Tag Archives: SQLSaturday

Let’s Meetup [Updated]!

Posted on April 17, 2012 by johnsterrett| 2 Comments

I have a confession to make. I like to meet people who also work with SQL Server. There are so many different ways to use SQL Server. I love to hear how people are using it differently than me.  One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to connect with people and start a conversation at SQLSaturday’s, User Group Meetings and PASS events like SQL Rally coming up in Dallas in May. Once upon a time, I would attend similar training events and was so shy I didn’t connect with anyone. Why didn’t I connect with anyone? Mainly, because I was afraid. If this is you, you are not alone I was in the same place as you. In fact, let’s meetup at one of the events listed below.

NOTE: The following schedule has been updated on May, 17th 2012

SQL Saturday #107 (Houston, TX) on April 21st

I will be presenting my Evaluating your Daily Checklist with PBM and CMS presentation. I always look forward to SQL Saturday’s in Houston as this gives me the opportunity to visit my family and my #sqlfamily in the same trip. If your in Houston its not too late to sign up.

WVPASS (Wheeling, WV) May 24th

I will be presenting “DBA’s use RML Utilities to help get your next raise!” If your in Pittsburgh or Morgantown area make the drive out. Anyone, can still signup for this free event. Not only will you learn how to prove that your new indexes or application upgrade will improve performance but you will get free pizza. As a bonus, you will also get to meet some cool DBA’s in Wheeling, WV.

SQL Satuday #117 IN COLUMBUS, OH ON June 2nd

I am looking forward to my first SQL Saturday in Columbus, OH. I will be giving my Performance Tuning for Pirates presentation. Columbus is only a two hour drive and I hope to bring #babybeluga and the wife out with me. I think they would have a blast at the Columbus Zoo.

SQL Saturday #121 in Philadelphia, PA on June 9th

Do we really need to say more?  I cannot wait for SQL Saturday in the city of brotherly love.  The schedule hasn’t  has been posted and I will be giving my Performance Tuning for Pirates presentation. I look forward to learning, connecting and sharing.

Pittsburgh SQL Server User Group (Pittsburgh, PA) on June 26th

I will be presenting, “Performance Tuning for Pirates!” in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has a great SQL Server User Group and it’s always an honor to present for this group.

Performance Virtual Chapter – June 28th

I will be presenting, “Performance Tuning for Pirates!” Being that this is a virtual chapter I will not be presenting in person. This doesn’t mean that we cannot connect and chat.  We always have twitter so send me shout out before or after the session.

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6 ways to get free SQL Server 2012 Training

Posted on January 31, 2012 by johnsterrett| 2 Comments

I always get excited when a new version of SQL Server gets released and rumor has it that  SQL Server 2012 will be released on March, 7th 2012. Why do I get excited? Well its quite easy, I know that each new release includes new features. These new features make my job easier. How do I know that these new features make my job easier? I know because I test them out and attend training sessions to see how other people are using them.

This year Microsoft is teaming up with the Professional Association of SQL Server Professionals (PASS) to provide several opportunities to give free SQL Server 2012 training.   Here are six ways you can learn about SQL Server 2012 and it won’t cost you a cent.

Online Labs

I love to get my hands dirty and throw things against the wall and see what sticks. Microsoft provides several virtual labs that allow you to do this without worrying about your servers.  If you want to checkout upgrading to SQL 2012, AlwaysOn Availability Groups or Installing SQL 2012 on Windows Core they have labs up and waiting for you.

Special Ops Tour

If you like to physically experience a launch event and rub shoulders with others who are using SQL Server you have to take part in the Special Ops Tour.  The Special Ops Tour is a 12 city event where Microsoft experts and local DBA’s will show you the must use features coming in this new release.  You can still sign up now. Hopefully, there is an event near you.

SQL Server 2012 Virtual Launch

Microsoft is also providing an all day virtual launch on March 7th that will include several topics on Mission Critical Confidence, Cloud on your Terms and Breakthrough Insights.  You can review the agenda and there still is room to sign up.

24 Hours of PASS

Once again, PASS is gearing up to deliver another 24 hours of PASS on March 21, 2012.  For those who don’t know 24 hours of PASS is  an in-depth look at the hottest SQL Server topics over 24 back-to-back free technical webcasts. You can gain access to the best SQL Server training and several of these session will be focused on SQL Server 2012. For more information visit the 24 hours of PASS website. If you want to speak get your abstract submitted now. The deadline is today!

SQL Saturday

SQL Saturday is an all day multi-track training event for SQL Server professionals and those wanting to learn about SQL Server. These events are spread all across the USA and the globe.

User Group Meetings

User Groups are monthly or bi-monthly meetings held to allow PASS members to connect, share and learn on a local level. There are several User Group’s spread out across the country.  Do you wonder if there is a user group in your area? You can find all the user groups here.

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Top 4 ways I will contribute to the SQL Community in 2012

Posted on January 10, 2012 by johnsterrett| 2 Comments

One of my friends, Tom LaRock asked, “What do you want to do for your #sqlfamily in 2012?” Below is how I plan contribute to the SQL Community, and my #sqlfamily in 2012.

  • Bring  SQL Saturday to a new city
    Anyone who knows me in the community knows I am a huge fan sucker for a SQL Saturday. I have had the pleasure of being a host, attende, and a speaker. This year I am looking forward to being a volunteer and sharing all my knoweledge to bring a SQL Saturday to a new city.  With that said, there is a city very close to me that has never hosted one.  The ball is already rolling and I look forward to helping this chapter host their first SQL Saturday in 2012.
  • Help Chapter Leaders
    Being a chapter leader I personally know it can be hard running a user group. I was very lucky and thankful to get a lot of help.  I look forward to helping other chapter leaders who can use a hand. I am willing to help connect leaders to a sponsors; help leaders find swag, find books, find a speaker or anyting else. I am game and looking forward to helping.
  • Give Virtual Presentations
    Typically I do at least four presentations a year.  To this point I have never done a virtual presentation. This will change shortly as I am speaking  at the Columbus User Group virtually this week.
  • Mentor
    I have been blessed with having good mentors in my career. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. There advice and guidence has been very valuable.  I reciently started mentoring a DBA but would more than willing to help others out. If you would be interested please shoot me an message.

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2011 was a crazy year!

Posted on December 29, 2011 by johnsterrett| 1 Comment

Now that we are finishing up the last few days of the year its time to take a few minutes and reflect on my accomplishments for the year. To be honest, looking back at the blog posts I have no idea how I completed so many mile stones.  Last year I privately established some long term goals and I knocked several items off my three year and five year plan in the first year.

Major Accomplishments in 2011

PASS Member Summit 2011 Ribbons

Vendor said, "Wow... it looks like you had a very big year. Would you like to attend our vendor party?"

My first child was born in February.  Typically having a child would slow you down but somehow I still completed several milestones. I have to give huge props to my wife for all her help and support.

This year I gave presentations at the first SQL Rally; the SQL PASS Member Summit; SQL Saturday in Houston, TX (presented multiple sessions); the Pittsburgh SQL User Group and several session at the West Virginia SQL Server User Group.

One of my good friends and I co-founded the first SQL Server User Group in West Virginia. I also helped relaunch the Pittsburgh SQL Server User Group and was truly honored to  speak at the relaunch event. I also organized the 2nd  Annual SQL Saturday in Wheeling, WV. Its was truly an honor to bring my peers and friends to my hometown for some free SQL Training (photos). Towards the end of the year I also became a PASS Regional Mentor for the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Personally, I also had the following accomplishments.  I was included in a local

Reading with my baby

It's never to early to get started on your professional development.

magazine article on “Digital Generation.” Finally, I changed jobs and became a SQL Server Consultant.  I am truly blessed to say that many of these milestones couldn’t happen without my #sqlfamily and  my tech giants mentors .

My 11 Favorite Blog Posts in 2011

The following are my favorite blog posts and tips written by me in 2011.

I look forward to sharing some goals next week as we break in the new year!


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Photo Gallery – SQL Saturday #80 in Wheeling, WV

Posted on August 4, 2011 by johnsterrett| Leave a comment

Below is a collection of photos at SQL Saturday #80 in Wheeling, WV on July 23rd.

You can find my recap of hosting SQL Saturday #80 here.

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SQL Saturday #80 was a Success!

Posted on July 25, 2011 by johnsterrett| 7 Comments

On Saturday July 23rd the WVPASS and Greater Wheeling Chapter of AITP joined forces to host the 2nd Annual SQL Saturday in Wheeling, WV. SQLSaturday is a one-day free training event for SQL Server professionals and those wanting to learn about SQL Server brought to you by the local SQL Server community and PASS (Professional Association for SQL Server).

The following is a quick run down of our stats for the event. We had 108 people signup, 85 attendees, 11 speakers covering 18 sessions on Saturday.   Many thanks goes out to the speakers, volunteers, sponsors and attendees for making this a successful SQL Saturday.

The Good

  • We had a great mix of MVP’s, experienced speakers and first time speakers. One of the greatest accomplishments for this event is giving Matt Velic (Check out his #sqlsat80 photo’s), Abi Chapagai and Shannon Lowder their first opportunity to speak at a SQL Saturday. The speakers all did a fantastic job. We received several comments from attendees thanking us for having fantastic speakers.
  • Registration was quick and smooth. Everyone was able to get in and get to the main room to socialize and enjoy a free breakfast. The volunteers did a fantastic job.
  • We took a step outside of the box with lunch and got burrito’s from Salsa Café. With only a few complaints this was a hit. Last year we did box lunches from Panera and it was expensive and we also got lukewarm reviews.
  • Speakers received their evaluation’s shortly after their sessions. Personally, I have spoken at a few events and never received my feedback so I completely understand how important it can be towards growing as a speaker.
  • WVNCC was a fantastic host facility. The staff was very friendly and able to get us everything we needed to be successful.
  • Hosted the event on a $2,400.00 budget. There will be more on this in a future blog post.

Stuff to work on Next year!

  • Speakers dinner might have been a little too early. We held our dinner at 6pm and a few speakers wanted to attend but couldn’t make it in time. We also had plans of following our dinner with a voyage of the Italian Festival but a rain storm quickly sidelined that plan.
  • SQLGolf was a great idea and fun until the heat kicked our butt around the fifth hole. Once we got to the eighteenth hole I forgot we were still playing golf.
  • We need more onsite sponsors next year.
  • Bacon was not included in breakfast.

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SQL Saturday #80 date changed

Posted on April 6, 2011 by johnsterrett| Leave a comment

We change the date of SQL Saturday #80 from July 16th to July 23rd.

We are still early in the game so we hope this will not be an inconvenience to anyone. We sent out an email to everyone who signed up on the website. With that said, I still wanted to explain why we changed our date.

So.. Why did you change the date?

If you are like me you love SQLSaturday events and you are willing to travel to get your learn on. We changed the date of our event for the people who are willing to travel. Looking at our attendance roster from SQLSaturday #36 we noticed the majority of the attendees were travelers.

The event planners have a secret for you. We are not country music fans so we forgot about the Super Bowl of Country Music.

SQL Saturday comes back to Wheeling, WV

SQL Saturday comes back to Wheeling, WV

Its almost impossible to get hotel rooms that weekend so we pinged our host facility West Virginia Northern Community College and PASS. Once we got permission from both we pushed our event back one week.

This works out great because you can now experience our best festival while you are in town. If you like Italian food or carnivals be prepared to get a side order of fun with your free SQL Server training.

Lesson Learned

In the future we will make sure we coordinate with several group in the community to make sure we select the best date for our next SQL Saturday.

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Wheeling, WV to Houston, TX – A SQL Saturday #57 Recap..

Posted on February 1, 2011 by johnsterrett| 3 Comments

Everyone, If you attended SQL Saturday #57 in Houston, TX thank the host and the sponsors. With out their dedication and hard work this event wouldn’t have happened.  Finally, if you haven’t done so submit a speaker evaluation for the sessions you attended.

Now that the basics are covered lets move on to the recap.

Why Houston?

Last week I took a trip out to H-Town to speak at my eighth venue in the last twelve months.  Family was a huge motivator for attending SQL Saturday #57.  Being a graduate of James E. Taylor High School in Katy, Texas I was able

John Sterrett SQL Server 2008 for Developers Presentation

If you build it they will come!

to double dip and visit my parents and my oldest brother.  I flew in on Thursday to surprise my father for his birthday. I got an extra bonus when I arrived.  I found out that this was also going to be the same day my nephew was born.

Venue

On Saturday, we meet up at the church for the first SQL Saturday in Houston. Yes, that sentence is correct.  The Houston Area SQL User Group was able to get the Bammel Church of Christ to host the event. I have to be honest when I found out that a church was going to be used I was skeptical.  Normally, these events are at a community college, university or Microsoft Office.  I wondered if a church be a good venue for a SQL Saturday? I was right, it wasn’t a good venue. It was a fantastic venue.  Kudos to Nancy Hidy Wilson (Blog | Twitter) and the Houston User Group for selecting this venue.

Connecting (Volunteer & Speakers Dinner)

Normally, when I am selected to speak at a SQL Saturday I always attend the volunteer and speaker dinner and the after party. Its a great opportunity to network.  We met up at the Outback Steakhouse in Tomball.  I felt like I was back at summer camp as I hanged out with some friends and also made some new friends. (Thomas LeBlanc, Wes Brown, Ryan Adams, Jen and Sean McCowen, Sri Sridharan, Tim Mitchell and more…)

My favorite quote comes from Sri, “John you cannot say its a once in a lifetime opportunity. Your Steelers are always in the Super Bowl.”

Learning (Presentations I attended)

  • Dean Richards – Best Practices for SQL Server on VMWare
    With the economy changing we all need to find ways to do things cheaper. One of the easiest ways to do this is to virtualize your servers. The concept seams great but SQL Server can be tricky to manage.  How do you configure the guest memory? How does the host share its CPU power with guests? I learned this and a lot more during Deans session.
  • Ryan Adams – Manage Your Shop with CMS and Policy Based Management
    Those of you who know me know I am very excited about Central Management Server and Policy Based Management. I currently use it to evaluate my daily checklist against 100+ instances of SQL Server with 3,000+ databases.  I am extremely interested in seeing how other DBA’s use it.  Ryan is into mirroring and loves the mirroring facets provided with PBM.  I am glad he showed this to me.
  • Thomas LeBlanc – Transition from DBA to BI
    Any time I can sit in the front row on a sofa and watch Thomas speak its a win-win. This talk was special because  I got my learn on and felt like I was at comedy hour.  I enjoyed his path from DBA to BI.  I really liked how he was able to use his DBA skills to make a good first impression.  He also showed us a great spreadsheet out there on the interwebs to build a data dictionary for your facts and dimensions.

Sharing (My Presentations)

  • SQL Server 2008 for Developers (About 30 attendees)
    Every once in a while I submit this topic to see if people are still interested in seeing demos going over the new features provided for developers with SQL Server 2008.  During the presentation I polled the attendees to see who hasn’t migrated to SQL Server 2008.  There still is a crowd that wants to know how to implement DateTimeOffset, T-SQL enhancements,  Merge, Table Value Parameters, Change Data Capture.  I spoke right before lunch and had a few people stay extra to go over a bonus demo.  I also talked with a few of the attendees later in the day and I got some great feedback.If you attend my session please submit feedback.  You can find the slide deck and sample code on my blog.
  • Evaluate your Daily Checklist using CMS and Policy Based Management (5 Attendees)
    My PBM and CMS talk was included in the last session.  This was my first presentation using VMWare Workstation.  I did this for two reasons. One, Brent Ozar made me do it. Finally, I wanted to throw up an instance of SQL 2000 for this demo and I couldn’t do it with Windows 7.  Even though the crowed was small one attendees told me he is going to start using PBM and CMS due to my presentation. This is the greatest complement I could receive. 

    If you attend my session please submit feedback.  You can find the slide deck and sample code on my blog.

Bloggers SQL Saturday #57 Posts

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Un-SQL Friday #2 – My Tech Giants

Posted on January 21, 2011 by johnsterrett| 6 Comments

UnSQL Friday #2

The second round of UnSQL Friday is here and the topic is so good I am typing while I eat lunch rushing to beat the deadline to get this in. UnSQL Friday was created by Jen of @MidnightDBA’s to provide an avenue for SQL Bloggers to focus on a non-technical topic. The topic is as follows:

“Read this blog, and then write whatever you want about Tech Giants. Be sure to mention in your blog that you’re writing for Un-SQL Friday, and link to this post. Oh, and have it up any time before the weekend (Saturday Jan 22) hits, mmkay?”

Jen said, to write about whatever I want so here we go!  I am using this venue as an opportunity to say thanks to a bunch of people who have helped become who I am today. I will also explain how they fit into my definition of a Tech Giant.

There are several other people I could include but I have a deadline so I will have to find another way to thank them later.

What is a Tech Giant?

This definition is subjective and will be defined differently from blogger to blogger so here is my definition. To me a Tech Giant is someone I look up too within IT; someone who has helped me out; someone who is mentoring me; someone who is mentoring me without even knowing that they are mentoring me.

In no particular order here is a list explaining why these individuals peeps are my tech giants:

David Hoerster, Eric Kepes & John Hidey

David Hoerster, Eric Kepes & John Hidey: These are three stand up .NET developers who are highly involved in Pittsburgh .NET User Group and the Pittsburgh code camp for years. To this day I will always remember my first code camp four years ago. The next year they gave me my first public speaking opportunity. Every year the Code Camp in Pittsburgh gets bigger and bigger. This year there were two code camps with over 150 attendees.  David, Eric and John showed me first hand how important it is to give back to your technical community.

Side Note: How the heck are none of these guys a Microsoft MVP? This almost makes me question the MVP program. I am going to do my part in correcting this by nominating them at the Microsoft MVP site.

Thomas LaRock aka SQLRockStar

Tom LaRock: Last year Tom asked the community if anyone wanted to have a mentor on his blog.  I jumped on this opportunity and we have been skyping (is this actually a word?) monthly. His book (check out my review) and those sessions have shaved years off my learning curve moving from a developer to becoming a valuable Production DBA.

I finally meet Tom in person at the 2010 SQL Pass Member Summit. He introduced me to almost everyone in the community that week. It’s weird, in a way I feel like he is my older brother from another mother.

Tom also has a great blog. In my opinion it’s one of the most entertaining technical blogs out there because he does a good job teaching with stories. A perfect example is “Everything I Needed to Know about Waits and Queues I learned From the TSA.”

Side Note: Other than his addiction to bacon and being a Patriots fan he is a great guy! Can you tell I am a die hard Pittsburgh Sports Fan?

Brent Ozar

I love this book!

Brent Ozar: I ran into Brent virtually two years ago at the Pittsburgh SQL User Group. At the end of his presentation he challenged the crowd to start blogging. I found his intro to blogging series and gave it a try.  A little later I was hooked.  Brent made me a syndicated blogger at SQLServerPedia. People will see this blog post because he took a chance on a new blogger.

Its amazing how much time and energy he puts into the SQL PASS Community with his presentations and blog posts.  His blog is a great resource for SQL Server, Professional Development, Speaking and Blogging.  Did I mention that he also co-authored one of the best SQL Server books (its the image on the left side)?

Side Note: I am working on creating a VMWare Workstation image right now due to his blog post on “How to rehears a Presentation.” Brent, I will be shooting you some question soon :-)

Andy Warren

Andy Warren: The first SQL Saturday in West Virginia wouldn’t have happened without Andy’s help.  Andy and I had several phone calls where he gave me the guidance I needed to make it happen. He helped me from the point where I wondered,can I make this happen up to the week of the event.  Now, I have spoken at three SQL Saturdays and am adding another one to the list next week.  I don’t think this would have happened without Andy’s support.

Side Note: At SQL PASS Summit I learned that Andy is referred to as the godfather of SQL Server. I am not sure why this is true. I will have to follow-up with more at a later date.

Justin Siebert

Justin Siebert: There is no way I am going skip the great state of West Virginia. And there is no one better qualified than Justin. He started his own consulting company to provide Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimization. He now does business with Fortune 500 companies.  He is a big supporter of LAMP and is doing great things with WordPress.  His website is a perfect example.

Once he found out I was interested in blogging he talked me into using WordPress. Justin gives me several tips on WordPress and SEO and has never asked for money.   He also pulls me aside every once in a while to make sure I am focused on my goals and heading down the right path.

Side Notes: some people call Justin by his name. I call him the SEORockStar.  Justin and I might be the only remaining die-hard Pittsburgh Pirates fans left in Wheeling (Yes the owner Bob Nutting also lives in Wheeling).

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First SQLSaturday in Wheeling, West Virginia was a Success!

Posted on December 30, 2010 by johnsterrett| 1 Comment

After SQL Saturday #36 on May 1st 2010 my wife and I headed to Spain.  Somehow this post got lost in the shuffle when I got back. I thought it is important to share my thoughts of the event so here it is.

The first SQLSaturday in West Virginia can be summed up in two sentences.  The SQL Server Community is bleeping awesome.  The Ohio Valley is bleeping awesome. I know unfortunately I will leave some people out but I would like to thank the following individuals for their advice and support Andy Warren, John Parkinson, Thomas LaRock, Jeremiah Peschka, Justin Siebert, Joelle Ennis, and The Greater Wheeling Chapter of AITP.


Its now a little past a month six months after the first SQLSaturday in West Virginia and I am glad to share my thoughts on the event.  First, I would like to say we held it down for the DBA’s in the small cities who have dreams of hosing a SQLSaturday.  Don’t quote me on this but I believe we are the only SQLSaturday host city with a population under 50,000.

When we first started this mission in November 2009 our goal was to have 50 to 100 people register.  We actually had registration at 100 and had 70 people attend.  We had three tracks that delivered 16 13 sessions presented by 11 9 speakers.

Things that worked

  • Using WVNCC as venue – The West Virginia Northern Community College campus in Downtown Wheeling allowed us to use their facility.  We had the ballroom which held 100 people, two class rooms held 50+ and two smaller class rooms that held 30 attendees. This was a great fit and we are very grateful that they hosted the meeting for us.
  • Volunteers – We had a super all-star team of volunteers on hand for the SQL Saturday. Did I mention that the volunteers were awesome? There were, and they all did a great job.
  • Selected Speakers – All of the speakers did a great job.  The evaluations showed that everyone appreciated the presentations. We need a better way to deliver results to speakers. We will work on that for next year.
  • Lunch – The box lunches from Panera Bread were a hit.  The food arrived as scheduled.  One of our volunteers was also arranged to have the Catholic Charities pick up the leftover food.  Once again, did I mention that our volunteers rock?

Things that need improved

  • Get more people involved – While we had plenty of support for the big day only two people did the majority of the pre-day work. Hopefully, we can get more people involved earlier next year.
  • Build Higher Goals -  Our venue can support more people. We tried our best to keep it simple because we didn’t know what we were doing as this was the first major information technology event in Wheeling, WV for years. Now we know what we are doing so we should try to go buck wild next year.
  • Evaluations – I will take the blame here and say that we failed.  We didn’t have a good system for generating feedback.
  • More Speakers – We cut it close with filling up our three tracks. Next year I we will need to be more active with pulling speakers.  If you are interested in speaking next year contact me and I will get you on our contact list.

Thanks to the speakers

We would like to give a shout out to all the speakers for making SQLSaturday in Wheeling happen.  You were all awesome.  Check out their blogs and tweets.

Thanks to the sponsors

Whats Next?

  • 2nd Annual SQL Saturday in West Virginia - This is correct, we are excited to give it another run and are targeting June 2011. We will shoot out an update to let everyone know when we have an official date.
  • Wheeling SQL Server User Group – Hey John there is no SQL Server User Group in West Virginia what are you smoking?  First, I don’t smoke and second there will be. Our first meeting will be on January 20th. Check out my blog during the first week of January for more information.

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