Ewald Cress (b/t) is our host this month for Adam Machanic’s (b/t) monthly blog party T-SQL Tuesday. Having just gotten back from the exaustion of PASS Summit he felt that a less technical subject but one more community related was in order. Folks who have made a difference.

In his invite, he mentioned the shout out board that PASS puts up each year where people can write down (in permanent marker no less) who in the community inspires them. My name was actually on that board this year. You can’t imagine what an amazing feeling that is unless it’s happened to you.

That’s a lot of names isn’t it? And if you’ve ever been to Summit it’s a huge crowd. What’s even more impressive is the fact that for all the people who make it, there are even more who don’t. The SQL community is HUGE. There is a term that a lot of us like to use. #SQLFamily But I also know that some don’t like that term so much. So for the purposes of this post let’s call it a village. #SQLVillage

They say it takes a village to raise a child and while it may not take a village to raise a career it certainly doesn’t hurt. One of the nicest things about the SQL village is not just the size of that village or even the willingness of individuals to help but how aggressively some people are willing to help. This is a few of the highlights of my career over the years. If you aren’t mentioned it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate you, it’s just that I could only spend so much time writing this and I doubt anyone would read a blog post hundreds of pages long. So here are a few highlights.

Argenis Fernandez (b/t): Thanks for editing my very first article. Without that, I don’t know if I’d have had the courage to start writing.

Jen (t) and Sean (t) McCown (b): Thanks for helping me with my two presentations so far, being friends, help at various points with my blog, and in general being a positive influence. (Ok, if you know them, that last one may be hard for some to believe but it’s still true.)

JJ Burnam (b/t): Thanks for the idea for the most popular post I’ve written to date.

Steve Jones (b/t): Thanks for SQL Server Central in general and helping me with my contributions to it in specific.

Jeff Rush (t): Thanks for all of the copy editing you have done for me over the years!

Andy Mallon (b/t) and Tom Roush (b/b/t): Thanks for your support, your friendship, and helping me over some rough patches.

Robert Davis (b/t): Thanks for all of your SQL Help answers, thanks for all of the personal support you’ve given me in both rough patches and in my career. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.

Paul Randal (b/t): Thanks for all of the information you have made publicly available and even more taking time out of a busy schedule to answer all of the questions thrown at you.

Jes Borland (b/t), Thomas LaRock (b/t), Tom Roush (b/b/t), and Mike Fal (b/t): Thanks for the push and the help getting moving on speaking. I still don’t speak much but it’s an amazing experience each and every time.

Aaron Bertrand (b/t) and Adam Machanic (b/t): Thanks for helping me with various scripts, questions, etc and in general for being a good guys.

Kendra Little (b/t): You gave me that first mention on the BOU weekly email and not only had that been on my bucket list but it gave me a huge self-esteem boost. On top of that, you’ve been a great friend and helped me out several times.

And of course, thanks to everyone else. Everyone who’s read a post, asked a question, provided support, etc, etc.

Filed under: Microsoft SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication, T-SQL Tuesday Tagged: #sqlfamily, microsoft sql server, T-SQL Tuesday