Fully Managed™: Microsoft IMPACT Awards 2011 Win

This past Wednesday, November 30th 2011, marked the Microsoft IMPACT Awards for 2011 in Toronto.  Chris Day and I attended this prestigious event which is put on by Microsoft Canada annually to recognize outstanding partners in Canada.  For Fully Managed™, this was our second appearance at the awards as we were a finalist in the same category last year (Online Services Partner of the Year). I thought I would provide a little different perspective on things and provide a personal play-by-play of the day in its entirety:

5 AM: Rise and shine. Our flight is at 8 and it's the beginning of a LONG day.

8 AM: Take-off. I somehow received the worst middle economy seat on the plane with two individuals in front of me who immediately ordered Caesars and rum/cokes, this continued throughout the entire 4+ hour flight.

4 PM (EST): Landed. a smooth flight, no bumps, I managed to consume a great movie and a go-karting documentary, however, I neglected to eat which leaves me in a state of starvation.

4:30 PM: Where are my bags! Haven't seen them come down, Chris and I are the last people there, no bags in sight, does Murphy really hate me this much? A couple thoughts immediately cross my mind: am I seriously going to have to wear jeans to this event? The doors open at 5:30, so there's no chance I could find a replacement suit. As Chris and I are headed over to the Air Canada customer service kiosk, I see one bag coming around the corner, there it is! Talk about relieved... we move quickly to find a taxi or a town car to get us to the Hotel

5 PM: Where did all the Taxis go, massive lineups for both cabs and limos with limited vehicular carriages to service either. Apparently there is a shortage of transportation in Toronto, that or it's a busy day.  Chris and I wait at least 30 minutes to finally get something that can take us to One King West in downtown Toronto. The drive downtown seems to take forever. If you think Vancouver is bad for congestion, think again. I witnessed 10+ close-calls on major accidents and it took us forever just to reach our hotel. We are now running behind as the reception started at 5:30 and dinner starts at 7.

6:15 PM: We decide to grab a quick bite and drink before quickly changing into uniform as we're both famished.  A couple of sesame chicken skewers washed down with an Espresso Martino (Kahlua, baileys, shot of espresso, vodka) were a perfect pre-game meal.

6:30 PM: Fermenting Cellar. We arrive at the venue only minutes before the official dinner starts.  The Distillery District in Toronto is amazing, very Gastown-like as it reminded me of home.  Old brick buildings, cobblestone walkways, and infested with restaurants and shops.  We quickly grab our lanyards upon entering the event and find our table as it's minutes before the start of the event.  At our table is Rob King (Director, Marketing and Channel Strategy, Microsoft), two individuals from IT Weapons, the President of Dolphin Digital Technologies and his wife; a great crew!

7:00 PM: And it begins. The night starts off with Eric Gales (President, Microsoft Canada) making his opening remarks.  The host of the event is introduced, Robyn Benincasa who is a motivational speaker on the topics of teamwork and leadership, a great theme for the evening.  Throughout the entire evening, Robyn talked about past experiences and had various slides and video clips of eco-races and situations where teamwork and leadership prevailed in critical situations.  Overall, she had an inspiring and motivating story and was a great host for the evening.

8:00 PM: The awards begin.  The first award category of the night is for the Community Leadership Partner of the Year.  Scott Burton (at our table) is one of the finalists.  Sure enough, Scott and his team are awarded the first trophy of the night so congrats to Scott, his wife, and the team at Dolphin Digital Technologies.  It was great to see a deserving company awarded the first trophy of the evening and I thought to myself, maybe this is a table full of 'winners'...fingers crossed.

9:00 PM: Drum roll...  I could not believe how nervous I was as our category was up next, I'm never nervous, but my heart was literally trying to escape from my chest.  I knew what it was like to sit there and have your name announced as a finalist (Microsoft IMPACT Awards 2010) only to not have it called as a winner.  It's crushing.  We set a goal the night we received the news last year at the same event that we would be back as finalists and be awarded Microsoft Online Services Partner of the Year.

So here we are, sitting in anticipation as they announce the finalists.  What made me nervous was that we were going up against a 1-billion dollar company in Softchoice but I knew we had a legit shot as we worked so hard for it.  Finalists announced, heart pounding, leg won't stop moving, I look over a Chris and the guy is as cool a cucumber but I can tell his heart is also trying its best to explode from his chest.  "...and the award goes to a company that creates Peace of Mind for their clients...” BOOM, I knew right away it was us and instantly gained a perma-grin as our table erupts in cheers.  Chris and I went on stage, accepted our awards, and Chris said a few words.  We posed for a picture on stage, had our photo taken with Eric Gales and made our way back to our table.  What a relief, we did it!

10:00 PM: We spent the rest of the evening making our way through a 3-course meal, posing for additional pictures, and speaking with other Microsoft Partners (finalists and winners).  As always, Starshot and Microsoft put on a great event with awesome food, a great open bar, and a wicked DJ that created a perfect atmosphere from start to finish.

This award represents hundreds of hours of labour spread across our entire team.  From account managers, to consultants, to individuals that are supporting our Online Services deployments on a daily basis, this was truly a team effort and a well-earned award.  We set this target over a year ago; we knew what it was like to be a finalist and to be so close to receiving that type of recognition.  It left a bitter taste in our mouth but motivated us to do better and achieve greatness and last Wednesday we did.  Last Wednesday capped off an amazing 2011 by the Fully Managed™ team and we are honoured to be recognized for our hard work and dedication to Microsoft Online Services.