I’m back for another T-SQL Tuesday! Today’s is hosted by Jeffrey Verheul (b|t) and the topic is #SQLFamily.
I’ve already written another post about how SQLFamily Got Me Here. Instead of rehashing that, I thought I’d share a different story today.
The other day, Kathi Kellenberger posted this on the #SQLFamily Facebook Group Page:
Kathi Kellenberger – August 10 at 12:16pm
I had a nice conversation with Andy Yun yesterday at #SQLSat304. We met last year in Chicago during a Cards against Humanity game. This year, Andy is a speaker and getting recognition in the community. This is why we call it family. Sometimes we fight, but mostly we lift each other up.
“We lift each other up.”
Flash back to SQL Saturday Chicago 2013 & the After-Party. Kathi needed a lift back to her hotel, which I was more than happy to provide. It was extremely late, maybe midnight? During the course of the short drive back, Kathi noted that she needed to get a cab to the airport early in the morning. Being the Chicago suburbs, I pointed out that cabs don’t simply hang out at hotels. They must be pre-scheduled, especially for airport runs. I suggested she talk to the hotel front desk to see if there was a 24 hour cab company she could call to make a last-minute arrangement.
And this is where being SQLFamily comes in. I didn’t just stop with that suggestion, because I didn’t want her to risk getting stranded. As a contingency, I offered to come back in the morning and drive her to the airport. Let’s be clear to what this would have entailed. I would be driving 30 minutes back home, crashing around 1-2AM, then getting back up around 5AM, driving 30 minutes back to Kathi’s hotel, then driving her 45 minutes to the airport, before finally being able to go back home which would have been another 45 minutes. This wasn’t a trivial amount of driving, especially on very little sleep.
Yet I never hesitated to offer. In fact, I gave her my number and said that unless she was able to successfully make other arrangements, that I’d come back in a few hours to take her. This is a person I’d only met a few hours before.
Why did I do this without hesitation?
Because that’s what SQLFamily means to me. Going above and beyond, for those who are not simply just industry colleagues and acquaintences. Embracing the ideal of SQLFamily means taking it to the next level. And that’s what I was ready to do for Kathi.
Every Byte Counts 