Where Are They Now: 1999 BDPA Chapter Presidents

One of the magic elements of the Internet is that you can reach out to people that you have not seen for many moons. Judy Jones is the founder of the BDPA Greenville chapter. She recently provided me with a file containing the names of the BDPA chapter presidents from about a decade ago. I wonder if we can reach out and find each of these brothers and sisters today?

You've heard the question before ... and now it is being asked of you --> Where are they now?

Originally Posted: 11/18/2008

• Anton Albert (Akron) -
• Gwen Williams (Atlanta) -
• Daryl Hines (Baltimore) -
• Kevin Hinkston (Bay Area) -
• Tim Wilson (Boston) -
• Richard Bell (Central Arkansas) -
• Candice Anderson (Charlotte) -
• Betty Hutchins (Chattanooga) - Betty served as National BDPA VP-Member Services for the past two years. She was recently appointed to serve on the National BDPA Board of Directors in 2008-2009 as one of our Outside Directors. She is an executive with Mayo Clinic and an active member of the BDPA So. Minnesota chapter.
• Milt Haynes (Chicago) -Milt remains active with National BDPA.   He was appointed to serve on the National BDPA Board of Directors as an Outside Director (2010-2011).
• Jessie Rodgers (Cincinnati) -
• Bruce Keene (Cleveland) -Bruce is currently the IT Program Director at Vatterott College in Broadview Heights, OH
• Chester Grice (Columbus) - Chester was chapter president for Dayton in 1999. He now live in North Las Vegas working on his doctorate in organizational leadership. Graduation is summer of 2009, begin dissertation in January 2008.
• Jackie Ockleberry (Dallas) - Jackie is running her own company, JYO Consulting, in Dallas. She came back to BDPA leadership in a gigantic way a few years ago in the role of 2004 National BDPA Conference Director. She led an outstanding annual event that took place in Dallas, TX that year.
• Dee Pearson (Dayton) -
• Renee Cunningham (Detroit) - Renee attended the 2007 National BDPA Technology Conference in Washington DC. She is currently Chief Information Officer (CIO) for P.I.E. Management in Detroit, MI
• Milton Grays (Flint, MI) -
• Pompia Durril (Ft. Wayne) -
• Barbara Singleton (Gr Columbia) -
• Wendy Wonsley (Greater Tampa Bay) -
• Judy Jones (Greenville) - Judy is an IS Consultant for MetLife. Personally, I hope that she will consider helping us rejuvenate her chapter in South Carolina.
• Valerie Thomas (Hartford) -
• Andre Romeo (Houston) - Andre is a project manager for Shell Chemical. He serves as the current president of the BDPA Houston chapter as well.
• Patrick Massey (Kansas City) -
• Reggie Watson (Los Angeles) -
• Steve Thomas (Lexington) -
• Annette McMichael (Macon Middle Georgia) -
• Morris Brown (Memphis) -
• Renee McClure (New York) - Renee later served as National BDPA President from 1999-2001.
• Beverly Johnson (New Jersey) -
• Anthony Collins (Northwest Indiana) -
• John Wright (Omaha) -
• Ron Cureton (Philadelphia) - Ron Cureton still participates in Philadelphia events and is the owner of the Cureton Group.
• Bill Trotter (Phoenix) - Bill retired from Motorola in 1998. Motorola was the primary sponsor of the Phoenix Chapter and employer of its core group of chapter members. Bill continues to work part-time as an IT Consultant. Currently Bill is contracting with an Australian based company working localy at American Express. He remains hopeful that someone will step forward that he can support in rejuvenating the Phoenix Chapter.
• Annette Yates (Richmond) - Annette is an IT advisor for WellPoint. She is incredibly active with the BDPA Richmond leadership team and can be found often on one or more of the YahooGroups in the Richmond area.
• Henry Fields (Rocky Mountain) -
• Robert Riddick (San Fernando Valley) -
• Maurice Jenkins (South Florida) -
• Mark Grady (St. Louis) - Mark is a project leader for Edward Jones.
• Paulette Lalor (Toledo) -
• Nate Wright (Triad) -
• Gerardette Furlow (Triangle) -
• Gregory Douglas (Twin Cities) -
• Rudy Duke (Washington DC) - Rudy owns Nextium Solutions. He is a strong part of the legacy of our BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF). Rudy served for many years as the executive director. He is now the BETF Chief Information Officer.
• Rosamae Emily (Wilmington DE) - Rosamae lives in South Carolina now. She would be pleased to know that the chapter she founded many years ago in Delaware has been reincarnated as the BDPA North Delaware chapter today.

I am uncertain how this will turn out, but, we will keep updating this particular post until we have located all of the brothers and sisters on the list. Ideally, we will have comments personally shared by some of the folks listed above. In the meantime, I invite all BETF-Blog Readers to simply enjoy the journey of rediscovering some of our legendary leaders from before the 21st century.

We need your help! Please post a comment below if you know the current whereabouts of any of these past BDPA legends.

Take Five: Renee Cunningham (Detroit)

Renee and I were both part of the BDPA 'kitchen cabinet' of Diane Davis back in the early 1990s [NOTE: Renee and Diane are shown in the photo down below]. We were both officers during the chapter's vibrant hey-day. I moved away from Detroit in mid-1990s and Renee took over as the BDPA Detroit chapter president in 1995-1996. Renee is now a CIO for a Black-owned firm in Detroit.

She was kind enough to participate in our Take Five Interview Series.

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1. How did you get involved in working with BDPA? - BDPA came to my attention from one of my professors I was earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Science. A group of students were asked to attend the monthly meeting. After hearing the dynamic speakers and how welcoming, it felt to be among my peers. I decided to become part of the organization. I got involved with BDPA because I was making a career change. I believe that I needed to network with people in the industry I was pursuing and if I came across a problem I had a place to turn too.

2. What is the most rewarding aspect of working with BDPA? - One of the most rewarding aspects of working with BDPA was the long term relationships I have built during my association with the organization. Another aspect was an opportunity to build upon my interpersonal, management and leadership skills. I found that the amount of influence or power a manager maintains is one way to categorize management styles.
   
   Still another aspect was that greater collaboration was a must because it improves coordination. Management of a chapter had to be focused on outputs, process interfaces, and clear rules of engagement. In order to govern a chapter the president needed strong working relationships to be successful; eccentric, ego-driven personalities will be an expensive luxury that few can afford.
   
   The next aspect that was rewarding was preparing the members of the chapter that the old school managers and executives will retire early or will be forced to bring new mindsets to the knowledge worker environment.
   
   Another aspect was working with the students of the high school computer competition and watching when the light bulbs go off in their heads that means an awakening has transpired.
3. Tell us about a defining moment in your life? - One recent defining moment was when I got my dissertation proposal approved and I can officially say I am a doctoral candidate.
4. Who is your hero and why? - My hero was my grandmother. Growing up I watch how hard she worked to make a life for herself and the family. In addition, how she would never give up if she had a task to complete. She gave me the strength to achieve my dreams and that the sky was the limit.
5. Any advice for people considering donation to BETF? - One piece of advice is if we do not take care of ourselves who will?

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My greatest memories of Renee come from the annual ski trips that our chapter used to take with other BDPA folks from around the country. I wonder if she remembers those ski trips?!? Anyhow, I encourage you to share some love with Renee!