NSBE - January/February 2009 - (Page 11)

From the ExecutiveDirector Bringing It Home By Carl B. Mack NSBE Executive Director “A nd now we go to Bulf Witzer for the returns from the State of California…. Manderson, it’s another unbelievable moment in an historic campaign for the U.S. presidency. The decision in California has come down to one vote. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the total for Barack Obama is 5,123,189 votes. The total for John McCain: 5,123,190. California’s 55 electoral votes go into the red column, for the Republican candidate, John McCain! Bulf, this is incredible! McCain was down by 20 points in the polls less than a week ago. Any idea how he was able to make up so much ground so quickly? Well, Manderson, it’s hard to say, but it may just be a case of overconfidence on the part of Obama supporters. Let’s talk with one of them. Joe Johnson, you planned to vote for Obama, but you never quite made it to the polls, is that correct? Bulf, I’m just in shock. Me and all of my friends, when we saw those returns from Pennsylvania, we said, ‘Man, this thing is over.’ Shoot, we just went to the club….” NO! No, No, NO! …Family, I just woke up from a terrible dream. I went to bed last night, after Inauguration Day, thinking about NSBE’s Alumni membership. I was thinking about the 5,595 AE members we had last year — another record, up 11 percent from 2006–07. I was thinking about the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of college students who have become members of NSBE since our organization was founded 34 years ago. I was thinking about the estimated 89,000 black engineers now employed in the U.S. I was thinking about how many of them have been touched by NSBE in their academic and professional careers and who still talk about “NSBE Luv” today. I was thinking about the theme of our 2009 Annual National Convention in Las Vegas, “Energizing Creativity to Achieve Exponential Growth,” and I was thinking about how much our great, 5,595-member AE would grow with just 20 percent of that 89,000 inside of the NSBE fold. www.nsbe.org That’s what I was thinking about, family, as I went to sleep last night looking at my TV screen, at an image of Barack Obama, president of the United States. Imagine, family. What if Obama supporters had stopped after the Iowa primary the way most of our collegiate members do after graduation, leaving their NSBE membership behind? Nov. 4, 2008 would have been just another Election Day. The “impossible,” “never-in-my-lifetime” would have been dealt a most BEAUTIFUL slap upside the head! We’d probably be looking at a very different presidency and a very different future for our country, today. Collegiate family, as you move toward your bachelor’s degrees, remember that your “The campaign isn’t over until NSBE’s mission has been fulfilled.” graduation day is only primary day for NSBE. The campaign isn’t over until NSBE’s mission has been fulfilled. Alumni members, we are forever thankful for the support you have given NSBE, but we need you to reach out to all of our sheep who haven’t yet found their way home. It’s time for NSBE to count its RETURNS. ■ • january/february 2009 • 11 http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - January/February 2009

NSBE - January/February 2009
Contents
Image or Action?
Bringing It Home
Your Time
Nigerian Students Celebrate
Region III Makes ‘iImpact’
Fall Regional Energy
A Walk for Education
Member Benefits from Microsoft!
Success Catches On
Grad Conference Seeks Heavyweights
Al Collins of Fluor Corporation
What the meltdown may mean for U.S. engineers
Boosting NSBE on Wall Street
“Energizing Creativity to Achieve Exponential Growth”
NSBE Golden Torch Awards
The AE Niche
Jobs in Green Industries
AE Members on the Move
NSBE for Life!
Toronto 2010: Making It Happen
NSBE Calendar
Advertisers Index

NSBE - January/February 2009