Clark Sell

31 days ago, I decided to spend each day of December exploring the technical community across the Midwest. I knew I would just scratch the surface of our larger community, but my goal was simple, just start. January 20th 1961, John F. Kennedy made the famous statement during his inaugural address:

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."

Community is everywhere, it’s all around us. Church, Sports, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and of course our own technical communities. When I see people complaining about communities online, I sit there an just wonder, why? Why do they feel the need to invest so much energy complaining online? I am always reminded of what John F. Kennedy said, stop complaining and either be a true part of it or try and fix what you think is broken.  Community is exactly what you make it, nothing more. Community doesn’t owe you anything.

Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world"…

As a software developer I think it’s important to always do two things. One, step back and celebrate. Two, learn from the past while continually improving. When it comes to communities, we all have a thing or two to learn from our peers, not only in "your group", but the groups around you. There is so much to learn, why would anyone ever do it alone?

I want to thank everyone across the Midwest and beyond who helped support me over the past 31 days. I know I missed groups, and this doesn’t stop today. Over the next few months, myself and anyone who wants to help will be starting a new site called MidwestGeeks.net. The purpose of the site is to help consolidate and distribute information across our technical communities, and anyone involved with them. For the past 31 days I’ve gathered a great deal of information about communities across the Midwest, that of course is one example of the information that you will see on the site. It’s just a start of a larger journey, one where we can start to break down some walls and join together.

Wisconsin

Group	City	Post
MADPASS	Madison	http://csell.net/2011/12/29/31-days-of-community-madpass/
MADdotNET	Madison	http://csell.net/2011/12/27/31-days-of-community-maddotnet/
Wausau Area SharePoint Users Group	Wausau	http://csell.net/2011/12/23/31-days-of-community-wausau-area-sharepoint-users-group/
ECRuby	Eau Claire	http://csell.net/2011/12/19/31-days-of-community-ecruby/
Fox Valley .NET Users Group	Appleton	http://csell.net/2011/12/16/31-days-of-community-fox-valley-net-users-group/
Black Hole .NET	Marshfield	http://csell.net/2011/12/13/31-days-of-community-black-hole-net/
Greater Milwaukee Script Club	Greenfield	http://csell.net/2011/12/11/31-days-of-community-greater-milwaukee-script-club/
Chippewa Valley . NET User Group	Eau Claire	http://csell.net/2011/12/08/31-days-of-community-cvnug/
MADdotNET’s Geek Lunch	Madison	http://csell.net/2011/12/07/31-days-of-community-maddotnets-geek-lunch/
WI .NET Users’ Group	Milwaukee	http://csell.net/2011/12/03/31-days-of-community-wi-net-users-group/

Illinois

Group	City	Post
angleBracket	Grayslake	http://csell.net/2011/12/30/31-days-of-community-anglebracket/
Chicago DNN	OakBrook	http://csell.net/2011/12/28/31-days-of-community-chicagodnn-org/
Sangamon Valley .NET User Group	Springfield	http://csell.net/2011/12/25/31-days-of-community-sangamon-valley-net-user-group/
Chicago .NET Ninjas	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/24/31-days-of-community-chicago-net-ninjas/
Chicago SharePoint Users Group	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/22/31-days-of-community-cspug/
Rockford .NET Users’ Group	Rockford	http://csell.net/2011/12/21/31-days-of-community-rockford-net-users-group/
Chicago Sencha	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/20/31-days-of-community-chicago-sencha/
Chicago SBS Users Group	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/17/31-days-of-community-chicago-sbs-users-group/
Chicago Windows Phone Developer Group	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/15/13-days-of-community-chicago-windows-phone-developer-group/
Chicago Visual Studio ALM Users Group	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/14/31-days-of-community-chicago-visual-studio-alm-user-group/
Software Craftsmanship McHenry County	McHenry	http://csell.net/2011/12/12/31-days-of-community-software-craftsmanship-mchenry-county-scmc/
Chicago ALT.NET	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/09/31-days-of-community-chicago-alt-net/
Chicago Information Technology Architects Group	Chicago	http://csell.net/2011/12/06/31-days-of-community-chicago-information-technology-architects-group/
CNUG	Downers Grove	http://csell.net/2011/12/05/31-days-of-community-cnug/
Lake County .NET Users Group	Grayslake	http://csell.net/2011/12/02/31-days-of-community-lake-county-net-users-group-lcnug/

Indiana

Group	City	Post
South Bend Software Craftsmanship	South Bend	http://csell.net/2011/12/26/31-days-of-community-south-bend-software-craftsmanship/
SharePoint Users Group of Indiana	Indianapolis	http://csell.net/2011/12/10/31-days-of-community-sharepoint-users-group-of-indiana-spin/
.NET Users’ of Ft. Wayne	Ft. Wayne	http://csell.net/2011/12/04/31-day-of-community-net-users-of-ft-wayne-in/

Ohio

Group	City	Post
Central Ohio Windows Phone User Group	Columbus	http://csell.net/2011/12/18/31-days-of-community-central-ohio-windows-phone-user-group-cowpug/

Again, a huge thank you to all of the communities leaders for helping me make this possible. Make sure you thank them too.

angleBracket is a simple organization of web enthusiasts who collect once a month to tackle a given topic. We spend roughly 10 minutes introducing a topic and then pair up and start coding. When we decide enough is enough we get back together and share our findings.

You can find more at: http://angleBracket.net

When:

Every 3rd Thursday of the month.

Where:

College of Lake County

Room: TBD
19351 West Washington Street
Grayslake, IL 60030-1198

Who:

Clark Sell | http://clarksell.info

Clark is a web evangelist for Microsoft based in Illinois. A Chicago native who can’t spell, Clark as a kid actually made his money building cars, getting grease under his nails. That art of building would later lead him to software development where he drinks the Web Development Kool-Aid. Writing code is what keeps Clark awake at night, while continually working on his craft and rapping with others over a few cold CORS. You can hear Clark muse about software on his podcast Developer Smackdown, or find his family cruising around in a 1968 Camaro SS.

Pat Paaschp

Pat is a .NET developer for GFX International in Grayslake, IL. A Wisconsin native, he attended the infamous Sheboygan North High School and has enjoyed a great deal of bratwurst and cheese. While earning his Business Administration & Marketing degree he saw a classmate’s Perl/CGI book and decided is what a good idea to avoid all things technology and software related. But, he found himself working with computers and software during his first job when he became the IT department because he could call his older brother who “worked with computers”. When he’s not spending time with his wife and three kids he’s trying to figure out if this WWW thing is really worth all the trouble.

MADPASS is a SQL Server user group.  Our mission statement:

The purpose of this chapter is to serve the community of SQL Server professionals in the Madison area by providing a forum for professional networking, continuous learning, and technical collaboration. In support of this purpose, MADPASS shall endeavor to accomplish the following:

1. Actively advance and promote the effective utilization of products and services by promoting a
   free exchange of information concerning the use of such products and services by members of the organization;
2. To conduct regular meetings and host topical presentations concerned with the products and technologies of interest;
3. Communicate user needs in all areas of interest;

Our meetings cover a range of topics including database administration, programming, and business intelligence. We have networking time each month, along with free dinner and drinks!

When

Fourth Wednesday of each month in Madison, WI.

More Information

• Our website is http://madpass.org
• Twitter is @MADPASS
• LinkedIn is http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3719611&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
• Google + https://plus.google.com/u/0/114506358272850034374/posts.

SQL Saturday

MADPASS is planning the first SQL Saturday in Wisconsin, SQL Saturday #118, on April 21, 2012 as well – http://sqlsaturday.com/118/eventhome.aspx.

We are the Chicago Area DotNetNuke Users Group and we promote DotNetNuke within the Chicagoland area. If you develop websites or work with website technology then you should know about us.

DotNetNuke is a very powerful Content Management System for developing websites. Great websites in fact…

Our Hosting Sponsor PowerDNN provides food and drink for the evening and we generally have a great discussion about all things web related. You are welcome to attend this free event, contribute to the discussion, ask questions and take off if the conversation no longer is relevant to you.

You can find more at: http://ChicagoDNN.org

Where you will find links to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Meetup.com and The DotNetNuke Users Group

When:

The first Tuesday of the month.

Where:

We are taking the show on the road this year and plan to rotate venues around the city. Because of member requests, we are going to hold one meeting in Downtown Chicago, one meeting in the North Suburbs, and then one out in the Southwest Suburbs. Then we will do it all over again starting back downtown. Locations are being determined so check the website for more information.

Please check the website for current information on when and where the next meeting will be held in 2012.

Who:

Don Gingold | http://SprocketWebsites.com/About

Don launched Gnu Ventures Company in 1996 to help organizations and businesses initiate and improve their Internet presence. Along with partner Kate Gingold, Gnu Ventures puts a creative spin on their combined skills in programming, graphic arts, copywriting and marketing.

Don and Kate are members of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and between them have served as past chairs or board members of numerous committees. Currently they involved with the Ambassadors, the Business Resource Network and several leads groups. Don has over 25 years experience in applying computers and network technology to business, including pioneering work on the Internet with an international corporation.

James Nagy | http://SprocketWebsites.com/About

Jim started developing website solutions with the DotNetNuke® Content Management framework for a national automotive services corporation. For the past few years, Jim and his partner Susan Nagy have been helping companies compete in the global marketplace as J&S Tech Designs, LLC.

James and Susan are members of the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce as well as the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and are involved in several committees including the Ambassadors, the Business Resource Network and several leads groups. He has over 20 years of experience in information technology, software design, user experience programming and executive management.

Phil Wegrzyn

Phil Wegrzyn has been a professional developer for over 22 years, progressing from a mainframe assembler programmer to a web developer and technical consultant with a Chicagoland fortune 50 company.

For the past 5+ years he has been working almost exclusively with DotNetNuke®, deploying, administering, and developing DotNetNuke® sites to handle a wide array of complex functionality on intranet, extranet and internet-facing DNN sites. Phil has also provided training, technical guidance and development services to organizations implementing DotNetNuke® as their CMS.

The Madison, Wisconsin .NET User Group is an enthusiastic open community with a focus on Microsoft .NET and other related technologies.

Everyone is welcome to attend our free meetings – generally the 1^st Wednesday of the month is our presentation meeting where we have a two hour presentations on a select topic – everything from the latest emerging technologies so you’re informed of what’s coming – to – how to more effectively utilize the technologies that you use in your day-to-day programming life so you can maximize your potential!

For our presentation meetings – come hungry as we will provide free pizza – as a hungry developer is a scary thing.

Also — generally on the second Wednesday of the month we have a .NET Lunch where we get together and talk .NET technology while having great food!

At MADdotNET – we focus on empowering the overall developer community with knowledge – so that together we can all increase our connections with one another as well the technology that will make each of us more successful, and thus have more fun, with what we do every day!

Everyone is welcome; we are a mix of .NET professional developers, students, teachers, any one just interested in learning more – we also encourage local recruiters to attend – as they are looking to get the best jobs to the easily the best candidates in entire Madison market!

What we are not are “9-to-5’ers” – those people who’s interest stops when they leave their computers. We are passionate about learning and enthusiastically improve our skills and connections!

Everyone is also welcome to present to the group – it’s easily said that you never know a topic as well as when you prepare to teach that topic to others. Come talk about technology that makes you excited, whether it’s something you use day-to-day or something that you do ( or want to do ) on the side. There are so many great topics, from HTML5 to Kinect, from MVC to XAML, from SQL to jQuery. Challenge yourself and be rewarded from what you learn and can show to others!

You can find more at: www.MADdotNET.com

When:

Generally the 1^st and/or the 3^rd Wednesday of the month, with an additional .NET lunch meeting generally on the 2^nd Wednesday of the moth. See our site and follow us on Twitter ( @MADdotNET ) for all upcoming meeting.

Also – highly encourage you to subscribe to both:

1. MADdotNET@googlegroups.com ( http://groups.google.com/group/maddotnet ) — Our discussion forum where user group members post cool things they find and/or ask any questions on projects that they are working on and want the perspective and experience of the best developers in the area!
2. MADdotNET-announcements@googlegroups.com (http://groups.google.com/group/maddotnet-announcements ) – Meeting and event announcements only.

Where:

Presentation Meetings:

Herzing University Madison ( 5218 East Terrace Drive, Madison ) – Room #120
5:30pm – 6pm: Networking | 6pm – 8pm: Presentation and Pizza

.NET Lunches:

Alt-n-Bach’s ( 2602 Whalen Lane Madison, WI ) – in the Back Room
11:45am – 1pm

Contact:

Lance Larsen | mail@lancelarsen.com | www.LanceLarsen.com