Greetings,

I am so optimistic about 2012 because 2011 was such a watershed year for the Board of the Black Professionals Association Charitable Foundation (BPACF). For BPACF, 2011 presented challenges that required the Board to make decisions for the future health of the organization.

I am proud to share that my Board demonstrated strong leadership. We completed a strategic plan, refined our mission, place greater emphasis on leadership development, diversified our Board, and are committed to ensuring that we are strong organizationally.
 
Priorities for 2012 include:

• Restructuring our Scholarship Process
• Diversifying funding with emphasis on efficiency through technology
• Saluting the 2012 Black Professional of the Year

In 2011 we expanded from one to two sector specific scholarships. We are presently in our third year of partnering with Cleveland Clinic on the Drew Medical Scholars Program designed to target students interested in a career in the healthcare industry. I am also pleased to report that we have secured a second sector specific scholarship with the Cleveland Department of Port Control with emphasis on students interested in science, technology or engineering. We are on a quest to position BPACF to grow sector specific scholarships with the goal of investing in Clevelanders with the hope that they will return and be apart of the Brain Gain that takes their rightful leadership position in Northeast Ohio.
 
In closing, it is with heartfelt appreciation that I thank the sponsors of the 2011 gala, the sponsors that have consistently supported us for the last three decades, and the volunteers who but for, our successes would not be. It is because of each of you collectively, that this Board has the luxury of knitting together the direction of BPACF to ensure perpetuity and relevance.

"Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly "
--Langston Hughes (American Poet)

Warm Regards,


Natoya J. Walker Minor
President