SQLFamily – Becoming a Master

PNW Day of Data 2026 – Precons posted and the Data Bus!

admin October 09, 2026 0 Comments

Just to make my life more difficult, I switched campaign software from Ticketleap to Zeffy due to the flexibility of Zeffy and also their dedication to making sure 100% of funds goes to the non-profit! Thank you Zeffy! For all of you that have already signed up, don't worry, you're still registered and I will make sure nothing is lost. I apologize for the change, but getting the precons to work...

Going to the European Fabcon in Barcelona!

admin September 24, 2026 0 Comments

I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to work in the Community Zone at the #FabConEurope in Barcelona, Spain in just a few days. I'll be presenting on "Moving the Boulder - how to get momentum going for your community group" on Tuesday at 1430 HRS CEST in the Community Theater along with being on post in some of the booths/stations in the Community Zone. While it's technically work, I...

PNW Day of Data 2026 – Schedule(s) live!

admin September 22, 2026 1 Comment

It took a minute as my Southern friends like to say, but both the main and precon schedules have been finalized for the PNW Day of Data 2026. I'm excited to advertise that we have three precons for our event on Nov 6th (Friday) at the same location, our friends at WSUV (Washington State University - Vancouver). From Jerry Nixon at Microsoft - SQL AI App in a Day - Build AI‑Powered Applications...

Oh what a wonderful community we have

admin September 08, 2026 0 Comments

Whether we call it the SQL Family or the Data Family, I can't think of a better group of people. I have been having fun working with the Day of Data Utah folks and they were kind enough to ask me my opinion. First of all, I'm happy to help, Second of all, it's exciting to see groups being created, and Third of all, it's good for the community. The news about IT companies is a little scary right...

Planning for your own in-person data conference – Pt 2 – Location

Michael Wall December 10, 2023 0 Comments

Oregon Data Community/Oregon SQL has had their conference at many sites in both Portland and Vancouver. My first SQL Saturday was back in 2011 at the appropriately named Climb Center in Portland. There was an elevator, but it was small and slow, so it was faster to carry things up and down the four flights of stairs. This brings forth a number of good points in location selection Ease of Access...

Planning for your own in-person Data Conference – Pt 1

Michael Wall November 30, 2023 0 Comments

SQL Saturday Oregon and SW Washington 2023 is in the books and I hope everyone had a good time. As always, it was fantastic to see many people from the #SQLFamily. As always, I was running around like a chicken with my head cutoff due to many issues including coffee.... I expect that. It's hard to manage any size of group, and there will always be issues, especially when people are involved. We...

Maintaining a Balance

Michael Wall August 13, 2023 0 Comments

I'm not sure how some people manage to do it. It's been a stressful year between balancing my job, my family obligations, my health, my Lodge, my Data User Group, and having a little bit of fun for myself. Luckily I work with some really good people who are more than capable of getting things done. That being said, there are also a lot of people who just don't do anything unless pressed! But...I...

#NewStarNovember – Being a Mentor

Michael Wall December 01, 2022 0 Comments

As always, thank you to Ben for his continued positive influence on the data community and the world at large. Let's hope he likes my post! What got you into Speaking? I was fortunate enough to be near an active UG, originally the Oregon SQL UG based in Portland, OR. After discovering my first SQL Saturday in 2011, I became an active volunteer in 2015 and slowly started speaking. I had no idea...

SQL Saturday Oregon and SW Washington

Michael Wall November 03, 2022 0 Comments

I know, it's a little confusing. This event, one of the oldest SQL Saturdays, is going to once again be held in Vancouver, WA. Why? Portland, in the kindest way I can phrase, has become a challenging place to find meeting spots. Three of the Leadership members of Oregon Data Community live in Vancouver, all of us have an association with our site, Clark College, and Vancouver is just a fun city...

Being a Speaker – PASS Summit 2022 (yay!)

Michael Wall October 10, 2022 0 Comments

I was once again honored by the session evaluation team for PASS Summit to be chosen to speak this year at Seattle. I'm super excited as I will be doing my Professional Development presentation on Becoming a Master! There's still plenty of time to sign up for Summit, but hurry up as it's only going to get more expensive and harder to find lodging. You can sign up right here: PASS Data Community...