This is a tribute to the help Microsoft and MVP CPMs Betsy Weber, Rochelle Sonnenberg, and Claire Smyth provided me to attend the 2024 MVP Summit in Redmond, WA.
The Beginning
The story actually begins in 2023 with the first in-person Summit held after the Pandemic. I had every intention of going, but I had a problem with my left hip; old age and arthritis had reduced the joint to bone-on-bone, it didn’t move very well and was fairly painful. As such, I was going to have a significant issue getting from building to building to attend the various sessions.
With that in mind, I got hold of my CPMs (Community Program Managers) to see what might be possible. The solution was the little red scooter. Microsoft would rent the scooter, we’d keep it in a central location (likely Building 33, the transit hub) and I could ride it instead of walking.
Sadly, all this came to nothing because my hip gave out a week or so before the Summit and I had to cancel the trip – the first and only Summit I’ve missed since becoming an MVP in 1996.
Hip replacement
I decided this wasn’t going to happen again, that left hip had to go. It took six months to find a surgeon, but my dead left hip was replaced in August of 2023, leaving me seven months to heal. That all went well, but it became apparent that I would still need help; I could walk again, but I couldn’t walk all that far.
Enter the Scooter
One again I asked my CPMs for help and the scooter came to be. It would be stored in Building 33, I’d pick it up in the morning and return it each evening. It would stay there on charge overnight so it was available and fully charged the next morning. Too Cool!!! As it turns out, I was not the only MVP in need, there were two scooters and both were used.
Scootering Around the Campus.
I cannot begin to tell just how big a help this scooter was to me!! There was always a spot I could park it while attending sessions. When I had to change buildings, I simply drove there if the building was close. If it wasn’t so close, a quick stop at the receptionist in any given building and a quick call to the shuttle service did the trick.
Microsoft has a fleet of specially equipped mini-vans just for this purpose. The vans have hydraulic ramps on either side, the driver pulls up to the curb and extends the ramp. One then drives the scooter or wheelchair up the ramp and stops in the middle of the van. The driver then straps it down so it won’t move, and off you go. At the destination, the driver unstraps the chair, extends the ramp, and you drive the scooter/wheelchair out of the van onto the sidewalk.
The scooter and the shuttles made what could have been a difficult situation into a piece of cake!!!
The 2025 Summit
Dates have already been announced, March 25-27, 2025, and I have every intention to attend in person. Considering I’m now 74 years old and body parts continue to falter, I’ve already asked about a scooter and will no doubt have one for this next Summit. So, if you attend the 2025 MVP Global Summit in person and happen to spy an old geezer wearing a Fedora hat riding a little red scooter, that will be me, please come over and say Howdy!!
