On the 1st of January 2017 I was awarded the Microsoft MVP award for Office Servers and Services (Yes, I am a SharePoint nut). I feel honoured to be a recipient of this award because it recognises something which I personally think is very important, contributing to the IT community.

I encourage everyone to find a community of interest and participate regardless of whether it is technology based or something completely different. Being part of a community is rewarding in many ways. You’ll meet new people, make great friends, learn new things and get enormous satisfaction from helping others who share you interest.

My involvement in the IT community was sparked by a need to learn about things that weren’t written in books or covered by professional training courses. I quickly discovered that putting myself forward to talk on a topic was a great motivator for learning (I was worried about embarrassing myself). I also discovered that embarrassment doesn’t really happen, people are supportive, audiences are kind and many people will take a moment to say a quiet thank you.

I never set out to get an award, that is something that came from giving time, sharing experience and talking about what goes wrong in the real world. Thank you very much to the people who support me, participated in the events I have organised, turned up to my presentations, watched my YouTube video and read my blog. I feel very thankful and motivated to keep it up!

Thank you! Now go and sign yourself up to your local user group!