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Tavis Smiley presents: Blacks in technology
B Partnership with
Microsoft examines
problem of the digi
tal divide
: ATLANTA
' National talk show host,
radio host and author Tavis
‘Smiley, in partnership with
Microsoft and Tavis Smiley
'Presents, will sponsor a timely
'symposium and expo address
ing the digital divide in At
lanta, Ga. Titled “Blacks in
Technology: E-inclusion —
Making a Digital Difference
(BIT),” this freetwo-day event
will be held at the Georgia
International Convention Cen
ter March 16-17. The na
tional tour launched in Los
‘Angeles, Calif. with scheduled
visits to New York, N.Y. and
‘Chicago, 111.
' Recentstudieson electronic
technology report that Afri
can Americans lag well be
hind white Americansinterms
of computer ownership,
Internet use, and technology
employment. “It.is agreed
that the consequence of this
disparityin useisthat we now
face a “digital divide,” which
threatens to exacerbate the
education and economic
chasms that already exist
amongst African Americans,”
said Tavis Smiley, CEO of The
Smiley Group.
The goal of the symposium
is to examine the critical fac
tors underlying the problem
— class, education, culture,
etc.—and tobringthenation’s
leading technology companies
in direct contact with the in
creasing number of African-
American entrepreneurs, pro
fessionals and consumers. To
Piper elected
First Bank
assistant VP
Patrick G.
Blanchard,
president
and CEO of
Georgia-
Carolina
Bancshares,
Inc., and
Remer Y.
Brinsonlll,
president
.
R
Michelle Piper
and CEO of First Bank of Geor
gia, jointly announced re
cently the election of Mrs.
Michelle Piper to the position
of assistant vice president of
First Bank.
| “We are extremely pleased
to welcome Michelle Piper to
our growing team of highly
grofessional and highly skilled
ankers,” stated Blanchard.
- “She comes to First Bank
with an excellent record in
lending and customer ser
vice,” according to Brinson.
i “Michelle Piper will serve
as the assistant office man
ager of the new Fury’s Ferry
office of First Bank which will
open in mid March,” Brinson
stated.
. Anative of Dublin, Georgia,
Piper is a graduate of the
Appling County Comprehen
sive High School in Baxley,
Georgia. She has also com
pleted a number of banking
¢lasses through the American
Institute of Banking.
. She has participated in a
variety of volunteer organiza
tions such as United Way, the
American Cancer Society and
the March of Dimes.
. Piper and her husband, Sid
Piper, have two daughters,
Haley and Caitlin, and they
attend Abilene Baptist
Church.
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i
Tavis Smiley
that end, the traveling sym
posium and expo has been
structured to meet the par
ticular needs of several tar
geted groups.
BIT will open on Saturday
with a keynote address and
then follow with an in-depth
symposium, moderated by
Tavis Smiley, with political,
civic, education and industry
leaders and analysts to dis
cuss contributing factors and
solutions to the digital divide
and other technology concerns
such asemployment, business
and leadership. Additionally,
the panelists will discuss the
strengths of African Ameri
cans and how to utilize them
tobuild a“digital bridge” over
the chasm. The audience will
have an opportunity to ask
questions and respond to com
ments made by the panelists.
The symposium will be fol
lowed by a series of work
shops, available on Saturday
only, for business owners,new
and seasoned professionals
and emerging entrepreneurs.
Workshops will be conducted
by industry leaders and tai
lored to address the many
BDPA CSRA Chapter
5™ Annual Regional Computer Conference
April 18-21, 2002
Augusta Technical College, Paine College, Sheraton Augusta Hotel
“Staying on Point with Emerging Technology!”
Speakers
Le TR Tae T s
Linda Pope
Earl Ward
Eanquet, Opesing
Opening Session
E Seminar tracks
We have seminars for everyone!
Computer Professional Track
Microsoft .NET for IT Professionals - Shea Lewis, Microsoft Corporation
Windows XP-A Technical View - Wendall Mayson, Microsoft Corporation
Setup a Home/Small Business Computer Network - Paul Hays, Athens Technology Partners
Technical View of Oracle 9i Products - Marvin Vinson, Oracle Corporation
. Ipswitch Products - Eric Loveland, Ipswitch
Computer Literacy/Entreprencur Track
Purchasing the Right Computer — Joel Richardson, 4Ts Computers
Office Suite Applications — Carolyn Thorpe & Pat Dandy, WSRC
: Entry Level IT Certifications — Cheryl Dunbar, WSRC
Discover the Internet & Web Browsers — Douglas McKenzic, WSRC
Email Programs and Etiquette - Maxine Newson, Augusta Technical College
Microsoft's "Build Your Business with Technology” Tour — Neketa Argrow, Microsoft Corporation
Special Free Events(Open to the Pubiic)
Townhall Mecting/Career Fair/Vendor Expo - 4/18/02 6-9 pm, Paine College Chapel
Booths and sponsorship opportunities are still available!
Opening Session - 4/19/02 9-11:30am, Augusta Tech - IT Center
Registration
Cost: sllO ($l6O after 4/15/02)
College Students: $75 ($95 after 4/15/02)
Full registrations include all sessions, banquet, breakfast, optional BDPA membership
A La Carte
Seminars - S3O/each, Banquet - $35/ticket, Breakfast - $25/ticket
Registration forms, Banquet and Breakfast tickets aVailable at Pyramid Music and Video.
Located in the K-Mart Shopping Center, Gordon Highway, Augusta. Handling fee may apply.
For complete conference details and to register on-line - Visit our site: www.bdpacsra.org
Visa, Master Card, Discover & American Express accepted via our web site only!
< Phone: 706.793.7484 > < Fax: 928.833.2899 >< Email: conference@bdpacsra.org >
needs and concerns in the ar
eas of business, entertain
ment, dot.com, web sites and
other significant topics.
Both days will be filled with
exciting, entertainingand edu
cational interactive displays
and activities including the
Interactive Expo that will fea
ture what’s new, hot and next
in the world of technology;
“The Zone” Youth Pavilion, a
technology wonderland that
will encourage children and
teens to get involved in the
technology revolution; a Ca
reer Case, for individuals in
terested in the technology
field; and Cyber Lounges that
will offer free, hands-on com
putertraining for adults, teens
and children.
Additionally, to help bridge
thegap, Hewlett-Packard and
The Tavis Smiley Foundation
have formed a partnership to
make computers available at
a nominal cost. For more
information on this laudable
program, contact the Founda
tion at 323-290-4690.
The symposium will be rep
licated in additional cities
throughout the first half of
2002. Smiley indicated, “We
currently have plans to con
tinue this partnership tobring
some of the most influential
technologyleadersto Chicago
and New York. And in hopes
ofexpanding this dialogue, we
expect to continue our part
nership with C-SPAN, pre
senting the Los Angeles Sym
posium to a diverse, nation
wide television audience.”
Tavis Smiley Presents, a
subsidiary of the Smiley
Group, Inc.,, was created to
bring together people and
ideas through symposiums,
seminars, forums and town
hall meetings. Thefirstevent
brought to youby Tavis Smiley
Presents was the highly ac
claimed one day symposium,
“Advocacyinthe Next Millen
nium: New Paradigms for
Progress,” presented in Au
gust 2000 at the University of
Southern California and at
tended by some 3,000 people.
Upcoming symposium themes
for 2002,in addition to“ Blacks
in Technology,” are “The State
of the Black Family” and
“Where Do We Go From Here:
Chaos or Community?”
The Smiley Group, Inc.
(TSG) is a Communications
Corporation established in
support of human rights and
related empowerment issues.
Incorporated in 1999 under
the direction of CEO Tavis
Smiley, it also serves as the
holding company for various
enterprises encompassing
broadcast and print media,
lectures, symposiums, youth
programs and the Internet.
Subscribe to
the Augusta
Focus
Call
(706)724-7855
AUGUSTA FOCUS
D ell Mechelle
26 Action News’
“Tell Mechelle”
airs weeknights on
26 Action News
at 6 p.m.
Do you know what
rules to live by?
I'm talking about the codes
and ordinances that govern
the way you upkeep your home
and yard. One local woman
tells me she’s having a tough
time living by the rules of her
county because she says she
doesn’t know what they are.
Nowshe’sheadingto court for
breaking them.
Lori Edwards of Augusta is
referring to the Richmond
County Codes and Ordinances
that govern her South Augusta
neighborhood. From the bed
liner on her fence to the bro
ken lawnmower that sits in
her yard, all are violations
that Edwards faces from the
County.
These are just some of the
rules Edwards has broken.
Edwards has broken a total of
seven offenses. She tells me
she being harassed by the
County Code Enforcement of
fice.
Diana Blessinger is a code
enforcement officer who has
written Edwardsup twice. The
first time for having 22 bags of
household trash piled up out
side her home.
Blessinger tells me she’s
Is satellite TV right for you?
Satellite TV: digital TV at its
best, right?
Well that just depends on
who you ask because if you
want local programming net
work channels, chances are
you might not get them.
Judy Blakenship tells me
that she paid to receive Dish
Network’s premium plansand
says he was told she could
choose from at least five differ
entareastoreceive NBC, ABC
and CBS and Fox Networks.
So she chose Atlanta.
After she had her dish in
stalled, she then learned that
she had to apply for waivers
with thelocal stationsin order
to get the Atlanta signals.
Mechelle Jordan is the Action News consumer anchor.
Contact her at tellmechelle @.wagt.com or call 826-0001.
» Serving the
investment needs of
the community
Constance Woods
Financial Consultant
SaLomon SMmiTH BARNEY
ONE TENTH STREET,
Ste. 600
AugusTa, Ga. 30901
(706) 823-8144
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MARCH 14, 2002
... & Jordan
trying to work with Edwards
and is just doing her job.
Here’s an idea of the rules
you need to follow.
The lot ordinance requires
property owners to keep the
yard free of debris, lumber or
building material, accumula
tion of grass, weeds and vines
underbrush between the land
and street curb.
The standard housing code
calls for things like adequate
lighting, ventilation, a smoke
detector or protective railings
forinterior stairs. The Unsafe
Building Abatement Code is
for both commercial proper
ties that arein a state of disre
pair and are hazardous.
Officer Blessinger wants to
leave you with this: If there’s
any doubt asto whetheryou’re
up to code, always look to see
if your house is in “selling
order.”
In other words, if you were
going to sell your property,
you’d want it presentable.
Edwards tells me she is try
ingtoclean up her act and has
obtained the list of the differ
ent ordinances she should fol
low.
Allbut one of those stations
denied her waivers, butit’sthe
Dish Network she’supset with.
Richard Alvanos’ company,
Alvanos Electronicsinstalls for
Dish Network and he says he
gets a lot of customers who
justdon’t know they will likely
not get local programming or
any network through a satel
lite dish.
For Blakenship, satellite TV
is just not for her. She’s opted
tojuststick with her cableand
says she hopes her experience
will help others.
Any questions or concerns,
tellmechelle@wagt.comor call
me at 826-0001.
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