COMMON, the world's largest group of IT professionals utilizing IBM's midrange and compatible technology, will host a 5K run/walk to benefit United Blood Services at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, April 26, at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nev.

This charity event is part of the COMMON Cares initiative of providing service and outreach to local and global communities, allowing the members of the group to interact with the broader community.  The event will kick-off the five-day COMMON 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition taking place at the resort through April 30.

"COMMON is very excited to visit Reno with our 2009 Annual Meeting," said Randy Dufault, COMMON president. "It is very important to us as an organization that we have a positive impact on the community while we are there and that is part of what our members are trying to accomplish with COMMON Cares."

The charity 5K run/walk is open to all attending the COMMON meeting and exposition and to the entire Reno/Sparks community. The race will start and finish at the Grand Sierra, site of the COMMON conference. Participants can pre-register online and learn more about the event at 5K Run.  The fee for participating is $35.

"I am so psyched that 'COMMON Cares' is bringing a 5K race and blood drive to Reno/Sparks in conjunction with the COMMON Annual Meeting," said Matt Booher, president of Reno-Sparks Midrange Users Group (RSMUG), the local IT professionals' group.  "This is a great opportunity for IBM IT professionals to mix with locals and give back to the host community, in addition to having some fun!  Everyone wins-the local Reno/Sparks Community, those who need blood, runners and walkers from the area and COMMON members, and United Blood Services.  Thank you COMMON for caring to make Reno/Sparks a better place," said Booher.

The Annual Meeting and Exposition is COMMON's largest educational event of the year and features five full days of IBM i, AIX, and Linux education, workshops, labs and unprecedented networking opportunities for attendees.  Registration for this premier conference has already begun, and more information can be found at COMMON Annual Meeting.

About COMMON

COMMON is the world's largest users group of midrange IBM and IBM-compatible technology. The organization comprises more than 4,000 individual and corporate members. They represent more than 22,000 IT professionals involved with the IBM Power Systems (IBM i, AIX, Linux) and related solutions. For more information about COMMON, visit www.common.org.