I’m a Speaking Mentor!

I am so excited to announce that I have been accepted as a speaking mentor on SpeakingMentors.com!

I struggled for so many years with my fear of public speaking and now is my chance to help someone who may have those same fears.  Huge Thank You goes out to Alex Yates (Twitter | LinkedIn) for creating SpeakingMentors.com.  You can read the full story about how this came here.

I’m really looking forward to being able to help others achieve their public speaking goals.

MVP Data Platform

Holy Cow!  I still can’t believe it, I was awarded the Microsoft MVP – Data Platform today.  I guess I really am starting the New Year off with a Bang!

I am so honored and humbled by this.  I wanted to Thank everyone for their support over the last several years, there’s no way this would have happened without all of you.  To be nominated by your peers is the greatest feeling.  #SQLFamily is awesome!

THANK YOU ALL!!!

Kicking Off The New Year With A Bang

Back in 2015, I said would think about speaking in my #TSQL2sday #61 post.  Well here it is 2018 and I have finally embraced speaking.  And as it turns out, I love it.  I spoke eight times in 2017, from my local PASS group to Denver’s SQL Saturday.  I even spoke for the PASS WIT virtual group, which was a HUGE deal for me.  It’s hard enough to speak in front of an audience, but it’s even harder to speak when you can’t see the faces.  You have no idea if people are confused, sleeping or even interested in what you are saying.  But I digress.

I am kicking off 2018 with three speaking gigs already lined up.  One in January, February and March.

In January I will be speaking for my local group, presenting Data Types Do Matter.  This will be the first time I present this particular session and am looking forward to getting feed back on it.

In February, I am happy to announce that I was selected to speak at SQL Saturday Cleveland.  Not only am I speaking, but I am speaking twice!  I was honored to have both my What is Power BI? and my Intro to Integration Services sessions selected.  I’ve been to Ohio before, but never Cleveland, so it should be fun.  I plan on arriving a day early so I can take in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the infamous A Christmas Story home tour.  Not sure if I’m more excited to see one of my all time favorite bands, The Cars, memorabilia or to see where Ralphie almost shot his eye out!

In March, I am speaking at SQL Saturday Iceland.  Yes, Iceland!  I still can’t believe I was selected to speak.  I am so honored.  I submitted with the attitude “Never in a million years will I be selected, but it would be by FAR the coolest thing EVER if I was.”  Low and behold my new session Data Types Do Matter was selected.  I can hardly wait.

If you are in the area of any of my speaking engagements, please stop by and say, “Hello”, I’d love to see you.

Here’s to a great 2018!

Happy New Year!