IT News Online, 3/31/2010 (John Eckenrode)

CPSI Announces the Acquisition of Devon Consulting. CPSI, the area's leading provider of Information Technology consulting and staffing services, has acquired Devon Consulting, an Information Technology and Clinical/Scientific staffing company based in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Devon Consulting has provided high-quality, temporary and permanent staffing services to F1000 clients in the mid-Atlantic region for over 25 years. The merged entities will formally be known as Devon Consulting-CPSI, Inc.

"With the combined operation, the acquisition of Devon Consulting expands our service capabilities for all of our clients. The broader reach in the mid-Atlantic region for IT, and the addition of Clinical and Scientific services, will allow our clients to source more skills from a single vendor," says John Eckenrode, President of the combined company.

NOTE: John Eckenrode is an officer with BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.

See the full IT News Online article here.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 3/27/2010 (BDPA Southern Minnesota)

Kids' Computer Training Program. This pilot project is in partnership with the Black Data Processing Associates Chapter (BDPA) of Southern Minnesota. The program will teach minority elementary and middle school students basic computer programming skills. The first pilot project group will meet for 1 1/2 hours every Tuesday evening. Call (507) 721-0966 for more information or to volunteer with Multicultural Learning Center.

Read the original article here.

SlideShare, 3/18/2010 (Ken Stone)

Ken Stone (Stone Financial Retirement Planning) was the guest presenter for BDPA program meeting hosted by our Detroit chapter in March 2010.

Financial Mastery 101: Getting Your House in Order

View more presentations from Wayne Hicks.

MyFoxTwinCites.com, 3/17/2010 (Emmaly Manchanthasouk, Justin Wulf, Michael Wulf)

Grooming Future High Tech Wizards. Young students in the metro are redefining the meaning of "technology geek." FOX 9's Dawn Stevens explains how the organization is grooming our future high tech wizards.

See the Fox 9 video news report here.

PR Newswire, 3/12/2010 (John Eckenrode)

CPSI's Growth Prompts Move to Larger Facility. CPSI, the area's leading provider of Information Technology consulting and staffing services, welcomed 2010 in a larger, more convenient new location ... Says John Eckenrode, President and Founder, "This move gives us the room we need for now and for the growth we anticipate in the future. Our clients have been pleased that we continue to invest in supporting them in searching and matching top technical talent to help them remain competitive."

NOTE: John Eckenrode is a member of BETF Board of Directors.

Read the full PRNewswire press release here.

PR.com, 3/4/2010 (BDPA Charlotte)

Recruiting Roundtable Event - Joint Professional Organizations Participation. Thursday, March 11, 2010 from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM: The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Charlotte Alumni will join in with the National Black MBA - Charlotte, Urban League Young Professionals, Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), National Association of Black Accountants, National Association of African Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR), will have a dynamic panel of distinguished professionals from the Carolinas Market.

Read the full PR.com release here.

Huffington Post, 3/4/2010 (Earl Pace)

Tax Favors, IBM, and the Murder of Vernon Hunter. The 20,000 members of the Black Data Processing Associates also wanted the law repealed so members would be free to choose whether to be employees or independent contractors. Earl Pace of Philadelphia, the organization's founder, said it will support withholding to get the freedom to be independent contractors.

Read the full Huffington Post article here.

Philly.com, 3/3/2010 (Howard James)

The Tea-He's: Men Savoring Brew by the Cup. The 10 men bantered about their wives' cooking, boxing greats, and suits that fit too snugly. This, however, was no sports bar meet-up or barbershop chat. Two hours earlier, Howard James, a co-proprietor of Tea Country in East Oak Lane, had called the group to order by taking requests for a beverage steeped in centuries of elegant tradition.

NOTE: Howard James is past president of BDPA Philadelphia chapter.

Read the full article here.

National News, 2/26/2010 (Brenda Hogan)

Overcoming the Odds. The Cincinnati Campus Career Center sponsored the first of a bi-monthly seminar called “Just Like Me”. The seminar brings in speakers from all the fields of study at National College and allows them to speak of their diverse backgrounds, struggles, and victories that have made them successful ... Brenda Hogan, an information technology project manager at Duke Energy & past president of the Black Data Processing Associates, was the first speaker on January 22. Mrs. Hogan spoke to the students about the struggles of being a single mother and pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree, as well as being an African-American woman in corporate America. Mrs. Hogan told the students of how it took eight years to complete her bachelor’s degree and having to sometimes carry her child to the computer lab just to get work done.

Read the full Spotlight on Success article here.

TheState.com, 2/25/2010 (Phyllis Coleman)

School News. Greater Columbia is accepting applications for the 2010 High School Computer Training Program. Students in grades 8-12 will learn to design, code, document, test and present a finished Web development project. Orientation will be 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Midlands Technical College Northeast Campus on Powell Road. Classes will be 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, March 13-June 26. Applications available at http://www.gcbdpa.org/ or call Phyllis Coleman at (803) 414-2461.

Read the full calendar of events here.

eWEEK, 2/25/2010 (Milt Haynes, Earl Pace, Clarence Wooten)

IT Management: Celebrating Black History Month in IT: Getting Started in the IT Business. 2010 marks the second year that eWEEK has commemorated Black History Month with a focus on contributions African Americans have made to the IT industry. Last year, we took a look at leaders in the world of corporate IT, such as Charles Phillips, president of Oracle, as well as technical experts such as Mark Dean, an IBM fellow and vice president of technical strategy and worldwide operations for Big Blue. Dean's history at IBM goes deep. He was chief engineer for the development of the IBM PC/AT and holds three of the nine patents for the original IBM PC. However, this year, rather than focus on individuals already well-entrenched in the IT industry and holding sway in the upper ranks, eWEEK decided to take a look at up-and-comers. This slide show looks at folks who are relatively new to the industry—either working for startups or promoting blacks and other minorities to pursue IT careers. This includes both individuals and organizations that encourage or mentor African Americans who want to get started in IT.

See the full eWEEK slideshow here.

Technically Philly, 2/24/2010 (Byron Mayes)

Black Family Technology Awareness Week luncheon at Northeast High School. More than 200 students, staff, technology professionals and partners listened to the musical stylings of a high school choir last week. But everyone was there to promote technology literacy. Held at Northeast High School, the sixth annual luncheon was again the signature event of the 11th annual Black Family Technology Awareness Week, which has some lingering events over the next few days.

Read the full article here.

Philadelphia Tribune, 2/23/2010 (Earl Pace)

Chance Opportunity Changed the Future. This year marks the 50th anniversary for Earl Pace Jr. and other 1960 West Philadelphia High School alumni. Fifty years ago and more than 400 miles south of Philadelphia, four African American college freshmen, also known as the “Greensboro Four,” waged a sit-in at the lunch counter of F. W. Woolworth in Greensboro, N.C.

Read the full article here.

YouTube, 2/11/2010 (HP, Matthew Harvey, Alain Leroy)

What is BDPA? Thomas Polk (Thomas Polk Productions) was the official photographer of the 2009 National BDPA Technology Conference held in Raleigh NC. He put together this 3-minute video that shows IT professionals, BDPA corporate sponsor and a student sharing their thoughts on BDPA.

Hartford Courant, 2/5/2010 (Jerry Long)

Simsbury Bank Announces Jerry Long As Director. Simsbury Bank, a subsidiary of SBT Bancorp (OTCBB: SBTB), is pleased to announce that Jerry W. Long has been unanimously elected to be a director of the bank. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), is Vice Chairman of Charter Oak State College Board of Trustees, a Director for Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation, Chairman of the Bloomfield Economic Development Commission and an advisory Board member of the Institute for Industrial and Engineering Technology at Central Connecticut State University. He is past Chairman of the Metro-Hartford Chamber of Commerce, Past President of the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, Past Treasurer of the Hartford Chapter of Black Data Processing Associates, and a Past Director of the Hartford Education Foundation.

Read the full announcement here.

PR.com, 2/5/2010 (BDPA Charlotte)

Haiti Relief Networking with a Purpose Happy Hour Event. Professional Organizations Unite Together for a Cause. Come network and socialize with Charlotte area professional organizations on behalf of Haiti. 100% of the proceeds donated will go to American Red Cross Haiti Relief efforts. Your $5+ suggested donation/cover charge will also include a raffle ticket for great prizes. Award winning 1/2 price martini specials. Participating Professional Organizations include: NSBE, BDPA, ULYP, NBMBAA, NAAAHR, NABA, COMTO, and 100 Black Men of America.

Read the full press release here.

Auto-Mobi.info, 2/4/2010 (Douglas Ash)

Douglas Ash, Lockheed Martin Vice President, Elected Vice Chair of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum. The Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) is proud to announce the recent election of Douglas Ash as Vice Chair for the 2010–2011 calendar years. As Vice Chair, Douglas will be directly responsible for assisting the ITSMF board and its 180+ members in strategic growth and operational performance. In addition, Douglas will lead the ITSMF alumni program, assist in forming industry partnerships and alliances, and develop programs to improve the organization’s overall value. “Douglas has provided valued executive leadership to ITSMF for over seven years. We look forward to his strong leadership commitment, his ability to produce successful results, and his unique ability to establish shared visions to advance ITSMF into the future” said Viola Thompson, ITSMF Executive Director.

[NOTE: Doug Ash served as National BDPA outside director in 2006-2007]

Read the full article here.

Unscene Media, 2/1/2010 (Millie Liggins, Pamela Sexton)

2010 BDPA Awards Banquet. In lieu of the ever-expanding scope of UMG and what it will become in the near future, I wanted to continue the trend of collaboration that really took off in 2009. That being said, I (along with Bhargav from Channel Awesome and Mark Reyes) linked up with Justin from Mix Media to cover the 2010 Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) 21st Annual Awards Banquet here in Chicago.






The event was flawlessly pieced together - from the food, music and general ambience to the eloquent speeches and professionalism that this organization and its sponsors exude. Huge thanks to Millie Liggins (the event coordinator) for having us out for the event and congratulations to all the award winners and newly elected president - Pamela Sexton!

Read the full blog post here.

Diversity/Careers Magazine, 2/1/2010 (Monique Berry, Donald French, Yvette Graham, Charles Moore, Earl Pace)

BDPA Installs New Officers. Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) installed new national officers in early January. Yvette Graham, who works at Allstate as director of the project development and operations organization for the claims department, is the group’s new national president. Monique Berry, an IT pro at Vanguard Group, is the new national president elect and VP of business management. Charles Moore of Wachovia is the new VP of finance. Founder Earl Pace and executive director Dr Donald French remain on the board.

The original news & views article is here.

Foundation for Successful Solutions, 1/31/2010 (BDPA Los Angeles)

BDPA-LA High School Computer Competition. Every year for the past twenty years, BDPA-LA sends its five top students to represent the LA chapter at BDPA National Technology Conventions across the nation.

Read the full article here.

YouTube, 1/23/2010 (Yvette Graham, Gibran McDuffie, Ricky Penick)

2010 BDPA Chicago Awards Banquet. This is a highlight and interview reel of Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) annual awards banquet.




View the video here.

IMEC Inc., 1/23/2010 (Tychaun Jones)

Tychaun Jones - Parliamentarian. In 1992, he attended Brooklyn Technical High School where he majored in Computer Science and worked part time with Davidge Data Systems (DDS). By 1995, he was a member of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) high school competition team and later went on to college at the University of Michigan.

See the full bio here.

The Flip Board, 1/22/2010 (Paul Moore)

Today, Lightyear Wireless announced the promotion of Paul Moore to Regional Manager according to their marketing and compensation plan. He will now experience greater residuals and override payouts for customer acquisition. “Congratulations on Regional Manager!” said Ron Mattingly, Vice President of Sales. Paul is also a member of many professional organizations which include the BDPA, Mid-South Association of Contingency Planners and the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce.

Read the full announcement here.

Slideshare, 1/21/2010 (John Hoffler)

Running a Small IT Consulting Firm. BDPA Charlotte chapter hosted January 2010 program meeting on the topic, "Running a Small IT Consulting Firm". The speaker was John Hoffler. This is the .ppt presentation that Mr. Hoffler used for his presentation.

Running a Small IT Consulting Firm

View more presentations from Wayne Hicks.

Rochester Post-Bulletin, 1/15/2010 (Toni Adafin, Betty Hutchins, Vi Johnson, Julius Kwansa, Charlie Perkins, Barbara Porter, Ray Ventura)

Perkins to Lead BDPA. The Black Data Processing Associates Southern Minnesota Chapter has elected Charlie Perkins of Rochester as president. Perkins serves as unit head for media support services at Mayo Clinic. Prior to working at Mayo Clinic, he served as vice president of Harris Bank in Chicago.

Read the full article here.

Cloud Computing Journal, 1/13/2010 (WellPoint)

WellPoint Receives 2010 Diversity Leader Award. WellPoint continues to be recognized among the nation's leaders in diversity and inclusion practices and has received multiple honors in recent years including recognition as a Top 50 Company for Diversity by DiversityInc; a Top Company for Executive Women by the National Association of Executive Women; a Top 50 Company for Latinas according to LATINA Style Magazine; Innovation in Multicultural Health Care Award by NCQA; a Top 50 Employer by Equal Opportunity Publications, CAREERS and disABLED Magazine; Best Company for Blacks in Technology by BDPA & WorkplaceDiversity.com; and WellPoint CEO Angela Braly was the recipient of the 2009 CEO Diversity Leadership Award.

Read the full press release here.

Open Salon, 1/7/2010 (Wayne Hicks, Thaddeus Howze)

Forget about saving the Earth, we'd better save ourselves! As a technologist, I am fascinated by the effect of technology on the human species and the human condition. Recently there were three catalysts that made me think about this again. The first was receiving an email regarding electronic waste or e-waste and its dumping on the African continent as well as its illegal trade in Chinese communities. Wayne Hicks, a leading member of the BDPA posited the idea that something should be done about the dumping of toxic e-waste on the shores of Africa and he asked the question: Does BDPA need to take a public stand on the issue of e-waste? After some research, I applauded Wayne Hicks interest in this controversial issue and agreed with his question. A more definitive stand is required.

Read the full blog post here.

Daily-Stimulus, 1/6/2010 (Michael Holman Sr.)

The Dawning of the Information Age. Just this week I had to do a paper for a Pace University class I'm taking on one of the historical events that really had an impact on history. The paper had to be somewhat extensive and I thought "Woe Is Me!". Low and behold after conducting a search, I found a website the zeroed in on the Top Ten Historical Events at http://tinyurl.com/TopTenEvents.

Read the full blog post here.

But You're a Girl, 1/5/2010

You Are Toxic: IT Consultant from Hell. I am sharing the following email correspondence to illustrate how some people have no clue that their energy is so negative that even I don’t want to associate with them. No longer willing to spend time with emotional vampires and people who play mind games, I’ve tried, for several years now, to tell “Chuck T” (name changed for privacy), that I simply do not and will not interact with him.

Read the full blog post here.

National BDPA, 1/4/2010 (Yvette Graham)

President Yvette Graham Takes Office. Premier Organization for African Americans in IT, The National Black Data Processing Associates (NBDPA) is pleased to announce the incoming administration led by President Yvette Graham of Chicago IL. With a new dawn brings a new vision. The BDPA Chapters can soon anticipate an internal targeted message campaign as well as learning of Yvette Graham’s strategic development plan which entails 3 key areas of internal focus: Operation Cleanup, Organization Transformation and Value Proposition. Externally, BDPA will seek out new partners and better engage existing partners and stakeholders to mutually realize the holistic BDPA value proposition.

Read the full media advisory here.