1. The Value of Professional Associations Keynote Topic www.craftydba.com By John Miner

2. What is a professional assn? A group of people that meet to discuss and promote knowledge in their industry. Historically, these were the guilds of middle ages such as the Masons or Shoemakers. Ritual traditions of the guilds survive in orders like the Free Masons. Some modern day guilds are the Electrical and Plumbers union.

3. Ranking of skill Guilds ranked members in terms of their skill. –Apprentice –Journeyman –Master Microsoft’s certification program –MCTS = associate –MCITP = expert –MCM = master

4. Member benefits Attend presentations on parts of the SQL Server family that you do not use. Meet professionals in the IT field –Same area of study –Different area of study Be apart of new product releases. Be aware of 3 rd party tool offerings. Get knowledgeable about local companies.

5. Learning by teaching Members are encouraged to immerse themselves in topic they are interested in. Read books on-line, white papers and/or books. Create some working demos on how to apply the technology. Report back to the group via a presentation.

6. Are there drawbacks? It does take time to attend and/or present. Unless you are actively going to school, it is a great way to learn. Overall, I think you get more out of it than you put in.

7. Local SQL PASS chapter Southern New England SQL Server Users Group (SNESSUG) meets every first Wednesday of the month at New England Technical Institute (NEIT). Join the linked in group or visit the website to get announcements.

8. SQL SATURDAY #156 Before we begin … Thanks to those who made this event happen.

9. Our Committee Local Chapter President –John Miner Event Chairperson –Brandon Leach Event Coordinators –Scott Abrants –Yulia Fuller –Steve Simon

10. Our Sponsors (cont) 2012 Fiscal Year –New England Tech –Data Education Gold Level –Confio Software –Quest Software

11. Our Sponsors Bronze Level –SQL Pass Swag –Red Gate Software –Pragmatic Works –Sapient Technologies

12. Our Book Publishers O’Reilly Publishing Microsoft Press McGraw-Hill Simple Talk Publishing Wrox

13. Have a great day! References guilds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild masons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry certification: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cer t-overview.aspx