I just returned from the SQL Saturday #68 in Olympia. It was a great event, well organized, well attended and there were several excellent presentations, learining and networking opportunities. More than anything else, I’m continually impressed by the caliber of people in the SQL Server community. It’s not just their technical expertise. The personal commitment and loyalty of the user group leaders and other volunteers, speakers and SQL Server MVPs is beyond description. Without regard for direct personal gain or compensation, many of the usual suspects just show up to teach others and support the products and platform they love and are so passionate about.
Greg Larsen is the Olympia Area SQL Server User Group Chapter Leader. He and his group put together a great event. Scott Stauffer drove all the way down from Vancouver, BC. Scott gave an excellent presentation about Integration Services and ETL. I always enjoy Scott’s friendly, laid-back presentation style. Robert Davis (SQLSoldier), spoke about managing very large databases. Robert is one of very few certified SQL Server Masters. I’ve heard Robert speak at PASS and he and speaks with a great deal of expertise. Buck Woody spoke about the Microsoft Azure and cloud services. He’s one of my favorite presenters.
The topic of my session was “Visual Report Design: Bringing Sexy Back”. I’ve posted a copy of the presentation: Visual Report Design – Paul Turley 4-9-11.