Last year, 2011, I had the opportunity to attend this conference. I never had been to Seattle and my peers who have attended before me said that I would be amazed at what I would be getting myself into.

I’m not sure how to explain it other than by telling you my experience about it.

NETWORKING

Upon arriving to the conference I was amazed to see that I was there with roughly 3 to 5 thousand of my fellow community brothers and sisters. I am not by any means an introvert; but I can see how people would be awestruck when walking into the convention center.

I quickly found that networking, sharing issues, sharing solutions, and gaining knowledge was at the forefront. Each day PASS puts on a daily luncheon, now I tell you one thing…..food…..SQL…..community…can’t really top that.

Last year I had the opportunity to meet some of the most respected SQL MVP’s in the industry such as Chris Shaw, Jason Strate, Brad Mcgehee, Grant Fritchey, and Steve Jones.

FIRST TIME ATTENDING

First and foremost let me congratulate you on attending. Secondly, don’t be alarmed or get to overwhelmed. PASS does a great job of orientation and getting attendees acclimated to the week ahead.

For an insight into the workshops and orientation you can go directly to the PASS website  for reference.

GET IN THE GAME

This will be the most beneficial conference SQL related you could attend. If you are looking for something that could change your career or outlook I would seriously consider attending; where else will you get

• Over 190 Technical Sessions
• 2 days of Pre-Conference sessions
• Wall to wall networking
• Face to face support with Microsoft

REGISTRATION

Registration is simple; for exact information you can visit the PASS site directly here