The Best Thing I Learned at #SQLPASS
I’ve now been associated with The Professional Association for SQL Server now since my first Summit at Denver in 2002. It did not take me long to realize what a fine group of individuals were involved in the organization and I immediately felt that I was not just some guy who tossed down his cash and was going to sit in uncomfortable conference room chairs for 4 days, but rather that I was going to be some guy who tossed down his cash and was going to sit in uncomfortable conference room chairs for 4 days and then was going to contribute to something I believed in. It was really quite amazing actually to look around and notice that the attendees that got the most out of being at the Summit were those that had contributed to the Summit.
I started out with Lynda Rab (now serving her second term on the PASS Board of Directors) and Greg Robidoux (the Founder, Principal Database Engineer at Edgewood Solutions and MSSQLTips.com) on the DBA SIG leadership board. It appears I’m quite the slacker looking at where everyone is today, huh? From there I moved on to the Programming Committee, running the now hopefully still annualSIG Quizbowl with Louis Davidson (@drsql), acting as Chapter Leader for the West Michigan SQL Server Users Group / PASS Local Chapter, volunteering on the Editorial Committee, and working on running the Twitter feed for @sqlpass and its Facebook page as well.
So what did I learn from PASS? I learned that to get the most out of PASS (and the greater SQL Server Professionals Community) you had to get involved. It’s made the events more fulfilling to see that I’ve been able to put my touch on each Summit. Furthermore, by being involved I’ve been able to learn so much more than I would have if I had just sat down in that chair and started taking notes. I’ve also developed friendships with some simply amazing individuals.
* I’ve intentionally not read anyone else’s post on this topic, so if there is overlap it is because they travelled to the future and read my mind; a truly sad waste of such abilities.