BDPA Members and Friends,

GCBDPA Chapter President Mildred Allen and I were honored to be present at the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Commissioning ceremony on Friday, May 10th at the Duke University Chapel, Duke University, in Durham, NC. Raven Stevenson, a graduate of our local HSCC training program, was commissioned in the United States Navy on Friday, and she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Duke University on Sunday. What an outstanding set of achievements!


You may remember Raven as the GCBDPA HSCC student who won the $180,000 scholarship in 2009 while competing at the HSCC competition in Washington, DC. Her fellow team members were Dominique Geiger and Sami Patel. 


After the Commissioning Ceremony, the BDPA Triangle Chapter hosted a reception for Raven and her family at the First Flight Venture Center in Durham, NC. The reception was attended by members of Raven’s family, as well as by members of the BDPA Triangle, BDPA DC, and BDPA Greater Columbia Area chapters, and the BDPA National President, Monique Berry.

Ensign Stevenson will be reporting to CG 66 USS HUE CITY in Mayport, Florida, in August.Attached are a few pictures from Friday’s events. We congratulate Raven on her outstanding accomplishments and wish her every success in the future.

Sincerely,

Paulette 

Paulette Johnson-Davis 
Vice President of Business Management 
BDPA Greater Columbia Area Chapter

Happy New Year BDPA!

With profound gratitude, I am pleased to serve my second year as the president of this great association, along with other outstanding individuals on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee—Dr. Craig Brown (National Vice President) , Loraine Stewart-David (Vice President of Finance), Earl Pace (Founder) , Regional Vice Presidents and Director: Teresa Williams, Fred Smith, Eric Dortch and Coram Rimes; Pamela Sexton (Vice President of Strategy), Glenda Chappell (Secretary), Milt Haynes (CIO), and Outside Directors; William Flowers and Jessie Matthews. I would like to thank this dedicated core of volunteers and express my appreciation to you for once again serving this organization.

To our members, I am deeply appreciative of your continued support of BDPA. I personally am grateful to you for the honor you have bestowed on me and my fellow colleagues on the Board of Directors. We look forward to working with you in 2013.

As I sit back and think about the task before us, I am grateful for the trust bestowed while mindful of the sacrifices our founders, past presidents and long-time volunteers who have tirelessly worked to support this organization. I would also like to thank our corporate partners who respond to the call of duty by making sure this organization continues to exist.

The vision of BDPA, as set forth in our by-laws, can only be realized when we stand up to serve in whatever capacity – as committee members, speakers, volunteers, and so on. BDPA needs us. But, more importantly, our community – the one that we serve – needs us. To that end the vision is clear for this 2013; we will:

1. Expand our membership base, including reaching out to college students and building relationships with college administrations;

2. Collaborate with other organizations and associations to further our organizations mission and goals;

3. Engage our members with regular communication via social networks, BDPA Today and BDPA iRadio;

4. Listen to and involve our members by holding periodic national conference call meetings; and

5. Advance professional development by offering cutting edge seminars and panels during the annual conference.

I am certainly aware that because these are challenging times and our schedules are ever increasing that we may not achieve everything we set out to achieve this next year, but fellow colleagues – I am hopeful that we are poised for great things. In the spirit of service, I implore you to choose to serve BDPA and your local community who desperately need us. I humbly ask you to join us as we endeavor to take BDPA to the next level of distinction over the next twelve months. As our President Barak Obama once said, "The challenges we face will not be solve with one meeting in one night. Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are that change that we seek.”

I wish all of you the very best in 2013 and look forward to working to be the change that we seek.

Increasing membership is a numbers game, and building the prospect pipeline is the key. To do so, Membership Vice Presidents need to master the long (or not-so-long) woo.

Sometimes you get a new member over lunch or at a meeting. Sometimes you spend a year bringing a prospect in. In either case, you'll have the greatest success if you follow the same five basic steps. This process works because it focuses on building the relationship; understanding the prospect's needs and perspective; knowing when and how to ask him or her to join and how to follow up; and, ultimately, transforming the prospect into a member.

1. Question, don't pitch. When you meet a prospect, you're making a mistake if you pitch membership right away. Instead, learn about the prospect's professional goals, his concerns, his family, his hobbies. The prospect must know that you care about him. Ask open-ended questions that will identify pain points and, most important, build the relationship. Treat the prospect as if he were already a valued member. The conversation will naturally lead to an exploration of the opportunities BDPA offers and the prospect's need for them.

2. Offer guidance. After developing a rapport and a good sense of what concerns the prospect, offer guidance. Clarify his goals and ask whether he has considered certain strategies. Once you have a good sense of his needs, suggest ways the BDPA can support him. Be sure to articulate the problem and any related needs using the prospect's language.

3. Make your pitch. After the prospect has acknowledged that BDPA can help him address some or many of his concerns, ask him to join. Look the prospect in the eye and tell him you would be honored to serve him as a member. Be careful here: Don't push. If the prospect is headed toward membership, great. If not, ask if he needs more information about BDPA and its services and find out how to follow up appropriately.

4. Follow up. On the follow-up call, ask the prospect whether he has any questions about the membership. Do not be surprised if he has not read any of the materials you provided or made a decision. In that case, use the call as an opportunity to share additional thoughts. Since you both have had a chance to reflect since your last conversation, new issues or concerns may have surfaced. Follow the iterative, often circular nature of the five steps: If necessary, go back to step one.

5. Provide great service. This is the key to membership renewal and referrals. Once you have signed up a new member, continue to invest in and build the relationship. Take the time to understand your members' needs and concerns, and address them as appropriate.

Wooing new members requires commitment, tenacity, and patience. These five steps provide an effective process to follow. If you stick with it, you'll master the woo and see your membership numbers grow.

Make it happen in your life! It's as easy as A to Z.

Attitude	This is your foundation. It's the mark of you.
Believe	Believe in your unique, capable self.
Courage	Have courage to try and keep trying until you achieve your goals.
Discipline	It pays off in results.
Enthusiasm	Make it part of you and share it with others.
Fun	It has to be there for meaningful results. Make achievement fun!
Goals	These are your success targets. Aim high.
Hope	The magic ingredient that sparks you into positive action.
Initiative	Do it now! This is determination in action.
Just	Be honorable and fair in all of your actions.
Knowledge	Work hard to acquire it, but most of all, use it.
Love	In all that you do, love must set the pace.
Motivation	That which forces you into action. It must be self motivation for achievement.
Negatives	Avoid them. Keep them out of your environment, especially negative people.
Organization	It isn't necessary, but it sure helps get the job done easier. Work at it!
Practice	To succeed, you must practice, practice, practice!
Quality & Quantity	The twins of achievement.
Responsibility	Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.
Self-Esteem	A positive self-image is priceless.
Toughness	Mental and physical – they're an unbeatable combination.
Understanding	Know your strengths and weaknesses, accentuate the positives.
Virtue	The quality of moral excellence. It must be #1 in your living philosophy.
Winning	Your reward for hard work and a positive attitude.
X-tra Mile	Can't achieve without it. You have to work, work, work!
You	The most important ingredient in achieving your success.
Zest	Your GO power – turn it on and let it flow!