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Join The Blacks Gone Geek Community
Blacks Gone Geek promotes awareness in the African American community by providing a forum to share and exchange knowledge within the Information Technology Industry. At Blacks Gone Geek our mission is clear: We promote career advancement for African Americans in IT.
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Chicago Happiness Habits Online Course – April 1st 8:30 AM-10:30AM
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Friday, May 3, 2024
Come Join Me on Stitch.net
Stitch.net is a social community for adults 50 and older that offers companionship, activities, and events. Stitch recognizes that the need for companionship doesn't go away as people age, and that there are many different types of companionship that people can find on the site. For some people, this might be a romantic partner, while for others it could just be a friend.
You can find out more about Stitch here:
And here’s a link to my profile on Stitch.
https://www.stitch.net/app/user/K7nxvzTNuGN2Go7rR8XrZm
I started two international groups since I’ve been on Stitch.
Here’s a link to the Senior Pen Pal group I started on Stitch.
https://www.stitch.net/app/group/016792/united-states-chicago-loop/senior-pen-pals
Invitation Code
If you join Stitch using my invitation code you get a
10% discount on Stitch membership, so make sure you enter the following code
when you join: MZK43C
Or else just sign up at this link: https://www.stitch.net/app/signup?referral=MZK43C
Identity Verification
Identity verification is one of the most important aspects of Stitch. Ensuring that our membership consists only of real, verified individuals is one of the things that sets Stitch apart from pretty much any other community. That means getting verified is one of the most important things our members need to do before they start using Stitch.
Find out more about the verification process here:
https://support.stitch.net/en/articles/700314-getting-verified
Stitch provides two free, simple ways to get verified:
- Using a photo of yourself holding up a unique code Stitch provides
- Getting verified by a Community Champion
Since I am a Community Champion, you can contact me and I can verify you.
Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to seeing you on Stitch soon! 🙂
Milt Haynes
Stitch.net Community Champion
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Friday, December 15, 2023
Merry Christmas
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Tuesday, March 8, 2022
BDPA Co-Founder, Earl A. Pace, Jr. passes away at 79
BDPA Co-Founder, IT Hall of Famer, and Tech Industry Legend
Earl A. Pace, Jr. passes
away at 79
By Norman Mays, Kenneth Wilson, and Sharrarne Morton, BDPA
If you are interested in attending the virtual memorial service please register at this link below. Attached is a short bio of our forward-thinking and ahead of his time founder Mr. Earl A.Pace Jr.:
National BDPA photo by Charlie Perkins
LARGO, MD (BDPA) –
Earl A. Pace, Jr., a computer programmer trainee at the Pennsylvania
Railroad who went on to become an entrepreneur, an iconic figure of civil
rights in the tech industry, and a staunch proponent of technology inclusion
initiatives, died February 19, 2022, after enduring a long illness his family
said in a statement. He was 79.
“All of us will miss his caring, his love, and his sound wisdom as co-founder
of Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA). The
date and details of a memorial service will be announced shortly. Please keep
us in your hearts and prayers.”
A
distinguished alum of The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Mr. Pace
has been in the Information Technology (IT) industry since 1965. He left the
Pennsylvania Railroad in 1967. Over the next decade, he rose through the ranks
of programmer, programmer analyst, programming manager, and Vice President of a
financial telecommunications company in Philadelphia, PA. He became a business
owner in 1976 when he incorporated Pace Data Systems, a full-service information
technology firm providing services and support through its Philadelphia, PA,
and Washington, D.C. offices primarily to banks and savings banks.
In 1975, Mr. Pace co-founded BDPA in
Philadelphia and operated as its president for two years. In 1978 he
coordinated the formation of BDPA into
a national organization and functioned as its first National President until
1980. National BDPA has grown into
one of the largest professional organizations representing minorities across
the IT industry. In 1992, the BDPA Education
and Technology Foundation (BETF or BDPA Foundation)
chaired by Mr. Pace, was founded to support the education and technical
programs of BDPA. In 2011, Mr. Pace
was the first IT-Innovator honored during CompTIA’s annual IT Hall of
Fame induction ceremony.
Within BDPA and on a broader
industrial scale, Mr. Pace was a vocal advocate for business ownership. His
primary message since starting BDPA has
always been minorities should strive to rise above just ‘getting a job’ while
pursuing ownership, operating their own businesses, and landing a position on a
Corporate Board of Directors.
About BDPA
BDPA, formerly known as Black Data
Processing Associates, is an international organization with a diverse
membership of professionals and students at all levels in the fields of
information technology, computer science, data science, and related science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Founded in Philadelphia,
PA in 1975, BDPA Members and BDPA Student Members remain actively engaged in
serving their respective communities through technology inclusion programs and
STEM outreach events while charting the futures of IT and digital inclusivity
with Industry.
We continue to expand his dreams to touch all who seek knowledge of digital advancement and to break the digital divide.
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Tuesday, March 1, 2022
The Employment Scam - 1st Interview
This blog post is part 2 of a series. Part 1, “Forewarned is Forearmed” can be found here: https://www.blacksgonegeek.org/2022/02/forewarned-is-forearmed.html
The interview seemed like a normal interview. I had one the previous week for a remote job at a start-up company. That one was on Zoom. I went through the same process with this job. I found a job I liked posted on a reputable employment website. I went through the steps and submitted an application for it. I waited to be selected for an interview. I received a message from the employment website notifying me that someone had an interest in my application and that I should expect an interview. I received the interview request as a calendar entry. Early Monday morning I met with the CEO of the company. I was impressed. I had worked with small businesses before in my BGG Consulting Services business.
I checked out the prospective employer’s website. I noticed a couple of typos, but nothing major. It looked like the website needed some attention, but that is what I expected for a company that was looking to hire so many people. Yes, that’s right, I found over 50 job postings at the same company but didn’t think much of it.
I was excited and looking forward to the interview. I received a call to my cell phone right on time. The CEO explained their situation. They had 10,000 employees. It was a family owned business that had been around for over 20 years. They had just bought a subsidiary company that was coming out of probate from another family and they needed help to refresh the web pages and connect with social media to promote their business. I aced the interview. The CEO said that I should expect to hear from their HR manager later in the week. We didn’t talk money. We didn’t talk start date. It was more like a “meet and greet” and a chance for me to sell myself.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. Here is what I can see looking back at the situation. The only research I did on the company was looking at their website. I didn’t spend too much time delving into the company background for a first interview. It was early Monday morning. I didn’t want to waste the CEO’s time asking questions. I had taken contractor jobs in the past after a similar one-time meeting. Nothing seemed unusual except the email came from a gmail account, not from a custom domain name. This, in and of itself wasn’t that big a deal. I had an interview at another company the week before and they used a gmail account too. But shouldn’t a CEO from a company with 10,000 employees use a custom domain?
The number of job postings seemed unusual but the CEO explained the situation. The company was changing hands and needed a fresh set employees. They had a loyal customer base and they needed back office employees to run the company. And he gave me the name of their holding company which looked legit when I found their website (except for another typo, LOL).
The CEO didn’t talk about revenue, number of customers, brick and mortar offices or anything concrete. I didn’t think much of it. This was a remote job and they were accommodating my preference to work from home. I could tell from their website that they offered cleaning services in all 5 states and he confirmed that they had hundreds of independent housekeepers from around the country.
I expected that the follow-up interview that would answer detailed questions like this. I expected an interview to quiz me for the job. So I took this first interview at face value and kept posting for other jobs. Rejection letters started coming in. ☹
Thank you for applying for the position of ABC with XYZ Corporation. While your background and experience are impressive, we have decided to pursue candidates whose qualifications are more closely aligned with the needs of the position.
I started to second guess my employability. Had I been out of the job market for too long? Was I too old to go back to work? Did I really want a full-time job? The roller coaster of emotions started kicking in. Seeing a job that looks like a perfect fit. Dusting off my resume and applying for the job. Seeing a confirmation message that my application was accepted and then waiting, waiting, waiting.
The CEO said I should hear from their HR manager in a day or two. It was a long week and I heard nothing. Then I got an offer letter late on Friday. I was ecstatic and elated. I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face when I showed it to my wife. You won’t believe what happened next.
To be continued…
Milton Haynes
Past National BDPA President
Founder, Blacks Gone Geek
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Tuesday, February 22, 2022
The Employment Scam - Forewarned Is Forearmed
Hello BDPA and BGG Family,
I just heard that Earl Pace passed (https://bdpa.org/earl-pace/). I think he’s kicking me from the grave. He taught me the importance of helping the community learn from our challenges to make this world a better place. Rest in peace my brother!
I haven’t been active on social media for a while, but
something happened to me and I just have to talk about it. I’m a victim of an
employment scam. I applied for a job online, got interviewed, got an offer
letter, took the job, started my first day, went through orientation a team
meeting and then scheduled for one-on-one with the COO, only to find out it was
all a scam.
Yes, they got my personal information and now I’m sure I’m on the dark web as a gullible target for identity theft. ☹
I’m going to tell my story, not like Shonda and Inventing Anna, but it’s amazing what they went through to make this all look legit. I’m hoping to protect other innocent victims from the same mistakes I made and the ensuing shame and embarrassment.
My 89 year old dad used to say, “forewarned is forearmed” (it short for the proverb: “prior knowledge of possible dangers or problems gives one a tactical advantage.”)
I’m all about helping others to keep from falling into the same traps that befell me.
Stay tuned…
Milton Haynes
Past National BDPA President
Founder, Blacks Gone Geek
Join The Blacks Gone Geek Community
Monday, September 20, 2021
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