Rest In Peace: Brandon Berry (1984-2008)

BDPA lost a young legend on February 3, 2008 when Brandon T. Berry died much too soon. Brandon was born March 20, 1984 in Viscenza, Italy. He traveled all around the world. He recently graduated from Ohio State University with a Computer Science degree. He was working on a Master Degree at the time of his death.

Brandon's dream was to become an entrepreneur with computer sales and internet services business. In fact, he demonstrated his entrepreneurial skills with a business that he started in high school and continued while in college.

I served as BDPA Cincinnati chapter president in 1999-2001. I knew young Brandon throughout my 3-year team as chapter president. I first met him in 1999 while he was attending Cincinnati's Hughes High School. He served as president of the 'Future Educators of America' in high school. However, his love of information technology led him to the BDPA Cincinnati chapter computer camp that we created in 1999. His talents were self-evident during the computer camp. In fact, Brandon ended up being a member of the national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) team from Cincinnati in both 1999 and 2000.


His teammates in 1999 were Tiara Bonner, Jarelle Marshall, Kelly Robinson and Calvin Shaw, III.

His teammates chose Brandon to be their captain at the 2000 national competition held in Washington DC. The team confidently called themselves 'Team CHAOS (Cincinnati Holds All Opposition Speechless)'. Brandon and his teammates (Raven Chambers, Jarelle Marshall, Terris Poole and Stephanie Ross) in 2000 brought home the silver medal in the national competition. It remains the highest level of success for BDPA Cincinnati in over 20 years. Brandon used the Bemley Scholarship that he won in 2000 towards his educational expenses at Ohio State University.

Brandon loved C/C++ Programming and he came back in 2001 as a HSCC alumni to help coach the team that year. He served as a 'technical representative' for the Cincinnati HSCC team that traveled to the 2001 national competition held in Chicago.

Brandon Berry had an immeasurable impact on the members, supporters and sponsors of BDPA Cincinnati chapter.  He is part of our history and his impact as a role model can never be underestimated.

You can help us celebrate his life by making a donation to the Brandon Berry Memorial Scholarship Fund!

Related articles

• Testimonial: BDPA Summer Internship (Hadiya Harrigan, Cincinnati)
• Cincinnati.com, 1/6/2014 (Hadiya Harrigan)

Rest in Peace: Wintino Jones (1958-2009)

Wintino Jones passed away in August 2009 at a Philadelphia hospital. I last saw Wintino the week before his death in Raleigh NC for the national BDPA conference. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

Wintino is one of the most loyal and devoted BDPA brothers that I ever met. He never sought fanfare. You were as likely to see Wintino in the back of the room or on a lobby couch as you were to see him on stage. However, his warm and welcome greeting whenever you saw him was not to be missed or forgotten. I worked with Wintino back in the day on BDPA membership issues. He always brought a smile to my face with his humor and with his ability to 'cut to the chase'.

In recent years I would see Wintino at the annual conference. He was a wonderful bid whist partner if you were lucky enough to sit across from him. I will miss Wintino. My prayers go out to his wife, children and family.



Rest in peace Bro. Jones...

BDPA Legacy: Ollie Morgan (1944-2009)

BDPA Foundation Blog pauses to share memories of one of our fallen leaders, Ollie Morgan, who passed away on Monday, March 2, 2009 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Ollie Morgan is a legend within the BDPA family. Ollie served on the national BDPA board of directors for a number of years as BDPA Chicago chapter president, national president and immediate past president. Over the past decade he was an author and photographer living out his dreams in New Mexico.

Ollie was a key player in the growth of corporate sponsorships. He created the concept known as 'Corporate Advisory Councils'. We now have active CACs in many of our larger and more successful chapters around the nation.

Ollie was the first to understand the importance of developing a 'return on investment' value proposition. Ollie's vision turned into the record-setting corporate sales revenue coming into the BDPA Chicago and National BDPA treasury since the mid-1990s.

Ollie was a prolific writer. His articles about BDPA regularly appeared in the National JOURNAL and the BDPA Chicago PROFESSIONAL newsletters.

I appreciate the powerful legacy of Ollie Morgan ... particularly in the 1993-1995 era. Ollie should be a future member of the BDPA Hall of Fame. For now, we honor him here on our blog.

Please share your memories of Ollie in the COMMENTS area below!

BDPA Leader Marcus Mack Dies In Costa Rica After Saving Boy

Friends, family and BDPA associates are mourning the loss of a past BDPA Southern Minnesota leader who saved the life of a 10-year-old boy off the coast of Costa Rica, but couldn't make it to shore himself. Thirty-five-year-old Marcus Mack was vacationing in Costa Rica on Feb. 7. He was playing in the water with his friend David Tines (BDPA So Minnesota past president), Tines' 10-year-old son, and the girl of another friend when a wave sucked the group under water.

Tines says Marcus went to the aid of Tines' son D'Angelo. He grabbed the boy by the waist and threw him toward the shore. The boy, his father and the girl all made it to the beach.

But Marcus never made it to shore.

David Tines says Marcus is a hero who saved a boy's life instead of worrying about his own.

Marcus attended several conferences so many BDPA members may remember him. He is the father of three young children so a fund has been set up to help support his family. Donations can be sent to:


'The Mack Fund'
Edward Jones
4057 28th St. N.W., Suite 400
Rochester, MN 55901

The story of his heroism is told in more detail here and here. Please keep his family, David's family and the entire Southern MN Chapter in your prayers.