I’ve written a lot about my thoughts on PASS this year. While I understand some of my posts could have been considered inflammatory, I wrote them from a deep position of love for the SQL Server and broader Microsoft Data Platform Community, and I decided to run for the Board of Directors because I wanted to ensure that the opportunities provided by PASS continued for others.
Before I tell you about why you should vote for me for the PASS Board of Directors, I wanted to talk a little bit about my history with PASS. I don’t remember exactly when I got started in PASS (I likely signed up for a virtual chapter earlier), but when I moved to Philadelphia and was in a role that required me to get more in-depth with SQL Server (I used to be an Oracle DBA) and I got involved with the Philadelphia SQL Server User’s Group. Shortly thereafter, I gave a talk or two, and then joined the board of the organization. I was able to attend my first PASS Summit in 2011, and ran SQL Saturday Philadelphia for 5 or so years. I was also a regional mentor for the Mid-Atlantic region in the US for several years.
I bring up this point to highlight one of the things that I think is so important about PASS and is often missed—local chapters and regional events. While PASS Summit is an international event that represents a “family reunion” for #sqlfamily, these reunions happen every weekend all over the world at SQL Saturday events, and monthly a local user group meeting. In order to grow our membership and commit to our mission of Connect, Share, and Learn those local events need to be priority. I would like to work towards having a speaker database, even it is something rudimentary, where UGs could seek out a speaker to present virtually, or in-person. This is a good example of something that could be a community project—it represents something that the community could build in a hack-a-thon after building some requirements.
One of the challenges PASS has consistently faced over time is problems with its technology systems, which are mostly developed in-house, making them both expensive and time-consuming to update and upgrade. I would work towards moving to Software as a Service products that many conferences and user groups are already using. This can both be a potential for cost savings and enhance the productivity of all involved.
PASS faces many challenges in coming years and will have to adapt to stay alive in relevant. The best way to do that is to stick to the core mission of Connect, Share, and Learn, and to remember that everything starts locally, whether it be a user group or a SQL Saturday. We also need to ensure that our sponsors are happy and receiving value from the organization. If you vote for me, I will do my best to make those things happen.
I would also like to recommend you vote for my colleagues Steph Locke and Matt Gordon. We have been doing a lot of thinking about how a community organization should work and would provide the right leadership for PASS.
