Cross posted on the SQLSaturday blog as well.

We started SQLSaturday back in May 2007 because we wanted a SQL event in Orlando, a chance for SQL people to have as much fun as the developers were having at the Orlando Code Camp. We tried to think one step ahead; can we share infrastructure and knowledge to make it happen in other cities too? Back then that seemed awfully ambitious, but two years later we’ve had 20 plus events and more on the way. So what’s next?

One of the things we’ve run into is that we’re (Brian, Steve, and I) are so immersed in the details and have been so many events that we start to lose perspective. Are we doing a good job for the speakers and sponsors? Are we evangelizing too much or too little? Are we staying focused on our original goal? What else can we do to add value without exceeding our mandate?

Given our growth we also wanted to give the SQL community a formal voice. We discussed converting to a not for profit and selecting a board, but that is a big step – another tax return, legal implications, overhead added to the decision process, and costs. The latter is a challenge because we’re currently a zero budget organization, we don’t collect any fees to subsidize the site. So…what to do? We decided to take a baby step and select an Advisory Council and get them involved in some of the decisions. Why select and not elect? Simplicity. Rather than come up with a bunch of rules and process (heavy), what we really need is advice. That advice might lead us someday to be a not for profit, but for now why not get a few people with experience in business and community to help us go from year two to year three?

We’ve invited some people that we know well and that we think can give us a good variety of opinions to join the AC. It was tough choosing, we know a lot of good people. Tomorrow we’ll announce our first advisor – a little suspense!