Welcome to the A Plus blog!

I'm Carl Walton, President of the A Plus, Triad Chapter. A Plus was established in 1987 in Philadelphia, PA by executives of the Postal Service who felt there was no support system in place to help African-American employees who aspired to executive and high-level management positions; A Plus was created not only to help those individuals, but also for those individuals to help others who needed guidance and mentoring from those who have been through some common obstacles to achieve their goals. Now, 22 years later, we're still here, and with chapters throughout America, including four here in NC - Triad (Greensboro area), Triangle (Raleigh-Durham area), Foothills (Hickory area) and Charlotte. Our mission is to help employees - ANY employee who needs help, regardless of race, religion, or any other orientation - to pursue their goals as employees through training, development, networking and mentoring.

We are pleased to have a dynamic, motivated and diverse group of individuals who make up the Triad Chapter. We've been around since May 2007 and had 34 members in 2008. We are starting 2009 strong, with one chapter meeting completed already in January, featuring guest speaker Mr. Gene Hairston, Mgr., Major Accounts based in Charlotte, and former Marketing Mgr., Greensboro District. We've also had a group outing to the Barn Dinner Theater in Greensboro, where 40 members, family and friends saw "Dreams of a King: The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.", an incredibly energetic and unique look at our most revered civil rights leader, featuring tremendous musical performances. We also are looking forward to a number of activities throughout the year, including the Human Race in March, the national A Plus Conference in Hartford, CT in April/May, a casino bus ride in June or July, and the regional A Plus Conference in October in Myrtle Beach, in which we are the "host" chapter; we will have active posts prior to each of those activities.

Our next big thing is open to EVERYONE, especially anyone working in government service: Our Old School Post-Inaugural Triad Extravaganza, a Grown-N-Sexy dance event at Omega House in Greensboro/Browns Summit on Saturday night, February 28, 2009. It's our way of celebrating our nation's new administration, and we're recognizing all public servants, whether federal, state, local or county, and includes postal employees, police officers, IRS, SSA, DMV, public defenders, A&T/UNCG staff, military, etc. It's only $15 in advance, and it's BYOB - bring your own brown bag, as no alcohol will be sold on the premises. A great DJ will be there playing music from 70s, 80s and 90s, and of course all the slides, shuffles and line dances we have time for. I'm new to this blog, so please look for the flyer posted near this page; if you don't see it, post a blog or email me at carlgso@yahoo.com and I'll send one your way.

Lastly, I'll let you know some people to reach out to for tickets and info on the upcoming Extravaganza: Angie Hicks, HRSSC (248-867-0633); Helene Bayona, GSO P&DC (336-687-6028); Sheila Miller, GSO P&DC (336-587-5664); Caryn Cruickson, Public Defenders office (336-255-4136); Mae Lewis, Defense Contracting (336-851-0757), and me (336-337-7628).

This is a blog, so let's make this interactive like it's supposed to be: hit me back 0r post what you want in response to what you see and read. Just keep it civil and respectful, we want this to be an informative, valuable and positive experience. A Plus is designed to help people get to where they want to go - sort of like a GPS through the Postal Service - so let's make it a group effort. There are strength in numbers, so let's work together and have fun doing it.

Peace and love, Carl the Prez