Oops, I Did it Again...

Did what, you ask? I just couldn’t help myself…

In addition to ONETUG and DotNetNuke, KForce is now sponsoring all of Lakeland’s .Net User Group meetings.

How did this happen you ask?

It was a dark and stormy night…

And I had the pleasure of attending the Lakeland .NET User Group where Fabio Honigmann was speaking (again, because he is that awesome, seriously).
This was my first time venturing to South Central that is Lakeland and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have heard mythical stories about country folk and good BBQ ribs, but I didn’t have too much else to go on. I was nervous.

As we arrived at University of South Florida Polytechnic and embarked on our long walk to room 1125, my mind was racing. I wondered, “Who would I meet?" and “How would this meeting compare to the other User Groups I attend?”

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised to meet a tremendous group of people that shared a love for all things Microsoft and are extremely talented (and normal). My partner from Tampa, Michael “Miggy” McCarthy, was there, too, so that made things even better. It was going to be a good meeting. My anxiety waned…until I was alerted to something that I thought was just unfair…and well, for lack of better words, crappy. It seemed that this fine group had been overlooked and needed some sponsors to provide some food, drinks, and some lively entertainment that only a staffing firm could provide. It didn’t seem fair to me that Orlando and Tampa get all the love and Lakeland gets left out in the cold like the redheaded stepchild. Michael and I were deeply troubled and were hell-bent on doing something to help. (Maybe I’m being a little dramatic, but you KNOW me…) In any event, my mind was racing throughout most of the meeting as I feverishly exchanged emails with my Director, Brian “BC” Coffey.

The (very professional) exchange went something like this:

Me: “My little wheels are turning. This group has been meeting for a long time and they don’t have a sponsor. WTF. This would be an awesome opportunity to take care of some .NET folks. We have to sponsor them! I will even do it out of my own pocket! What do you say, BC??? Pretty please?”

BC: “We’ll talk manana”.

So what is a girl to do with “We’ll talk manana”? I pulled the typical Megan and just went ahead and did it anyway. Some people say I’m pushy (and when I say some people, I mean pretty much everyone, including my parents)…I just think I’m a girl that goes after what she wants. In any event, I broke the news to Brian while I feasted on wings and beer with some of my new .NET friends, and he, thankfully, hopped on the Lakeland .NET train right along with Miggy and me.

KForce is very excited about our partnership with this User Group and we look forward to helping the .NET community in anyway we can. Personally, I’m a big fan of the .NET community and I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to extend my network, meet some great people, and make some new friends.

Last night’s presentation (on MVC) was awesome and Fabio did a great job. He will be speaking at Jacksonville’s meeting next month, so please get with me if you want some info on that meeting.

For more information on Lakeland’s .NET User Group community, please check out: http://www.lakelandug.net/