PASS Relaunches SIGs as Virtual Chapters

Chicago, IL–September 21, 2009–PASS’s transition from Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to Virtual Chapters (VCs) has given the virtual communities a fresh start and new vision, thanks to the tireless work of more than 50 chapter leaders and volunteers.

Moving PASS’s long-time SIGs to VCs was about giving the user-based online communities more autonomy and flexibility to define themselves and their goals through their own websites, online meetings, discussion groups, webcasts and other virtual learning opportunities, and community-driven content and resource areas, says Blythe Morrow, PASS Community Coordinator.

PASS Global provides a Virtual Chapters landing page and supports the chapters in their mission to provide a place where SQL Server and business intelligence (BI) professionals can network, collaborate, share experiences, seek answers, and attend online training with others who share their interests – no matter where they live, says Thomas LaRock, Director of Virtual Chapters.

“Our members come to PASS for different reasons,” he notes. “We felt our role was to give them a site, let them build their community, and support them in it.”

The transition from SIGs to VCs began in May. And 10 VCs—covering such topics as database administration, application development, performance, virtualization, business intelligence (BI), and women in technology—are currently online. SQL Server and BI pros can join the VCs to make sure they’re included in chapter communications about events and resources, or they can simply participate in meetings and visit the websites as they want.

With five subchapters, the BI VC is the largest PASS online community and may be the most active.

“We were hosting just one LiveMeeting webcast a month,” says Amy Lewis, who co-chairs the BI VC with Erik Veerman. “But with a surge in volunteers and interest, we have grown to 4-5 sessions a month, all focused on the BI stack provided in SQL Server. And we have 10-12 active volunteers that work on the new bi.sqlpass.org website, sharing information and coordinating LiveMeeting training sessions.”

Denise McInerney , who founded the PASS Women in Technology (WIT) SIG in 2006 and co-chairs the new WIT VC with Wendy Pastrick, says the concept of a virtual chapter is easier for many people to understand.

“We often get the question: ‘What’s a SIG?’” she notes. “But many PASS members are familiar with chapters organized around a geographic area; extending that concept to having chapters organized around a common interest makes sense. And just as the local chapters have their own websites, the virtual chapters can directly manage their websites and content.”

The WIT VC, which provides a platform for women who work in technology to share perspectives and experiences, wants to feature more content on its site contributed by WIT members and other women in PASS and is looking at hosting a virtual event in addition to its popular annual Women in Technology lunch and panel discussion at PASS Summit.

Jeremiah Peschka, leader of the Application Development VC, says that members have diverse needs that a VC is more able to meet.

“Some people want to attend virtual sessions so they can learn more,” he notes.”Others want to see us building more community around the meetings. A few people simply can't make it to a local user group either because of distance or because of commitments outside of work… A virtual chapter gives us a broader range of focus—simply being called a virtual chapter makes us a part of the greater community.”

The AppDev VC, with six active steering committee volunteers, is looking at diversifying beyond its regular monthly presentation-focused meetings to interviews and round tables with .NET developers, database developers, and database administrators and even pre-recorded content.

Virtual Chapters at Summit

PASS VC leaders and volunteers are looking forward to connecting in person with members and the larger PASS community at PASS Summit Unite 2009 in Seattle Nov. 2-5. VCs will be sponsoring the Quiz Bowl and their own individual information tables at the PASS Summit 2009 Welcome Reception on Nov. 2, and VC representatives will be available throughout the conference at the PASS booth in the Expo Hall.

In addition, the WIT VC is hosting the 7th Annual WIT Luncheon and Panel Discussion Nov. 4 at 11:30 a.m., featuring a great speaker lineup on the topic “Energizing the Next Generation: Encouraging and Inspiring Young Women to Choose Tech Careers.” And for the first time, members of the WIT VC will be presenting a session—"Achieving Work-Life Balance - What Does It Really Mean?"—as part of the Professional Development track.

About the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS)
Co-founded by Microsoft Corporation and CA, Inc., the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) is an independent, not-for-profit association dedicated to supporting, educating, and promoting the Microsoft SQL Server community. http://www.sqlpass.org.

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Media Contact: Kathy Blomstrom
Kathy.Blomstrom@sqlpass.org
(970) 630-3404