I went to the SQL Saturday in Richmond, had a fabulous time, my first time at a SQL Saturday. PASS (Professional Association of SQL Server http://www.sqlpass.org/) and the local user SQL Server user groups help organize the SQL Saturday events, vendors help with the funding, the only expense to me was the gas money and $10 for lunch.
Some of the things I enjoyed
- 40+ presentations offered (see https://www.sqlsaturday.com/381/schedule.aspx)
- The presenters are there on their own dime, a lot of people enthusiastic about the technology and wanting you to succeed
- Meeting lots of people in similar situations as I, a camaraderie
- Networking – and this is coming from a natural introvert. On this, I was one of about 5 who completed the mixer activity, a “Professional Scavenger Hunt”, but alas my 20% odds of winning didn’t get me the tablet. *sigh* 😉
The whole thing made me wish there was cloning and I could have attended multiple classes at the same time. I’ll be attending more and would encourage others to as well. There were several who traveled a long way to attend, not sure that I’ll do that but it seems like Raleigh, Charlotte, Baltimore, and Washington DC are doable. Look at https://www.sqlsaturday.com/default.aspx for a full schedule.