Culminis is an international nonprofit organization representing the culmination of the ideas, aspirations, and needs of the IT professional. Its goal is to elevate the status of the IT professional. Culminis believes the best way to do this is to support independent, professional groups and associations commonly known as IT Pro User Groups. It provides support to user group leaders to help them facilitate growth and promote balance within the IT professional community. Culminis strongly believes that a globally cohesive group of IT professionals can change the world simply because successful change management is an inherent character trait of all IT professionals.

How does Culminis help? Culminis has five Core Services, each designed to facilitate a specific need of user group leaders within the IT professional community. To join and learn more, visit www.culminis.com.

International .NET Association (INETA) is the leading community-based worldwide organization for Microsoft .NET focused user groups. Member user groups have access to a variety of services and resources, such as how to start new groups or enhance existing ones.

A marquee benefit is the INETA Speakers Bureau, which provides expert speakers for user group meetings at no cost to the user group. Some of the additional services include Community Leadership Summits that bring together user group leaders for valuable information sharing and online best practices and guidelines via the INETA Live program.

Visit ineta.org to find out more.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) are outstanding community leaders who foster the free and objective exchange of knowledge by actively sharing their real-world expertise in technical communities worldwide.

MVPs possess expertise in one or more Microsoft products or technologies and are awarded for their exceptional contributions to traditional communities, including newsgroups, third-party Web sites, and user groups, as well as to emerging community venues such as blogs and Wikis—all popular forums for communicating with peers about Microsoft products, technologies, and services. Additionally, MVPs represent the customer community by providing feedback to Microsoft product development and Research and Development.

Find out more at mvp.support.microsoft.com.

With a Microsoft Certification for almost every Microsoft technology available today, you can stand out in your current role or get closer to your dream job. Combined with hands-on product experience, there is no better way to round out your skills, get up to speed, or demonstrate your expertise than as a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

MCPs are a much-appreciated part of the Microsoft community. Here are a few reasons why:

• MCPs inspire confidence in business decision makers, hiring managers, and IT managers. They know their investment in Microsoft technology will be used to the best advantage.
• Microsoft wishes it could be everywhere at once. Since that's not possible, we feel better knowing there are more than two million skilled MCPs located in almost every country/region around the world sharing their knowledge and passion for Microsoft.
• Earning a certification involves an investment of time and resources. We are proud that such a diverse, motivated, and passionate group of individuals—the MCP community—has chosen to make that investment in Microsoft and themselves.

Learn about the new benefits of Microsoft Certification, including access to the Partner-level Knowledge Base, at Microsoft Learning.

Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) are technical and instructional experts in Microsoft products, technologies, and solutions. The MCT community spans more than 130 countries/regions and includes classroom and distance learning instructors, learning consultants, authors, conference presenters, user group leaders, and more. MCTs are united by their passion and talent for helping Microsoft customers and partners realize their full learning potential. MCTs are the only individuals that Microsoft authorizes to deliver training based on Official Microsoft Learning Products or Microsoft Dynamics courses.

Before you apply to become an MCT, you must acquire one of the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certifications or become a Microsoft Dynamics qualifier for the MCT program. Find out more about becoming an MCT by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/mct.

Regional Directors (RDs) are recognized as some of the most prominent members of the Microsoft technical community. Their technical savvy, business awareness, and close industry connections keep them abreast of the latest technical trends.

There are only 140 Regional Directors worldwide, yet nearly half will be present at Tech ·Ed Developers—with 10 RDs serving as content advisors for the conference's Technical Tracks. RDs are ready and willing to help you fully understand why Microsoft developer and platform technologies are the future of computing. You can learn more about Regional Directors by visiting TheRegion.com.

A funny thing happened while we weren't looking. Many people just like you began blogging, connecting, and asking questions. We looked. We learned. We're bringing fun topics to the conversation.

Use forums, social bookmarking, wikis, and more to help you connect and get things done. Join the conversation; come to the MSDN Zone booth at Tech·Ed Developers and check out the new community-driven resources or visit the Microsoft Communities Web site. It’s about community; make it yours.