Review of the TTSSUG Launch Event

On the 30th of June, the Trinidad and Tobago SQL Server User Group (TTSSUG) held its first meeting at the Hyatt Regency. This event was sponsored by Microsoft Trinidad and Tobago and catered for a maximum of 45 participants. Registrations however far exceeded the expectation for the event with over 60 persons being interested in attending the event. The TTSSUG launch attracted SQL enthusiasts from a wide cross range of industries both private and public as well as education. Other attendees represented the financial sector, trade and industry and IT providers.

I was the presenter for the introduction session which provided information about the group such as its missions, goals and why it was created. I also explained the affiliation that we have with the Professional Association of SQL Server (PASS). For more information about this presentation please review my Trinidad and Tobago SQL Server User Group post.

After the introduction I went on to my other presentation which was titled 'Introduction to Database Administration'. We didn't want the sessions to be too advanced because there were some attendees who were new to Microsoft SQL Server. The presentations were developed to introduce people to the SQL Server world and also keep the interest of people who was already familiar with SQL Server. My presentation highlighted definitions of Microsoft SQL Server and Database Administration and also gave a brief introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Analysis Services (SSAS) and Integration Services (SSIS). The majority of the presentation demonstrated some basic methods of adjusting settings for an instance via SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and concluded with the creation of a management plan to create ‘Back Up Database tasks’ and ‘Maintenance Cleanup tasks’. The deck can be viewed here.

The presenter for the last session titled 'Introduction to Database Development' was Mitra Sinanan, who is a Senior System Analyst/Programmer at Infotech Carribbean. He created a database to store data for the Round of 32 taking place in the FIFA World Cup 2010. He used this information to explain CRUD operations, Table and Column Aliasing, Inner Joins, SQL Constructs, Common Table Expressions and Complex Sub queries. His presentation and the scripts used during the presentation can be downloaded here.

The closing remarks consisted of a vote of thanks and a winner selection that was created by placing the attendees name into a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 table and randomly selecting the name with T-SQL code. Congratulations to Rellon Lawrence who won the HP Passport Drive and Gregory Chee who won the Sony Digital Camera.

I would like to thank Microsoft Trinidad and Tobago for hosting this event and also investing and believing in the vision of the group.

Also special thanks to following for making the event a success:

• Mitra Sinanan for taking the time to share his knowledge with the group.
• Gisselle Ramsaran and Indera Ganesh from Corbin Communications for making all the arrangements for the event.
• Neeala Maharaj-Racha, our Microsoft Liaison, for all the time and effort that she spent in order to assist the group
• Of course the other co-founders of the group, Anand Singh and Ruselle Seeboo.
• Last but most importantly, the people who attended the event and who were interested in attending the event.