Ryan Adams Blog

The North Texas SQL Server User Group currently has an open position on their board of directors.  I am eager to serve the SQL community and very excited to have the opportunity to run in this election.  If you follow my blog I need your support.  Below is a little information on my involvement in the SQL community, why I want to be on the BoD, and most importantly how you can vote for me!

Community Involvement

I have been an active NTSSUG participant for about 2.5 years.  I was a core team member for SQLSaturday 35 and handled the coordination of benefits for our sponsors after Jennifer McCown (Blog|Twitter) brought them on board.  I also organized all of the volunteers for the day of the event.  I post all of our meetings on communitymegaphone.com so they get listed in the MSDN newsletter.  I have also created and maintain a LinkedIn group for NTSSUG and post our meetings on the DFWITProfessionals.com website to help increase our exposure and expand our group.  In addition, I actively blog and participate with the online community through Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  Most recently I am serving on the core team for SQLSaturday BI Edition, and I am also serving on the organizing committee for SQLSaturday Houston.  As a follow-up to SQL Saturday 35 I setup Confio to be our sponsor for the month of August.  Lastly as another follow-up to my involvement with SQL Saturday 35 I secured a very special speaker for our January meeting.  I can tell you that you will not want to miss this meeting so clear your calendar now.  For more hints of what’s coming see Tim Mitchell’s (Blog|Twitter) blog post HERE.  If you are interested in my professional background you can view my BIO on my About Me page.

Why

I would be honored to be on the NTSSUG board.  This group has helped me and my career in many ways from meeting professional contacts to top notch technical training.  I want to give back to the group by being instrumental in providing others all the things this group has afforded me.  I am a firm believer in the SQL community where there is no comparison for professionalism, a network of people willing to lend a hand, and a comradeship that cannot be matched.  I believe I would be a great board member as I am highly motivated, extremely organized, and very passionate about the SQL community.  I want to search out opportunities and ways to grow our group into a premier chapter of SQLPass.

How to Vote

We’ve had some issues with our mailing list lately so here is the email with instructions on how you can vote.

Dear Members,

Thank you all for participating in this important process to elect another Member to the North Texas SQL Server User Group Board.

If you are hearing about this election for the first time, information on this special election can be found here.

http://northtexas.sqlpass.org/NTSSUGBoardVacancy/tabid/3031/Default.aspx

Voting Procedures

1.      You must be a North Texas SQL Server User Group Member, else your vote will be invalidated.  Click on the link below to join the North Texas SQL Server User Group distribution list which will automatically make you a member.

http://northtexas.sqlpass.org/DistributionList/tabid/364/Default.aspx

2.     Only 1 vote per member.

3.     Send email to vote@ntssug.com with the last name of the candidate of your choice in the subject line.

I am very excited to be a part of the core planning committee for SQLSaturday 35 in Dallas on May 22nd, 2010.  The Dallas area is a technology hot spot and we have quite a local SQL community.  The North Texas SQL Server User Group averages 80 people every month.  If Sean McCown (Twitter|Blog)  is teaching a class before the meeting we rarely have under 100 people.  SQLSaturday is no exception, and current registrations put those numbers to shame.  This is our first time to hold a SQLSaturday in Dallas and planning an event this size is quite an under-taking.  I’m only handling two things and that is almost a full time job itself.  The planning committee has done quite a bang up job and this event will NOT disappoint.

There’s even a RUMOR that ice cream will be provided! I know what you are thinking, “Where do I signup?”  Well I’m sorry to tell you that you missed the bandwagon, but also excited to say that we are full and at capacity.  We have over 500 registrations with 50 people on the waitlist!  This is going to be one big event.

If you are already registered you can verify your registration and lunch paid status HERE.

I’m finally back online after being on vacation for a couple of weeks following my second daughter’s birth.  If you follow me on Twitter or FaceBook you know that Emily Grace Adams was born 11/4/2009 @ 1:46pm.  She weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 18″ long.  She is very healthy and doing extremely well.  I can’t thank my wife Jennifer enough for the sacrifices she has made for our family.  She is an amazing and inspiring woman that I’m proud I can call my wife.

I guess it is now back to work and the real world, but at least the holidays are upon us.  Here our some pictures of our new daughter.

I finally decided to get on the blogging band wagon.  I started this blog for two reasons.  First and foremost is personal career development, and second is to keep an archive.  I want to send a special thanks to Brent Ozar (@BrentO on Twitter) for his excellent blog on how to get started blogging.  If you are thinking about starting your own blog I highly recommend you read his article HERE.