By Oyauma Garrison - President

As I reflect on the first half of 2008, I am reminded of the great accomplishments achieved by this chapter, region, and organization.

Locally:

	Membership growth by 20%
	Corporate partner growth and funding increase by 40%
	Contributions to the community – books, scholarships, community work, partnerships, and more
	Programs, events, meetings – enhanced, attendance up, streamlined and more
	Increased influence on students considering business careers

Regionally:

	Membership value – add: Nationwide Insurance Affinity program
	Regional Conference – revitalized and implemented in Buffalo, NY
	Continued collaboration, teamwork, development, and support

Nationally:

	Improved website and membership functionality
	Enhanced membership benefits
	LEI – Leadership Empowerment Institute growth
	Increased influence in business and academic sectors

We are already off to a great start for the remainder of 2008. Our events and programs continue to receive great support from our members and community partners.

Our Leaders of Tomorrow students have received more scholarships this year, and our
program curriculum has intensified as we prepare future business leaders.

More members are taking advantage of our resume critique workshops, Career Connect sessions, and professional development workshops.

In closing, I would like to share a special thank you to all of our community partners and sponsors who continue to create opportunities for members to engage in intellectual and economic wealth generation.

NBMBAA, Inc. – Columbus Chapter
Wins Big for the City of Columbus at 2007 Conference

Leading with Passion, Power, and Purpose marked with Relevance, the National Black MBA Association, Inc. – Columbus Chapter under the leadership of President Oyauma M. Garrison was named the 2007 Chapter of the Year, making this the organizations third year, consecutively, having won Chapter of the Year in 2005 and 2006. Garrison was also named the national 2007 MBA of the Year by the NBMBAA, Inc. This honor is bestowed up an individual demonstrating a commitment to the vision, mission, values of the organization and having demonstrated outstanding leadership.

“We are an organization focused on providing our members, community, and corporate/education institution partners with access to some of the best and brightest business professionals,” said Garrison. He further explained that the local chapter takes pride in promoting the City of Columbus as a magnet for talented professionals, families, entrepreneurs, and corporations.

The NBMBAA – Columbus Chapter has awarded approximately $65,000 in scholarships and services to local high school students to assist them with matriculation to various colleges and universities. Through their Leaders of Tomorrow Program, high school youth are given the opportunity to enhance their business acumen, prepare for college, and develop skills necessary to succeed in life. “It is vital that we provide resources and equip future leaders with the tools necessary to compete in a global market,” shared Garrison.

“It is our responsibility to help make Columbus a city of choice for professionals, families, and businesses.” With this statement, Garrison shares that through successful partnerships with several Fortune 500 companies headquartered here in Central Ohio, the NBMBAA – Columbus Chapter has developed programs around their five channels of engagement: Education, Career, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Lifestyle. Helping place more than 250 high performing diverse business professionals in the Columbus area over the past three years, the organization continues to engage sponsors in strategies around attracting and retaining talent.

Annually, over 15,000 minority business professionals, graduate students, and senior level business leaders attend the NBMBAA, Inc. conference. The conference provides attendees with advanced business professional development seminars, entrepreneur workshops, and access to an extraordinary Career Expo. The 2007 conference was held in Orlando, Florida. The 2008 Conference will be held in Washington, D.C., September 16 – 21, 2008. The theme of our 2008 conference is Catalyst for Change.

The State of The Chapter
As we embark upon another year of strategic programmatic development and execution in Columbus, let’s take a brief look at our 2006 accomplishments. We are a strong chapter with a continuously growing membership base, corporate partner base, and education partner base.

In 2006, we:

	Awarded approximately $15,000 in scholarships;
	Enhanced our professional development series;
	Engaged our business partners in attracting, retraining, and developing minority talent for Central Ohio;
	Funded several community programs aimed at providing opportunities for youth.;
	Had several named awards on behalf of the organization;
	Rolled out our first family oriented series for the business professional;
	Engaged civic leaders in developing and enriching minority communities;
	Partnered with several professional organizations to continue delivering expanded networking components;
	Grew our Black MBA Storefront usage by over 50%;
	Set the foundation for the Columbus Chapter Endowment Fund – rolling out in 2007;
	Enriched our Leaders of Tomorrow Youth program, currently maintaining over 30 students with approximately 40% of them young males;
	Featured on television for being a dynamic minority professional organization in Central Ohio; and grew our membership.

The above is not a cumulative list, but a great snapshot of the accomplishments of the 2006 National Black MBA Association, Columbus Chapter executive board, committee chairs, members, volunteers, education and business partners, and collaboration with peer chapters.

As a result of everyone’s contribution, we were recognized as the 2006 Chapter of The Year and received recognition for our LOT Program. As many of you may know, we won Chapter of The Year in 2005, and now 2006. We look forward to bringing home the “gold” in 2007.

In 2007 and 2008, we will continue to execute on our strategic plan, adding value for our members and partners. In 2008, the chapter will celebrate 15 years of providing professional development, community service, scholarships, and consultative services in Central Ohio. Plans are underway for a strong 2008. If you want to join the excitement, please email me. 

Some key programs for 2007 and 2008 include:

	Financial empowerment / investment group: This group will be for NBMBAA members only, who are interested in learning more about strategic investment opportunities (stock market, hedge funds, real estate, foreign markets, etc.), and be able to pool monies to impact greater returns. This will be an investment club.
	Executive Leadership / Lifetime Member and guests power networking and branding sessions: These sessions will be exclusive for Central Ohio executives, NBMBAA Lifetime members, and invited guests.
	Professional Mentoring: Exclusive for NBMBAA financial members only. This program will connect members with key partners in the community (civic, corporate, education, and/or entrepreneurs) to continue knowledge sharing opportunities for growth and prosperity in the African-American community.
	Speakers Bureau: We will continue to provide speakers for civic, community, corporate, and/or educational programs. This will be open to the community. At this time, I would like to recognize my executive board, advisors, and key stakeholders in the community.

2007 & 2008 EXECUTIVE BOARD

    President - Oyauma Garrison
    Vice President of Administration Michael Johnson
     Vice President of Operations Terina Matthews
     Secretary - Mary Brown
     Treasurer - Mary Johnson
     Immediate Past President - David Harrison
     Leaders of Tomorrow Chair - LuTonda Baumgardner
     Leaders of Tomorrow Co-Chair - Rommel Davis
     Corporate Partner / Fund Development - Stephanie Moxley
     Membership - Gina Law
     Marketing - Kimberly Blackwell
     Golf Outing - Diana Spencer
     Website - Adero Robinson
     Correspondence - Damia Smoot
     Governance - Major Foley

ADVISORY BOARD

     Frances Wright - Wendy’s International
     Jeanetta Darno - Cardinal Health
     Ernie Sullivan - Sullivan
     Boyce Safford - Mayor’s Office
     Richard Dent - Limitedbrands
     Maria Prince - Limitedbrands
     Priscilla Hammonds - State Farm Insurance
     Donald Anthony - Warrior Group
     David Harrison - OSU Fisher College of Business

STRATEGIC CORPORATE PARTNERS

     Cardinal Health (2006 Corporate Partner of the Year)
     Limitedbrands (2005 Corporate Partner of the Year)
     State Farm Insurance (2004 Corporate Partner of the Year)
     Abercrombie & Fitch (2006 LOT Sponsor of the Year)
     Wendy’s International (circa 2000 Corporate Partner of the Year)
     Huntington Bank
     American Electric Power
     Nationwide Insurance
     JP Morgan Chase

STRATEGIC EDUCATION PARTNER

     The Ohio State University – Fisher College of Business

EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS

     Franklin University
     Ashland University
     Capital University

If you have an interest in being a part of something great, please contact me. You must be a financial member to participate on this committee.

Sincerely,

Oyauma Garrison
President, National MBA Association - Columbus Chapter

Email: ogarrison@columbusbmba.org 
 
Phone: (614) 470-1683