Vision? Passion? Drive? Sounds like you’re ready for the PASS Board of Directors. Applications for the 2011 Board elections are now open, along with the interactive elections forums for community members to have their say... or start their campaigns.

The PASS Board has three seats up for election for the 2012/2013 term. A fourth seat – being vacated mid-term by Douglas McDowell, who is taking on the role of Executive Vice President, Finance – will be appointed for a 1-year term by the Board president, according to the PASS bylaws.

You can download the PASS Board application form at the PASS 2011 Elections site, and all applications must be submitted to PASS HQ no later than Oct. 19. To qualify as a candidate, at a minimum you must have direct volunteer experience with PASS, such as serving on a committee or as a Regional Mentor or Chapter leader, leading a SQLSaturday or other event, or volunteering in another capacity. Candidates must also currently work with SQL Server to some degree. For more about candidate requirements and to see what characteristics and abilities would make an ideal Board candidate, see the Candidates page.

Make sure you take advantage of the elections forums to ask about the elections process, get information about running for the Board, pose questions to the candidates, and discuss platforms and issues with fellow community members. Just log in with your PASS user information and post away! The PASS HQ team will also be providing links to community blog posts on the Discussion page to keep you up-to-date with all the elections news and commentary.

Good luck to everyone considering applying for this important role to help lead the world’s largest association dedicated to serving the SQL Server community. Apply today!

Grab your soap boxes and questions - the PASS Board of Directors election season kicks off tomorrow with the opening of the Election Forums.

The PASS Board has three seats up for election for the 2012/2013 term. A fourth seat – being vacated mid-term by Douglas McDowell, who will take on the role of Executive Vice President, Finance – will be appointed for a 1-year term by the Board president, according to the PASS Bylaws. You can learn more about your Board of Directors here.

The Elections Forums provide a great opportunity for members of the PASS Community to ask about the elections process, get information about running for the Board, pose questions to the candidates, and discuss platforms and issues with the community.  To participate, all you have to do is log in with your PASS user information and post away! We will also be providing links to community blog posts about the elections on the Discussion page to keep you up-to-date with all the news and commentary.

And of course, if you are interested in running for the PASS Board, keep in mind that applications open in just 6 days on Wednesday, Oct. 5, and must be submitted to PASS HQ by Oct. 19. You can start reviewing the PASS 2011 Elections site today for basic candidate qualifications and a full elections time line.

With your participation, it’s going to be an exciting, valuable elections season – let the  conversations begin!

This weekend marked the 20^th SQL Saturday that I have attended, SQLSaturday 84 in a place until now I had never heard of, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Well, I can tell you, that this one broke into my top 3, as this small town, “home like” feeling event, literally warmed my heart! It was admittedly very reminiscent of the first event I hosted in Pensacola in 2009.

When I arrived, with Tommy LaRock who happened to be on the same flight, volunteer Shelly Noll picked us up, the first sign of hometown hospitality. After checking into the hotel, Shelly swung us by the event venue where we met up with the other volunteers. Their event was held at the Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and let me tell you, one of the very nicest community colleges I’ve ever seen. This large venue was gorgeous, with trees growing on the inside, beautiful gardens and courtyards, and amazingly donated for FREE for this event. NICE WIN!

There were at least 8 volunteers, likely more just didn’t count, all working diligently on preparing things for the big day. Right off the bat, you could tell this group was super organized as they were nearly done, and it was only about 3:00 in the afternoon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such calmness the day before a SQLSaturday.

Things kicked off that evening with the speaker party, a get together at Tim Ford’s beautiful home and was sponsored by SQLSentry. In attendance were so many top notch notables of the SQL world that I am not even going to begin listing them all, as I will surely miss someone. Tim and his lovely wife Amy prepared quite a spread of delectables, from homemade guacamole to apple cobbler (and one cobbler wasn’t enough, there was a peach one as well!), assorted chips and dips and cheeses I’ve never even heard of that were to die for! Plenty of delicious food and then the doorbell rings, as if we needed more, gourmet pizzas show up. A cooler full of frothy beverages out on the deck, again, many I have never heard of, with a wonderfully warm fire roaring in the pit (which was MUCH appreciated by THIS Florida girl, as it was like 50 degrees there!). As chilly as it was (okay maybe not for the others), most everyone ended up gathering out on the deck, surrounding the fire like we were at camp, telling tales of SQL. It was so relaxing, lots of good humor and stories. This by far is now my top Friday evening party for these events. It was like being home. The evening ended, at least for me, of an announcement that someone had eaten all the bacon off all the remaining pizza. One guess!

Early the next morning, once again, Shelly was kind enough to pick me up from the hotel and head on over to the venue to get things set-up. Others were there and much of what was needed done was well on its way to completion. I cannot say enough, what a super, efficient crew of volunteers! I was there on behalf of PASS, so I went to work setting up our table in the sponsor’s area. This I would say would be the only thing that I would recommend they look at changing up at next year’s event, the placement of sponsors. Unfortunately it was the only place with outlets all the way around the walls, hence why they chose this spot, but it was pretty far from the registration check-in, and tucked off to one side. It was at least near the doors to where three of the sessions were being held, so Tim the quick thinker, placed a big billboard they had with the rooms and sessions posted directly by those doors, so we could sway folks over to our area as they stopped to find their way. This worked out, as I do think many attendees managed to get their raffle tickets into the drawings all the sponsors had. Maybe next year they can find some other way to get the registration and the sponsors closer together.

The day went by very quickly, probably because I spent most of the day working and in discussions with Alison MacDonald from PASS Marketing, oh, and that other person who seems to never stop talking, no, not Rob Farley, Tom! (I hear Rob out talks Tom, I find that really hard to believe after this weekend). Throughout the day many attendees, as usual at these events, were commenting on how great the event was and how happy they were that it came to Kalamazoo. The turnout was very close to the numbered registered, I think they ended up with only about a 12% drop-off, even though there did seem to be a lot of food leftover, but I think that is typical when you do food trays with sandwiches. I think sandwich shops under state really just how many people one tray will feed. This was the first event that I attended that we had the new SQLSaturday laptop stickers and patches, and those went over big time, everyone wanted those. Looking forward to seeing how many of these make their way to the Summit next month. For their event, they had a WIT Panel during lunch led by Shelly, which unfortunately I missed due to talking too much myself! The WIT Panel was a great line-up of Kendra Little, Wendy Pastrick, Yanni Robel, and Erin Stellato. Since I missed it, I can’t do it justice, but Sarah Strate did a full detailed blog about it, that you can read up on here: http://sarahsjolander.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/3-questions-for-the-wit/

As the day was winding up, Tim needed someone to head over early to the after party venue to let them know we were coming, as they did not allow reservations ahead of time. So Amy, Austin and Trevor (they ever so entertaining boys) and I all headed over, which meant I wasn’t there for the raffle drawings, which was fine, but I did miss out on a very special moment for Tim. Josh Fennessy, who was that day announced as the new chapter leader for the West Michigan SQL User Group, presented Tim with a plaque of recognition for all his years of contributions to the SQL community. Check it out http://lockerz.com/s/139887810

The after party was at a very cool restaurant/bar in downtown called Kalamazoo Beer Exchange . Great food, but the absolutely coolest thing about this place was the Beer Market. At 6:00pm, on various big screens throughout the three story facility, the Beer Market would open. Think Stock Market. You watch the price of beers go up or down based on consumption. I had never seen this anywhere, and it was so cool! When the price of the beer changed, it stayed at that price for 12 minutes. There were arrows, just like the stock market, that showed if the price was going up or down. At one point the beer market crashed, and all the beers were 2 bucks! Drink, drink, drink!

After a while we all made our way to a nearby piano bar, something we do for the after party at Pensacola each year, and in my opinion, great entertainment and fun for all no matter where you live. I had hoped to make my way to a third place that had bull riding, as I am determined to do this someday, but was just too tired and had an early flight out. I was smart and booked my ride with Joe Fleming earlier in the evening, stating “make me go with you no matter how much I insist I want to stay longer”, so thank you Joe, I made it to the airport on time that next morning. Which by the way another hospitable thing happened, my cab driver, Cliff, insisted on not charging me for the lift to the airport.

In closing, I want to say to the SQLSaturday Kazoo team, GREAT JOB! Thank you so much to all of you for bringing this event to your community. On a personal note, thank you to Amy and Tim for making me feel so welcome and having us all over to your home. You are such good people, and I hope to spend time again with you some day. I feel like I not only had a great opportunity to network, but made connections with some folks that I would consider good friends now. And special shout out to Josh, don’t forget our date in Seattle, your christening of the Hurricane Café. Rodney and I are both looking forward to it!

Interested in joining the PASS Board of Directors? Your chance is just around the corner.

The Board of Directors is the executive body of PASS, setting the organization's vision and direction to ensure that PASS achieves its mission to help community members connect, share, and learn. You can find information about the current Board here.  

This year, the PASS Board will have four open seats, three of which will be up for election. The fourth seat - being vacated mid-term by Douglas McDowell, who will take on the role of Executive Vice President, Finance – will be appointed by the Board president, according to the PASS bylaws.

Applications open Wednesday, October 5, and are due two weeks later, by October 19. To qualify as a candidate, at a minimum you must have direct volunteer experience with PASS - for example, by serving on a committee or as a Regional Mentor or Chapter leader, leading a SQLSaturday or other event, or volunteering in another capacity. Candidates must also currently work with SQL Server to some degree. 

For more about candidate requirements or the elections process, please see the PASS Elections 2011 website and feel free to contact PASS HQ Governance with any questions. Good luck to everyone who’s considering running for the Board, and get ready to rock the vote!

We are excited to announce the formation of the PASS Nordic Region, formalizing our support for the tremendous Nordic SQL Server Community. To help us provide this support, we have appointed two leaders of that community who will serve as PASS Regional Mentors. The countries represented in PASS Nordic are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
 
It is also a pleasure to announce that Johan Åhlén and Raoul Illyés  have accepted our invitations to become PASS Nordic's first Regional Mentors. Johan is a Microsoft MVP and Chairman of the Swedish SQL Server User Group.
 
Raoul is a leading voice in the Nordic SQL Server community and a founding partner of the PASS SQLRally Nordic event. He is based in Denmark and recently joined the PASS Board of Directors as a non-voting member in support of our international outreach efforts.
 
Our efforts to work more closely with the Nordic Region are in alignment with PASS's global initiative. Supporting this initiative, the PASS Board recently appointed three International Board Members: Rob Farley (Australia), James Rowland-Jones (UK), and Raoul Illyés (Denmark), also mentioned above as a new Regional Mentor. 
 
Furthering our efforts to support the international SQL Server community, PASS SQLRally Nordic will be held in Aronsborg, Sweden, November 8-9.
 
PASS Regional Mentors have extensive experience with the local and regional SQL Server Community and provide help and guidance to leaders of our local chapters worldwide. The Regional Mentors work closely with the PASS Community Team.
 
Please join me in welcoming Johan and Raoul as PASS Nordic Regional Mentors, and check out more information about PASS Regions and Chapters here.
-- Mark

Mark Ginnebaugh
PASS Director, Global Chapters
 

We are excited to introduce some changes to PASS in an effort to connect global SQL Server communities and foster relationships between our professionals – wherever they’re located. PASS began in 1999 with a vision to empower all of our SQL Server communities to connect, share, and learn. To meet these objectives for our global community, PASS needs to change who we are and how we engage with communities. The direction for how we evolve needs to be paved by people representing the diversity of voices we want to support and connect with.

Earlier this month, representatives from PASS traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, to meet with key community leaders Johan Åhlén and Raoul Illyés from the Nordic region, James Rowland-Jones and Simon Sabin from the UK, and Rob Farley and Greg Low representing Australia/New Zealand. These leaders represent regions that have vibrant and healthy communities and bring diverse voices and viewpoints as well as a shared passion for the SQL Server community.
 
The primary purpose of the two-day meeting was to discuss our shared goals to strengthen and connect global communities and how we can work together to help all of the communities. The team identified an initial set of priorities that we all believe to be important first initiatives, including:
• Localizing communications from PASS
• Increasing the value proposition of chapters
• Supporting global events
• Exposing event content

As a first step, based on the recommendation from the team that met in Stockholm, the PASS board unanimously voted to appoint Raoul Illyés, James Rowland-Jones, and Rob Farley as non-voting members of the board for a period of one year.

We welcome the ideas and enthusiasm that each of these leaders has brought to their respective communities as an opportunity to help shape the future of PASS. These three appointees will join a team that will define a plan to evolve our governance structure so that PASS better meets the needs of global communities. As a secondary objective, this team will actively participate in various board discussions to ensure that the global perspective and needs are central to every PASS initiative.

We recently read a quote from a TechNet wiki that states, “Individuals are smart, but communities are wise.” These changes are based on our belief that the efforts to connect individual international communities will make all communities stronger. We hope you share our excitement about this next stage for how PASS can support you and your local SQL Server communities.

The 2011 Nomination Committee (NomCom) – a team that assesses and reviews all PASS Board of Director applicants – has been finalized. Three community members have stepped forward to serve in this important role: Bradley Ball, Jack Corbett and Roy Ernest.
 
After the NomCom nomination period, with 3 applicants all meeting the qualification criteria, the election process was no longer necessary and the three applicants were approved by the Board to sit on the NomCom. The final composition of the NomCom is as follows:
 
•         Bradley Ball
•         Jack Corbett
•         Roy Ernest
•         Thomas LaRock (Board of Directors Representative)
•         Wayne Snyder (NomCom Chairperson)
 
To find out more about the NomCom members, please check out their bios and blogs.
 
If you didn’t apply for the NomCom but are still interested in helping better PASS and building a stronger community, there are more opportunities around the corner. The PASS Board of Director’s Elections are coming up. Applications will open on October 5th, 2011. More details will be posted on the elections website as they develop. 

Congratulations to Bradley, Jack, and Roy! The Nomination Committee plays an important role in PASS’s growth, and these members are a valued addition.

PASS community bloggers love their SQLSaturdays, and they love to tell everyone about their experiences, so who are we not to share that love?

PASS SQLSaturdays have been mixing work with play this summer. Despite vacations and summer hours (you know who you are),
hundreds of you have come together for SQLSaturday events for a good mix of technical topics at a variety of skill levels. There's
always something of interest for everyone! PASS SQLSaturday travelled to Birmingham for SQLSaturday #81, to Wheeling for
SQLSaturday #80, then Baton Rouge for SQLSaturday #64 and lastly to South Florida for some fun in the sun at SQLSaturday #79.

For those of you not in the know, SQLSaturday is a free training event for SQL Server professionals and anyone wanting to learn about
SQL Server. Admittance to these events is free as costs are covered by generous donations and sponsorships. 

Bradley Ball digging his new shirt at SQLSaturday#79!	All work and no play at SQLSaturday #80 in Wheeling
Beautiful Birmingham played host to SQLSaturday #81	Baton Rouge got its SQL on at SQLSaturday #64

On Twitter? Follow @sqlpass and make sure to check out the #sqlsat and #sqlsaturday hashtags to stay up to date. Besides
attendance at free learning events, there are many speaking and sponsorship opportunities available.

RECENTLY IN SQLSATURDAY #79...

+Wes Brown presented at SQLSaturday #64, Baton Rouge, LA

+Carlos Bossy presented at SQLSaturday #64, Baton Rouge, LA

+ Hugh Thomas participated in SQLSaturday #81, Birmingham

+ Andy Warren participated in SQLSaturday #81, Birmingham

+John Sterret helped organize SQLSaturday #80, Wheeling, WV

+Matt Velic snapped some pics at SQLSaturday #80, Wheeling, WV

+ Bradley Ball presented at SQLSaturday #79, South FL

+ Thomas LaRock presented at SQLSaturday #79, South FL

COMING UP IN SQLSATURDAY...

August wraps with a SQLSaturday double-header! September is all about back-to-school so grab your calendars, it's going to be a busy month.

Aug 27: SQLSaturday #90, Oklahoma City

Aug 27: SQLSaturday #91, Omaha

Sept 3: SQLSaturday #88, Western Cape, South Africa

Sept 10: SQLSaturday #94, Salt Lake City

Stay tuned for more events this fall–PASS SQLSaturdays are added all the time!

IN OTHER NEWS...

PASS SQLSaturday got a makeover! As you know, PASS SQLSaturday events have been on the rise and also branched out internationally to Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa, and Portugal. This growth prompted a refresh of the SQLSaturday website, including an updated logo, a more polished look and feel, and improvements to such features as the schedule builder and login credentials. Check out the updated SQLSaturday website and see for yourself!

Want to attend or speak at a SQLSaturday? Check out the SQLSaturday website or "Upcoming In-Person Events" on the PASS Home page for upcoming dates near you.

Want to put on your own SQLSaturday? Click here to get started.

The PASS 2011 elections season is officially upon us with today’s opening of the call for Nomination Committee (NomCom) applications.

The NomCom is at the heart of the elections process, ensuring that each applicant for the four open Board of Director seats in this year’s general election possesses the characteristics and attributes necessary to lead the world’s largest independent, user-led organization for SQL Server professionals. This year, the PASS community will select three of the NomCom members, who will join me and another Board member on the 5-person committee.

To be eligible for the NomCom, candidates must have a demonstrable track record of volunteering with PASS, such as serving as a Regional Mentor, Chapter Leader, Virtual Chapter Leader, Program Committee member, or speaker (at PASS Summit, PASS SQLRally, SQLSaturday, or 24 Hours of PASS) or participating in other volunteer capacities.

If you meet the eligibility requirements and would like to serve on the NomCom, I encourage you to submit an application by August 19. NomCom voting will run from August 24 to September 9, with all PASS members as of June 1, 2011, eligible to vote. The top three vote-getters will be elected to the NomCom and immediately get down to the business of managing this year’s general election process.

Note that the NomCom is an essential part of the PASS Board of Directors elections process and requires a substantial commitment of time and effort. By applying for the NomCom, you are agreeing to the time commitments of the entire general election process – including a lengthy applicant interview process currently set to start in late November or early December.

Serving on the NomCom, however, is also an extremely satisfying experience and one of the most important ways you can give back to the PASS community. If you’re interested in running for the NomCom or know someone who would make an ideal candidate, please review the details on the PASS Elections website, which includes a complete timeline for this year’s elections process. And make sure to follow and join in the discussion on twitter using the #passvotes hashtag.

Thanks for getting involved!
--Wayne Snyder

 Today's post is from Allan Hirt who will be presenting "A Deep Dive into AlwaysOn:Failover Clustering and Availability Groups". You can read more about his session here: http://www.sqlpass.org/summit/2011/Speakers/CallForSpeakers/SessionDetail.aspx?sid=1076 .

Is there an audience that would benefit especially from this session?
There has been a lot of buzz around all the changes in high availability that come as part of Denali. This session is for those who want to jumpstart their knowledge, and focuses on both failover clustering and the new availability groups feature from a DBA/IT/infrastructure, not a developer, perspective.

 

After having attended your seminar, what are two or three things that an attendee will be able to take back to the office and put to use right away?

1. Learn the essentials of the new AlwaysOn availability groups feature in SQL Server Denali
2. Understand how to plan and implement an underlying Windows failover cluster for not only a standard SQL Server failover cluster, but ones that are multi-site as well as for AlwaysOn availability groups
3. See live demos to how how DBAs will actually need to implement and administer these features. This will not be just a day’s worth of theory from slide presentations that is not usable in the real world.

What background should attendees ideally have to be fully prepared for your seminar?
Since there is no plan to teach the basics of failover clustering, attendees should have at least a working knowledge of clusters because clusters not only play a role in the traditional failover clustering aspects of Denali, but in availability groups as well.

What experience are you, as a speaker, bringing to this session?
Besides being a Microsoft Cluster MVP who can talk to both Windows and SQL Server, I have been working with one of Microsoft’s Denali TAP customers since Spring 2011 on a multi-site deployment combining both clustered instances and availability groups. I also bring close to 20 years of experience with SQL Server including consulting, training, and writing numerous whitepapers, articles, and books. I do not just do this stuff in a lab; I help customers in the real world.