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Diversity at #WPC14 is not only apparent but #AWESOME

This year at #WPC14 I have to say that I'm so darned excited I can barely sit still. There is so much going on and so many countries, people, ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, initiatives for Women in Technology, support for the gay/lesbian community and soccer fans who will argue who is going to win the cup today. Those of you who know me know I'm as straight as they come and two very important initiatives that I support and fund are that for the gay/lesbian community as well as youth education and foster care.

I had the privilege of supporting two of my initiatives this year by supporting RyanTech's donation in the Partners for Good Challenge to raise money for YouthSpark and in doing so I get to not only meet, but announce Tyler Glenn of the Neon Trees on stage who is from my home town of Utah.

Tyler Glenn's story extends past the "Mormon" Cliche and ties closely to another of my favorite artists, Morrissey. If you'd like to read about Tyler's story you can do so here and I recommend it: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/neon-trees-tyler-glenn-gay-mormon-and-finally-out-20140325

So I'm about to land at DCA and can't wait to see all of these partners and executives from Microsoft and show our support for youth, education, freedom of choice in so many ways and learn from the best of the best.

When we launch the Partner Celebration party on Wednesday night, be ready for a great concert and wonderful fun and when I announce the Neon Trees on stage there is a contest going on.  If you tweet to @ryantechkevin with a picture of the concert and you include @tylerinacoma and @neontrees in your tweet you will be entered to win $1,000 that you can either keep for yourself or donate to the Partners for Good Challenge with Youthspark.

Don't forget to include #wpc14 in your tweet!

Thank you for the opportunities Microsoft!  Our BEST partner!

Kevin J. McMillen
@ryantechkevin
@ryantechinc
http://www.ryantechinc.com 

The BEST WPC ever! #WPC14

Over the past year about 35 of us have had the privilege of being involved in some of the super awesome events and details of the upcoming Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington D.C.  We are known as the Partner Engagement Board for WPC and all of us have been to many WPC events.  I think the average number for all of us is 15 conferences.  This morning we had one of our final meetings on the details that make up the conference and your participation and Microsoft has used us, all Partners like you as a sounding board.

In just three weeks we are going to be gathering as a "One Microsoft" group of partners, being lead by Phil Sorgen and the rest of the amazing group of Microsoft Executives swarming into D.C. The details of this year's conference have absolutely blown me away.  There is no doubt in my mind that you're going to enjoy this conference more than any other WPC in the past.

I urge you to get out there and enjoy this series of keynote speeches, events, displays and sessions.  For those of you who are interested, I'll be speaking on the Cloud track.  Our sessions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday and the topic is "Vertical Marketing of Office365, Azure and Dynamics".  We will be providing examples, testimonials and tools for you to better your Cloud practice.  We'll spend time discussing the things we've done wrong and what we've learned; summarizing on how we figured out what worked for us, Microsoft and customers.  David Gersten from Bond Consulting will be joining me to discuss the successes that He and Bond Consulting have had in Dynamics.  We'll talk about how partners are joining forces and cross-selling products.

There are tons of sessions available and some exciting changes to the WPC experience.  If you're a "First Time Attendee" or "FTA" you'll find a bucket of resources to make your WPC experience better than if you go it alone.  

To get your #WPC14 experience started go register here: http://www.digitalwpc.com

The full agenda is posted on the site now here: http://www.digitalwpc.com

If you're already registered, start stacking your sessions up here: http://www.digitalwpc.com

For those of you that haven't been before, I strongly recommend joining all of the "FTA" activities where many of us "Old Timers" will be there to help you and guide you.

Feeling generous?  Good!  Here is something everyone can do, GIVE!  There are two ways to give.  

1. If you're attending #WPC14 you can go to the new auction site at https://msauction.microsoft.com and bid on awesome special packages that will heighten your experience at WPC.  From simple things to grand prizes, when you bid and win you'll make your WPC Experience as amazing as I have.
2. If you aren't attending #WPC14 that's okay.  I recommend you reconsider but you can also do something amazing for YouthSpark.  Go to this link and give a few bucks.  We at http://www.ryantechinc.com have doubled the amount of money this far and Microsoft matches every dollar we collectively give.

At any time during or before the conference you can follow my blogs, join me on twitter @ryantechkevin or reach me in the WPC Connect area if you are registered to go.

I'm really looking forward to meeting you all and getting my #WPC14 experience raised to new heights with all of the exciting things Microsoft will be announcing prior to the conference and during it.  See you in DC!

The importance of #GIVING

Many of you may remember when Former President Bill Clinton graced us with his presence at WPC.  What an amazing opportunity to be in the same room as one of our favorite Presidents.  Yah, I know some of us are quite political at times but he certainly IS my favorite president of all time. President Clinton donated over one million dollars of the proceeds from his book publishing opportunity and I believe we should all consider giving just like he did with the book and with his monetary benefits when it comes to WPC.

He wrote a book called "How Each of Us Can Change the World" and you can still buy it or download the audio book from your favorite provider.  More about the book and him on this link which is a site I support every year, WikiPedia.

Let's get down to brass taxes.  All of us can make a difference in the world and the way we can do it is simple.  If you are already registered for WPC, and I hope you are, get on the #WPC14 site and login through the Digital WPC message from our Fearless Leader, Phil Sorgen, check out this page.  There are awesome items you can bid on that give back to YouthSpark and you can give directly to YouthSpark through this link if you aren't going to be attending WPC14.  

Not that I recommend NOT attending WPC but if you aren't going - give a little won't you?

Hopefully we'll see you in DC next month

Kevin McMillen
@ryantechkevin
http://www.ryantechinc.com