While the World
Cup was still going on, and the folks in the USA had a real reason to root
for the home team, we fell afoul the expert chocolatiers of professional football
(or as us Yankees - say, soccer) 🙂, and succumbed to the Belgians, 2-1,
in overtime. (USA
vs. Belgium) Congrats, Belgium! (I think this year’s World Cup finally got us
Americans to join the rest of the world and show a great interest in this
international sport!)
Aside from
the World Cup, there was another reason for us to celebrate and cheer, for the
USA, and was a day of winning – yes, #sqlwinning. This is because as most of us in the SQL
Server world know, that July 1st is the 3rd quarter for
awarding and re-awarding of Microsoft
MVPs around the world. Twitter was
abuzz yesterday with the great news: #MVPBuzz
So, in our
community, this is also an international sport, with winners worldwide, as
Microsoft recognizes professionals and saying thank you to exceptional,
independent community leaders who share their passion, technical expertise, and
real-world knowledge of Microsoft products with others.
It is part of
Microsoft’s commitment to supporting and enriching technical communities. Even
before the rise of the Internet and social media, people have come together to
willingly offer their ideas and best practices in technical communities.
As anyone in
the MVP program will tell you, whether they are new, or lucky enough to carry
the distinction for several years, it is truly and honor and a privilege to
receive this unique industry recognition from Microsoft. I am still amazed today, that I am lucky enough
to be in a select group with the best and brightest technical experts, who show
passion and dedication to the industry in which they excel! It is an honor to be a SQL Server MVP, and to
be part of such venerable bunch of individuals.
There is no
magic formula, to become an MVP. It is
the “secret sauce” that Microsoft uses to choose them throughout the
world. Nonetheless, as I have myself
advised many, that if you make an effort to volunteer, dedicate your time to
sharing with the SQL Server professional community, and show unyielding passion
and love of what you do, your peers will see this, and you will eventually become an MVP. Now, ask and you shall receive. Only the Lord knows the “when”, on His own
time, and so shall Microsoft. 🙂
They work in mysterious ways!
Furthermore,
if you feel strong about the dedication of an individual who has valiantly and
tirelessly served the SQL Server Community well, and deserves to be recognized
as MVP, please do not hesitate to Nominate him or her
here!
So hooray for
the USA (and other MVPs around the world)!
Congratulations to ALL the new and re-awarded Microsoft MVPs.
I wanted to
give a special shout out, to the newly minted MVPs, here in the U.S.A, and every
one of them (IMHO) has been awarded the prestigious MVP honor, deservedly
so! I have personally seen their dedication
and work in the SQL Server Community, whether it was personally working with
and knowing them, through user groups, webinars, SQLSaturdays, PASS, social media (twitter & LinkedIn), blogs, and forums, email exchanges,
etc.
Many of these
individuals, are already accomplished experts in the field, and have industry
recognition and distinction (such as MCM, MCP, etc.) This is an additional honor bestowed upon
them.
Congratulations
to Team USA:
And also,
whom I haven’t yet been acquainted with, Mindy Curnutt
Congratulations
again to everyone (whom I may have not mentioned – let me know in the comments
if I missed someone in US), and welcome to the club!
