FADE TO BLACK
E-Blast Newsletter | Issue 3
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Produced by
Black Professionals Global Alliance
NYC * HOU * ATL * MIA * BMORE * NC
Greetings everyone.
It is an honor to be able to greet all of you in this new month of a new year in good health and spirit. We have much to be thankful for today, and that is how I am able to embrace all of you. You are my extended family in life and in business. It is only through our working together will we reach the many goals included in our mission statement-the center of that which states “to change the face of OUR WORLD one person at a time.” It starts with ME doing me, and you doing you. ABOUT US (CURRENTLY)We are in the following cities:
New York CityOVERVIEW…our base is Flatbush, Brooklyn, but we also have an organizer in Downtown Brooklyn, Harlem and the Wall Street area. These areas tend to be where our meetings and events take place. MEMBERSHIP REGION…for NYC include the five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island), Westchester County (members in Mt Vernon, Yonkers, White Plains and Peekskill), Long Island, New Jersey (members in Hoboken, Newark, Orange and Jersey City), Connecticut (members in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford) ORIGIN…The NYC chapter was founded online October 9 and launched its first event that same evening. There are 113 members in the meetup and nearly 300 throughout NYC. NEXT EVENT…January 12, Tuesday, 7pm @ Velour Lounge: “Mary J Blige DJ tribute” WEBSITE…www.meetup.com/bpofnyc Houston… OVERVIEW…we don’t have a specific location yet, but are working on a stable and central office location. MEMBERSHIP REGION…members are in and around Houston, with a few as far east as Beaumont, as far south as Galveston, as far west as Katy (no one has mentioned San Antonio yet!), and as far north as The Woodlands. Interestingly enough, our sisters in Dallas have a group known as the Black Young Professionals of Dallas who we are working on a few events with, but we do not have any registered members in Dallas. ORIGIN…The Houston chapter was founded online October 15, 2009, and launched its first event November 6, 2009. There are 135 members via meetup and close to 200 total representing the Houston chapter. NEXT EVENT…February 10, Wednesday, 7pm (location TBA): “Rich Black Poor Black: 12 Keys To Success For Black Professionals” WEBSITE…www.meetup.com/bphouston Atlanta… OVERVIEW…downtown Atlanta is the most ideal location, but we do not have a specific and central office location yet. MEMBERSHIP REGION…members are in and around Atlanta. There are a few in regions beyond the city limits (19 mile radius) but our focus will clearly be centered in the downtown areas of Atlanta. ORIGIN…The Atlanta chapter was founded online October 13, 2009 and launched its first event November 20, 2009. There are 109 members via meetup and an additional 20-30 representing the Atlanta chapter. NEXT EVENT…January 11, Monday, 7pm @ Royale Vizionz Lounge: “Rich Black Poor Black: 12 Keys To Success For Black Professionals” WEBSITE…www.meetup.com/bpatlanta Miami… OVERVIEW…South Beach is the chosen location for our base of operations, and Kitchen 305-a restaurant inside of the Newport Beach Resort and Hotel in Sunny Isles, Miami (centered between Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale) has been our base of events. MEMBERSHIP REGION…members are scattered all over Miami and go as far south as Key West, as far northeast as Fort Lauderdale and as far north as Orlando. We are mainly focused on events in Miami to Fort Lauderdale. ORIGIN…The Miami chapter was founded online October 25, 2009 and founded December 4, 2009. There are 89 members via meetup as well as an additional 1-200 representing the Miami chapter. NEXT EVENT…as the most active chapter, there are events posted twice a week. Go to the site to see what’s coming. WEBSITE…www.meetup.com/bpmiami Baltimore… OVERVIEW…No specific area has been designated for our base of operations. MEMBERSHIP REGION…members are in Baltimore and Washington D.C. This chapter’s reach may extend as far north as Philadelphia (although events will still be centered in Baltimore and D.C.) but only as far south as Washington D.C. ORIGIN…The Baltimore chapter was founded online November 3, 2009 and will officially launch Friday, January 22, 2010. There are 126 members in the online group at meetup, nearly 100 in D.C. and an additional number in Philly and Richmond. NEXT EVENT…”Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week” Friday, January 22, 2010, 12noon. WEBSITE…www.meetup.com/bpbmore North Carolina (Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte)… OVERVIEW…Raleigh is the base of operations for this soon-to-be-launched chapter. It is unique from all others in that it represents the full state of North Carolina. MEMBERSHIP REGION…Greensboro and Charlotte have Assistant Organizers who are occasionally going to host events in those cities, but Raleigh is where the chapter originated and thus where events will primarily be focused at this time. ORIGIN…The North Carolina chapter launched online December 5, 2009 and will launch offline Friday, January 15, 2010. There are 36 members in the group online at meetup and nearly 100 total throughout the state of North Carolina. NEXT EVENT…”Meet And Greet” @ Leslie’s Lounge, Raleigh, NC Friday, January 15, 2010, 7pm. WEBSITE…www.meetup.com/blackcarolina LOCAL EVENTS
Local gatherings are a way for members new and seasoned to get together to discuss business and be social without the pressure of a formal environment. Our groups favor social networking events as the primary way to get together with business networking a close second. Within those two categories we will explore a wide range of events. Most of the time our gatherings will be free. Members are encouraged to join our leadership ranks and assist in organizing events, finding venues, hosting the events and leading discussions. We’d also ask members who are business owners or know of local businesses that would be interested in sponsoring our group to come forward. Any members interested should reach out to their group leaders through their respective chapter websites and/or emails. Some organizers also encourage you to call them. NATIONAL EVENTS
National events are events that more than one chapter will host and present to its membership. In a few cases, there are events that appeal to ALL of the chapters, as well as a few that will be presented to every chapter by our founding chapter in New York City that every chapter will host. A few events on our 2010 calendar include: “All Star Weekend” (Various hotels; BPGA is hosting exclusive parties nightly | Dallas and Arlington, Texas) February 11-14, 2010 NOTE: Hotel packages are still available but going fast so please contact your chapter leader ASAP to reserve!
“Vegas, Baby! Weekend Getaway” (Various hotels | Las Vegas) March 12-14, 2010 “In The Mix Music Festival” (Various hotels & venues | South Beach & Sunny Isles, Miami) March 23-27, 2010 “The Jamaica Jumpoff” (Various hotels & venues | Montego Bay, Jamaica) June 10-14, 2010 “Essence Music Festival” (Louisiana Superdome & various venues in The French Quarter | New Orleans) July 1-4, 2010 “Blacks Over 40 Cruise” (San Juan * St Thomas * Dominica * Barbados * St Lucia * St Maarten * St Kitts | Carnival Victory) September 5-12, 2010 NOTE: We feature a number of smaller groups throughout the year for close to a dozen specialized and exclusive cruises aboard Princess, Royal Caribbean, NCL and MSC Cruise Lines. Refer to your chapter leaders/group organizers! “The First Annual Black Professionals Business Conference And Awards” (Newport Beach Resort and Hotel, Sunny Isles, Miami) October 1-3, 2010 NOTE: This event is the exclusive creation of Black Professionals Global Alliance. We recently put 100 rooms and suites on hold for our members to reserve at the host hotel, but also have others in Fort Lauderdale, downtown Miami, Miami Beach and South Beach (but we recommend the host hotel for the best rates and convenience). It will be posted to each group’s website by this weekend, but you are welcome to inquire for more information. We’ll be discussing it in future newsletters.
“1st Annual Black Travel Conference” (Location TBA!) June, 2011 NOTE: This event is still being formed by our Travel Committee, but we welcome members interested in starting a career or business in hospitality and travel, or looking to further their knowledge of the business to come forward with interest in participating.
Each of the above events are available to all BP members at special rates. You are welcome to invite anyone to attend. You may also get involved by organizing a group of your own for profit or to fundraise; let your chapter leaders and/or group organizers know and they will guide you in the right direction. As always, we encourage members who have ideas and would like to help organize in any capacity to come forward. We are only as strong as the members who participate! IN CLOSING
As always, I encourage every member to take a few minutes to check out their group pages each week AT LEAST once a week-twice a week if you can-and familiarize yourself with what is going on. If you don’t see something you like, say something to your group’s organizer! Send them a note directly (or you can write me anytime as well, of course). I respond to everyone who does, and to the best of our ability we will answer your question, address your interest and take on what inspires you and share that with the group-or in my case, with several of the chapters across the country. Enjoy your week and I look forward to meeting each of you in the near future. Regards,
Freedom Justice | Founder/Organizer
Black Professionals Global Alliance www.blackprofessionals.wordpress.com Join our FAN page on Facebook (“Black Professionals Global Alliance”) and follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/bpga)
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