Past BPA members are a vital part of our organization. They assist with helping at various conferences throughout the year. Their assistance is also used prior to competition by visiting schools to help students prepare for competition. It's always nice to see past students return to assist at our regional and state conferences.

Continued participation by past members also brings joy to chapter advisors because seeing and hearing from past members allows us to hear about their success. DeWitt High School advisor Kelly Williams stated, "Dave and I are so blessed to have so many alumni that believe in BPA and have expressed the impact that it has had on their lives. They are always just a phone call away."

Want to stay more involved, visit our alumni page for more details.

Pictured above, DeWitt High School alumni and advisors attending the 2012 Region 9 Regional Leadership Conference at Baker College of Owosso. From left to right: Dan Tratt, Mike Davis, Tim Park, Kelly Williams, Stephanie Bunn, Matt Eible, Josh Vaughn, Peter Tratt, Erin Lucian, and Dave Koenigsknecht. Not pictured: Kevin Kinney.

Mona Shores BPA President Jason Colella arranged for the Fruitport High School, Ravenna High School, and Mona Shores High School BPA groups to volunteer time sorting toys and clothing for the Salvation Army. It was a huge success--29 students and 4 advisors worked on December 6, 2011 after school to get things organized for their Christmas give-away packages to 1,200 needy families. The Salvation Army team told them that they did three days' worth of work in one afternoon/evening. Way to go BPA!

Pictured here you see the BPA groups in action.

A special BPA Pistons Event has been added for Friday, April 13, 2012. Due to the late start of the current NBA season, we have added an extra BPA Pistons Event this school year. Don't miss out an exciting opportunity for you and your students to learn more about sports management. During the BPA Pistons event, speakers will talk about topics such as the human resources aspect of a sports franchise, incorporating technology into the sports industry, and much more. In addition, stay to watch the Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks. Visit our documents page to download the BPA Pistons Event Registration Form.

By Nick Partie
State President

Everyone is familiar with the term “going green.” You can’t go anywhere without being reminded of this recent movement to help protect the environment. A common misconception about this movement is that you have to change your entire lifestyle. That is not the case at all. It is a combination of little steps in your everyday life that make the biggest difference. These little changes are not only benefiting the environment, but in many ways, you. Money savings is a huge result to going green. Examples include being more fuel efficient, reusing water bottles, or simply carrying a lunch box rather than a paper bag. You will be surprised at how much money you end up saving once you consistently make these changes.

Something you and your chapter can do to cut back on waste and save money is to scan in all sample documents, human resource manuals, and style and reference manuals on a computer to reduce all of the copies. This will make a huge difference while also making the documents readily available to your members. Even if saving the environment isn’t at the top of your to-do list, try to make a conscious effort to at least do it for yourself. It is all of the little things that make the biggest difference.

Have you liked Michigan BPA's Facebook page, yet? Like our page to find out everything you need to know about Michigan BPA. We are using both Facebook and Twitter to give information about BPA activities, event changes, as well as information about the state leadership conference. Finally for our 40th Anniversary we want EVERYONE (alumni, students, and advisors) to fill a 40 years of BPA paper with what BPA has done for you. You can print this paper off on our Web site or Facebook page. Fill them out and send them in throughout the remainder of this year. The sheets will be used at the state conference.