[CONTEST CLOSED] Happy IT Professionals Day!

AmyReyes
Community Manager

IT Professionals Day Cisco Meraki Community.png

 

UPDATE: this contest has ended. We really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughtful and kind appreciations for each other, so thank you for sharing! Our randomly selected winner and their nominee are: @BGibson and @Sandbag. Congrats!   

 

IT Professionals Day celebrates the hard work of a group without whom this community would not exist. The folks who connect, secure, and automate our world; who keep technology – and our lives – running smoothly at work and at home. In honor of IT professionals everywhere, thank you for all that you do! 


It’s no secret that IT can be a thankless job. You typically don’t hear from anyone until there is a problem, and unless they’re technologically aware, most people just aren’t cognizant of the hard work that goes into securing, managing, and maintaining technology.

tech support problem.png

 

This is why, back in 2015, a team of IT professionals from SolarWinds first created IT Professionals Day. They wished to bring more visibility and appreciation to the work that keeps the business running. Today, the day is recognized nationally and celebrated by hundreds of companies.


In the spirit of honoring IT professionals, we want to hear from you! We all have those folks throughout our careers whose influence has shaped us. They motivate us to persevere when things get tough, inspire us to consider new perspectives when we get stuck, and challenge us to reach new heights when we feel ourselves falling short. We invite you to comment below and recognize a colleague who has inspired you, so we can champion our heroes of IT together! If they are a community member and you tag them, you will both have a chance to win a set of these Cisco Meraki Corkcicle rocks glasses. 

 

Cisco Meraki Corcicle Rocks Glasses set.png

 

How to win


In a comment on this post, share an appreciation for someone you’ve worked with in IT who has inspired or motivated you before 11 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, September 27th (09/27/2022). Be sure to tag them in your post if they are a community member. We’ll then draw one at random to win a Cisco Meraki Corkcicle rocks glasses set for both you and the person you nominate! Your entries will be public and visible throughout the contest.  


If the person you wish to recognize is not yet a community member, encourage them to join so you can tag them so you both win! 


TERMS & CONDITIONS

  • Limit one entry per community member.
  • Submission period: Tuesday, September 20th, 2022 at 11am EDT through Tuesday, September 27th, 2022 at 9:59am EDT
  • Prize will be a selection of Meraki swag with value not exceeding USD 50.00
  • Official terms, conditions, and eligibility information

 

62 Comments
Inderdeep
Kind of a big deal

Happy IT Professionals Day !

I would say the inspiration comes when you see team support for the issues people face day to day in this forum and i would nominate PhilipDAth@DarrenOC and @cmr for their best efforts to support everyone here. 

 

Thanks @AmyReyes for the ask !

 

Regards

Inder

CptnCrnch
Kind of a big deal

Happy IT Professionals Day everybody!

 

I nominate @KarstenI who attended an ISE training ages ago (back in ISE 1.0 days) where we had loads of fun switching browsers to fulfill tasks that could be handled by Firefox but not Chrome and vice versa. Those were the days...

Inderdeep
Kind of a big deal

@AmyReyes : Is that we need to nominate only one person or more ?

AmyReyes
Community Manager

Only one person @Inderdeep 🙂 

Inderdeep
Kind of a big deal

I would nominate @UCcert !

cmr
Kind of a big deal
Kind of a big deal

I've always been inspired by @DarrenOC as he has a great depth of Cisco knowledge and has been a veritable encyclopaedia for me over the years 😎

DarrenOC
Kind of a big deal

Crikey, thank you @Inderdeep and @cmr .  

Over the many many years I’ve worked with some outstanding IT professionals.  You know the kind of people you just step back and watch and think ….they’re on another level. Not arrogant with it either but are happy to guide and help you (Lourens Mouten, Stephen Pearce are a couple of names that come to mind)

 

@cmr , you’ve always challenged me and kept me on my toes.  Not only are you an outstanding IT professional you’re a genuinely nice bloke and that shows with the help you give here on the forum.

 

@PhilipDAth - you’re a machine. A straight talker that gives his time freely to help others. Thank you also for reaching out when I hit a big down point.

 

@Inderdeep - enthusiastic, keen and eager to help others. I remember watching your first posts when you joined the board. You came out of knowhere and reached the top pretty darn quickly.

 

Too many to mention but everyone on the board and in IT (which to be honest can be a thankless job) deserves a pat on the back.

PhilipDAth
Kind of a big deal

Thanks for all the appreciation, everyone.

 

I admired Todd Nightingale.  I thought he was a greater leader in this space.

Inderdeep
Kind of a big deal

@PhilipDAth : I remember i met him (Todd Nightingale) in our GSX (now Cisco Impact) when i was with Cisco. He is indeed an awesome leader whereever he goes !

BlakeRichardson
Kind of a big deal

Nice looking glasses, would go lovely with some beautiful whiskey in them. I nominate @DarrenOC having recently followed him on Linkedin that man is very busy with installs and is great at showcasing Meraki products.

 

 

DKCisco
Here to help

I would like to nominate my manager Matt Schwarz. He has endless dedication towards our organization and is a wizard with all things networking. He is currently helping me on a project with MX100 and MG21Es that is very exciting!

KarstenI
Kind of a big deal

Yes, @CptnCrnch these were some hard days. And we also still needed Flash ... 

 

I nominate Peter Palúch from the Cisco Community who regularly inspired me to go deeper with certain topics than needed to accomplish a given task. 

Thygesen
Building a reputation

Hi All !

And Happy IT Professionals Day !! 😁

 

One of my greatest inspirations is Ib Hansen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hansenib/) who helped me start up my CCIE Study back in the days .. Kept contact for nearly 20 years now ..


Thanx !! And I will gladly share the prize (with some fluid content) with him 😋

 

And of course all You contributants here in the Meraki Community !!

 

/ Thyge

 

mboucherEnercon
Just browsing

Happy IT Professionals Day!

 

I left a very secure position to join a flourishing company that would allow me to grow ten fold, if the position was offered to me. Not only did I land the position but in the past 6 months because of the team members I am now working with, I have been able to add to my skill set and grow more than I ever would have imagined. Its very inspirational to know there are good people out there who genuinely want to see you succeed and will help you get there.

 

 

Mike

 

Johnfnadez
Building a reputation

Happy IT professionals day!

 

For everyone who puts the knowledge every single day to keep the world connected and share the knowledge with the ones who are beginning on this world of networking.

 

unfortunately my colleague that I want to mention on this post is no present on this community but I would like to mention my colleague Luis from Costa Rica, who has shared a lot of experience with my since I knew him!

 

 

CoreyDavoll
Conversationalist

Happy IT Professionals Day!

 

I would like to call out my High School IT coordinator.  He took me under his wing in the 90's and taught me a lot.  He trusted me enough to higher me over the summer before my Senior year to redo all the computer labs in our district.  Here's to you, Mr. Cameron, wherever you are today!

 

Corey

JHern
Here to help

Back to early in my career, I had a Mentor - Wally T. He taught me two VERY useful things in my career:

  1. "It is far easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission."
  2. "It still sucks to beg for forgiveness. Make sure you have carefully thought through what you are about to do, so you can explain why you did what you did if/when needed."

 

Thanks Wally!

Ansel_616
Conversationalist

Happy IT Pro Day! I would like to nominate two people that got me into networking and were always willing to share their knowledge and help me grow. Andy F. and Bill C. If it wasn't for their patients and willingness to give up their time to introduce me to networking and telephony, I wouldn't have stayed in IT. I would probably have a dead-end job, but I have a career now. 

Thom1370
Just browsing

Happy IT Professionals Day !

 

I would say the inspiration comes when you see team support for the issues people face day to day in this forum and i would nominate @CarolineS 

 

Thanks and Good Luck!!

nuo
Getting noticed

@BlakeRichardson he is willing to help people out and kind of a big deal 🙂

AnishKamathM
Comes here often

Happy IT professionals day!

 

A small post to my IT networking colleagues across the Globe

 

To all those times when we wished if someone just stands next to us and we troubleshoot our way into the issue to fix it(Anand/Shyam/Ajeesh/Santhosh)

 

To all those times when the excitement would be there when would be performing BCMS activity or Data center activities(Vaidehi/Atul/Hemanth/Vayu)

 

To all those times when we wished what we are going in next 5-10 years seeing our Seniors/Mentors and Colleagues across the Domain(Mukund/Venky/Preeti)

 

To all those times when i wished GUI is the best way and the user friendly experience one can get when they want to learn something new on the product(Ajeesh/Myself)

 

Cheers to all!!!

Kenny_Benzing
Here to help

I nominate Jim Barnes. He was my first employer outside of college (long before cloud based networking was widely available, I sure don't miss those command line days lol. He taught me a lot of the basics about Cisco Switches and the AS400. He has since retired and is thoroughly enjoying that.

 

Great man, great supervisor.

WPOOLEIEC
Conversationalist

I have to nominate @WPOOLEIEC I'm holding down the fort all by myself. Lost an IT guy to a better offer. Glad for him, sad for me.

 

If you can't hype yourself up, who can. Let's go Meraki!!!!

 

NHBrit
Conversationalist

Emily Gagnon is my help and support when ordering Meraki and getting the customer what they need

LENIN
Conversationalist

Always @Gabino my first boss expected much more than regular work day, i learned how to solve all on a time, thanks @Gabino now i enjoy all tech areas.

Joe_Eubank
Comes here often

Hello Meraki Team,

 

In my currently role I am a Network Engineer for an internet service provider. Each day brings on a new set of challenges much like all the other engineers out their in the feild. With these challenges there are times where a wall has been hit and personally one of the ways I've made it over this wall is by receiving help from a fellow engineer. This engineer I speak of is a senior engineer and one of those engineers where you question every day "Is he a robot?". Skill sets you wish to have yourself one day, a memory whereby he remembers the first time he typed "conf t". If it wasn't for him some days would be almost impossible to complete. It would be a wish of mine to have a senior engineer for everyone like I have for myself. The world of networking would always be fun, learning new things would come with ease, and every day every employee would feel like some type of magic is about to be created. Thank you Pat, without you my passion for networking wouldn't be where it is today.

TMRoberts
Getting noticed

Worked with Craig Smythe there who was a former Cisco guy. When partnered with him via Spiceworks's Cisco Advocate program was able to work directly with him for a few years, sorry to see him retire as he was awesome and always seemed to know all the right people or products I needed info on etc. Not to downplay existing Cisco people but I think he was there so long he had just that massive in depth knowledge of the portfolio from network, telecom and services. 

FabianoR
Just browsing

I've worked with Rubens Lima in couple projects...need to say .....this guy rocks!!!. A lot times where we couldn't find answers and we are exhaust to keep it up, he was there to go deep and bring a workaround or at least a new good idea to look in different direction. Pleasure to worked with you!!!

AgileCoach
Comes here often

Happy IT Pros Day!!

I wish to nominate @TMRoberts 

TMRoberts
Getting noticed

Hey also almost forgot @AmyReyes  ... little self plug but it's also including Meraki and Meraki Go.

 

Spiceworks has Spiceworld Hybrid 2022 conference this year, in person or virtual .... I am presenting on Cybersecurity again virtual and in person ... anyone interested virtual is free and it's the Cybersecurity "How deep is your security" session. If anyone is actually going in person ... let me know. If anyone attends virtually there's a Q&A to ask questions.

 

https://www.spiceworks.com/spiceworld/ 

Phil7269
Conversationalist

@jjohnson my first boss made working more than regular work day, i learned how to solve all kind of problems from them. thank you

Mohit_Dhanjal
Getting noticed

Happy IT day @AgileCoach 

 

 

securingnimbu5
Here to help

@Inderdeep Happy IT Day to all!

Nicholas5
Just browsing

Happy IT Professionals Day!

 

I nominate the team at Cisco Talos Intelligence for their continued support to the Globe through sharing actionable threat intelligence, participating in real time incident response, and maintaining the various open source tools 24-7.

 

Much appreciation to the team that does the Talos Takes Podcast plus the Beers with Talos Podcast (Jon Munshaw hosts different technical guys). There's always a lot to learn from their briefs as well as at https://www.talosintelligence.com/.

 

Nicholas Ssali.

van604
Getting noticed

gotta give my good frined and co worker  Phil W, told his boss at the time to hire me to fill in the gap of some vaccant openning and they kept me on and we build this company to nation wide internal IT 

AhmedElsayyed
Here to help

Happy IT Professionals Day! @AmyReyes  😀😀😀

RasheedMHAO
Comes here often

Happy IT Professionals Day @Shajan 

RasheedMHAO
Comes here often

Happy IT Professionals day @Haneef 

BrandonGowray
New here

👩‍💻Happy IT Professionals Day to all the hard working IT teams who may or may not get the recognition they deserver 👨‍💻.

 

The person who inspired me was and is my manager @Abhijit Salvi, whos in depth knowledge and years of experience with cisco products helped me learn and grow.

 

Thanks again to the unsung IT hero's all over the world keeping us all connected in one way or the other 🎉.

 

#appreciation #ITprofessionals #IT #tech #cisco #meraki #swansol #india

HahnPD
Conversationalist

@SpiePaCom my hero. Kapp

Atea
Just browsing

I've always been inspired by @UCcert 

KarimK
New here

Happy IT Professionals Day ! @AmyReyes

GNAGY
Just browsing

Happy IT Professionals Day ! @AmyReyes

ffrosini1
Comes here often

Hi all,

I nominate my collegue and friend Antonio Barbino, who taught me everything about Cisco and Networking technology.

Without him I would not even be close to where I am today.

Thank you!

Waleed
New here

Happy IT Professionals Day!

                                                I would like to nominate my line manager JMathew@starlink.qa & MTaher@starlink.qa whom I was really inspired and they help me to become a meraki star.

 

dariocalamai
Comes here often

Happy IT Professionals Day to @SandroNardi! finally we could drink while designing a new network!

antonis_sp
Building a reputation

I nominate Rasika Nayanajith... helped me a lot when staring my wireless journey with Cisco equipment.

kerstenhaley
Conversationalist

Happy belated IT day!

 

I fell into the world of IT somehow on accident and one of the IT Professionals who has been such a great person in my journey is my current Senior SE Felipe @FelipeG  It can be overwhelming to learn when you're first starting off or new on a team and it's always an amazing blessing to find someone who is both fantastic at what they do and also willing to help you when you need it.

 

He inspires me because he is dedicated to learning, always willing to learn by fire and try something new - especially to help out the team - and is just a kind person. Thank you, Sir! 

Yoelst
Comes here often

Happy IT Pros Week!

 

I would like to give a special thanks to @ExcellentEra for all his work over the years. Without his dedication and know-how our organization wouldn't be what it is today. Through his commitment to our clients as well as expertise on the Meraki stack we've become a leader in and around our community.

ExcellentEra
Conversationalist

Happy IT Professionals Day to @Yoelst! Finally we could drink while designing a new network!

NetworkDemon
Getting noticed

Happy IT professional day to @Inderdeep 

BGibson
Conversationalist

Here's to @Sandbag for keeping IT up and the regular organisation of our much loved Burger Night 

Sandbag
New here

I nominate  @BGibson for outstanding service in the world of IT- and we're going to need a drink in coming projects!

DavidCardenas
Just browsing

Happy IT professionals day to everyone!

 

I want to nominate my coworker @Victorino who always be working to create a better network and secure enviroment for our companie and for invited me to be a part of this amazing community. I'm thankful with all the members that share a special part of their knowwledge with us.

Markibr
Conversationalist

I appreciate my co-worker @RadicalBri every day for the help and motivation she provides. Happy IT Professionals Day @RadicalBri 

Brash
Kind of a big deal

Happy IT professionals day ( a few days late).

One of the best people I've worked with is Mark (he's not in the community and he'll hate me if I use his full name 😂).

He would always push me to learn more and dig deeper.

 

In the community, shout-out to @ww, possibly the hardest person to tag. Often I'll post a topic or a reply and out of nowhere, ww posts a suggestion that I would never have thought of. Keeps me on my toes and reminds me to look at a problem from all angles.

 

rwiesmann
A model citizen

Happy IT Pros Day!!

I wish to nominate @PhilipDAth . Always inspiring posts!

student
Comes here often

Hey, 

 

I would like to nominate @UCcert

 

 

 

AmyReyes
Community Manager

UPDATE: this contest has ended. We really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughtful and kind appreciations for each other, so thank you for sharing! Our randomly selected winner and their nominee are: @BGibson and @Sandbag. Congrats!

Inderdeep
Kind of a big deal

Congrats @BGibson and @Sandbag

BGibson
Conversationalist

Thanks @AmyReyes Great prize and hats off to all IT Professionals. In true IT pro style spotted this Meraki 'alert' and jumped on it from home as we all do! Thankfully this was a good one!!

QBM
Here to help

I would like to nominate Evan Lane at Honibe who is helping us manage our IT infrastructure thru a hurricane that went thru Atlantic Canada. Just now slowly getting some electrical, telephone and internet services. It will be a slow process. I may have missed the contest but still wanted to acknowledge him. Hard to enter when you have no power, cell and/or data services. @AmyReyes