Online Presence (CollectiveX, Facebook and Members Blogs)
• Information and Exchange Webinars and Podcasts
• Social Networking Events
• Training Programs
• Joint Events with other African American Professional Organizations

Please remember those less fortunate and donate your time and resources to the community by providing support to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, Toys for Tots or a local homeless shelter.

God bless you and your family this Holiday Season!

Thank you,
Reginald Hillery, president
BDPA Columbus Chapter
(614)746-1963

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The state of Ohio is blessed to have five BDPA chapters (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo). These chapters play an important role in the future success of African Americans in the state's growing information technology industry. Reggie and his crew from Columbus are uniquely positioned to 'make a difference'. Join us in wishing them well next year!

Message from Columbus Chapter President

We are very proud to introduce our BETF-Blog readers to Reggie Hillery, the new president of our BDPA chapter in Columbus OH. He shared a message this week with his chapter members, sponsors and supporters. Here is what he had to say:

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Team,


Last week was tough on everyone in Central Ohio. On behalf BDPA, I hope and pray everyone is okay and safe.


Despite the challenges of the power outages, we held our Information Exchange meeting last week at TechColumbus. It was an awesome meeting and we hope to continue our relationship with them by having another meeting in the near future. The knowledge shared was invaluable, as a result we uploaded the presentation to our website. If you are an IT entrepreneur or aspiring IT entrepreneur, TechColumbus can help you with funding, coaching and mentoring.


Another exciting event that took place last week, our very own Andre Young taped an interview on Tei Street's Talk Show program 'Education is Everybody's Business'. Andre provided information on our upcoming High School Computer Competition (HSCC) training program. In addition, one of our previous HSCC student's Jacob Wilson provided insight from a studentsʼ perspective. The episode aired this past Saturday and will continue to air on the local government public access channel. We will upload a copy of the program soon to our website.


As you see the BDPA Columbus chapter is reaching out into the community and providing outstanding programs for our members. Your continued participation is the key to our success in expanding to new heights.


Our next Information and Exchange meeting is scheduled for October 30th. Save the date and check the website for more information!


Reggie Hillery, President
BDPA Columbus Chapter
(614) 746-1963

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Please take a moment to welcome Reggie to his new leadership position! With any luck we will have a presidential profile posted on Reggie in the near future.

Election Results: Reggie Hillery (Columbus)

BDPA Columbus chapter is the 9th largest chapter in the country. On July 23, the chapter elected a new president-elect, Reggie Hillery. Reggie ascends to the chapter presidency in 2008-2009.

At the same meeting, Jim Locke was given an Outstanding Service Award for his dedication to the High School Computer Competition program this year.