First off I wanted to thank Wayne Sheffield (Twitter | Blog) for hosting this month’s T-SQL Tuesday party and Adam Machanic (Twitter | Blog) for starting this party five years ago. I can’t believe it’s been five years.

This month’s theme is Giving Back to the SQL Community.

This is a great topic, it’s kind of like the Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. It gives me an opportunity to reflect on what I have done in the past, what I am doing now and what more I could be doing to give back to the community that has helped me so much in my career.

Past Giving

Member of the Abstract Review Committee (2010-2014)

Member of the Nomination Committee (2012)

“Speaker Wrangler” for Triad SQL, the local PASS chapter in Greensboro, NC (2012-2014)

PASS Ambassador at Summit (2010-2014)

24 Hours of PASS moderator (2012-2014)

PASS Summit Buddy (2013)

Chosen as a mentor in Steve Jones’ and Andy Warren’s The Mentoring Experiment (2012)

Present Giving

“Speaker/Sponsor/Swag Wrangler” for Triad SQL, the local PASS chapter in Greensboro, NC

Program Manager with the Program Committee for the PASS Summit.

Future Giving

I will continue my work (as long as they will have me) with the Program Committee. I absolutely love this volunteer position, it allows me to do something I enjoy while helping the community. It’s a win-win. I will also continue my position with Triad SQL. I have stepped it up a notch by wrangling not only speakers but sponsors and swag as well for 2015.

I enjoy moderating the 24 Hours of PASS too. It always gives me an opportunity to connect with some of the speakers that I’ve never had interaction with before. Just this year, I moderated for Gail Shaw (Twitter | Blog) and then got to meet her in person at Red Gate’s SQL in the City event in Seattle just before the Summit. How cool is that?!

I have a blog, in fact you’re reading it right now (wink wink), but I don’t write nearly enough. Part of me feels, “Surely someone has written about this before, so why should I clutter up cyberspace with my drivel?” and the other part of me feels, “Maybe my post can help someone who couldn’t quite make heads or tails of something they found via Google.” So for next year, I am setting a goal to write/blog at least once a month. I bet T-SQL Tuesday can provide the subject matter for those months where nothing interesting happens at work.

My favorite way, by far, to give back to the SQL Community is by being a PASS Ambassador during the PASS Summit. I get to see all the eager faces ready to stuff their brains to the point of overflowing. I get to help someone find the registration desk so their adventure can begin. I also get some of the first hugs of the Summit just by smiling and answering questions. It really is the best. So, as long as this program exists and I’m attending the Summit, I will continue to be a PASS Ambassador.

Lastly, I may even try speaking this year.  This is a huge deal for me, so I make no promises, other than to think about speaking.

How are you giving back?