I don’t know if I can put into words how much I appreciate this award, so I won’t try too hard. I will say that feels really weird to be happening in July. For the first 13 years I had the award, the announcement was my kind of unofficial launch of the holidays in early October. The award announcement occurring (or not), then the celebration (or healing) would include PASS Summit, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and all that the final three months of the year hold. Leading up to the day usually meant a build-up of weeks of near cardiac episodes where every little thing set me off. No recent emails on the downloads? Must mean the end. No message about the MVP Summit? The sky is falling.

But two things have changed over the past few years: 

1.       The bar for the MVP program has been elevated. Popular MVPs didn’t make the cut. We were warned. If what I had done didn’t meet the requirements, so be it. I am loving being a part of this Simple-Talk community blogging, speaking 5-8 times a year, and working on the Program Management team at PASS and Music City Code. If it isn’t enough, it just isn’t, as I have aged 14 years since my first award, I need more exercise, sleep. and time at Disney World.

2.       In my yearly state of affairs blog for my SQL community involvement, I meant it what I said I would “Devalue the MVP Award as one of my motivators”. No matter how much I clearly want to stay in the program, I am setting the bar for my community involvement based on my desire and ability to be involved.

This very much makes this award year’s one of my favorites. It has felt less stressful, and more of a joy (until very early this morning when I admit to start checking my email WAY too early for an email that originates on the West Coast.)

While I am honored to get the award, I couldn’t do it without a lot of people. This starts with everyone reading my blog for your part in me keeping this award. Those of you who select/ask me to come to your group/event/committee, to reading my blogs, and, perhaps more importantly, teaching me stuff that has made me better at what I do… I can’t do this alone. I covet the time you and I spend together in person, virtually, and even time shifted.

I won’t promise I will make it to 15, or that I will stay active in the community past this blog post, but when I finish writing this one, I have blog to write about a SQL Saturday in two weeks, and I have an idea for a technical blog that need writing. So I wouldn’t bet against id.