Ask any .NET developer and I bet the vast majority will tell you that PDC is the MUST attend conference of the year.  Here at INETA, we realize that times are tough and thought now would be a good time to give away two trips to PDC.  Each trip includes air, hotel and conference pass.  All we ask is you take some time to build an application using some third party components.

This could be something new or even something that you have been working on for a while.  It could even be something you are doing at work.

All you have to do is take a 5 minute video telling us why your application is so cool and you are in the running.  The judges will be evaluating submissions on many different criteria so even if you are new to a component, you still have a good chance to win.

So what are you waiting for? Get busy, the deadline to get submissions in is August 25th.  Get all of the details at http://www.ineta.org/codechallenge.

This month, we are coming up to the end of the Component Code Challenge. Be sure and enter for your chance to win a trip to PDC. We highlight a few of the people who have signed up for the Regional Speakers program. A new badge is available for your blog or website to reflect your current Community Champion status. David Hockenberry provides information on planning a community event and Jay Smith gives a wrap-up of an event he recently attended. A new special offer from InnerWorkings gives you the chance to learn something new. New videos are available from Thrive and details about the upcoming PDC and another contest to get you there are included as well. Find an event near you in the Community Events and Upcoming Speakers Bureau events lists. Thanks to the members who provided content for this newsletter. Enjoy!

Looking for a speaker for an upcoming meeting or event? Maybe one of the over 150 community-minded folks who have registered to be INETA regional speakers would fit your agenda. Visit the Regional Speakers Program page and search for a person interested in presenting on a range of topics in your area and submit your request to get the process started.  Topics span  the range from Agile development methodology through XNA. We'd like to focus on a few of the people who have registered for the program and are available to speak to groups or events in their areas across the country. We hope to focus on various people and regions over time to help you find the ones you need for your event.

Regional Speakers in focus this month:

• Adnan Masood of Ontario, CA speaks on C#, ASP .NET, ASP .NET MVC, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Cloud Computing, Services (Web), Azure, WCF: Syndication, and Architecture.
• Jeff Certain of Fort Collins, CO speaks on Azure, and concurrent programming in Colorado, Utah or Wyoming.
• Rob Vettor of Dallas, TX speaks on LINQ, Entity Framework, C#, ASP .NET, ADO.NET Data Services, Visual Studio 2010, and Architectural Topics anywhere in Texas and surrounding states.
• John Ferringer of Indianapolis, IN speaks on SharePoint, User Experience, and Architecture in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
• Will Strohl of Minneola, FL speaks on XML, VBScript, JScript, JavaScript, VB .NET, ASP .NET, User Experience, Visual Studio, DotNetNuke, and JQuery.

If you are interested in becoming part of this program, visit the Regional Speaker registration page and register yourself.

The INETA Champs Team is proud to announce a new "badging" feature to the INETA Champs Website (http://www.inetachamps.com). You can now get an "Official INETA Champs" badge for your blog or website. But the best part is the badge is that the badge is dynamically updated so that as you tell us more about the great things you are doing in the community your badge with change from Bronze, to Silver, to Gold, and if you are at the highest levels of contribution and earn a Champion or Excellence Award your badge will reflect that. So what are you waiting for? Tell us what you are doing today Remember 3Q 2009 submissions and nominations are due September 30th.

Homegrown MSDN

Western New York was the place to be on July 21^st. Microsoft’s Northeast Evangelists Jim O’Neil, Chris Bowen, and Dan Stolts spoke at the prestigious free workday event, Greater Buffalo IT/Dev. Day. Over 300 attendees came from as far as Vermont and Ohio to experience the vast knowledge, numerous giveaways, delicious meals, and all day networking.

You may wonder how all of this could be made possible in just three months time? As you might have guessed it took a lot of hard work and dedication. I found myself wishing there was a procedure to follow and after a quick Bing search returned 0 results, I decided to just dive in head first. To inspire other potential event organizers I have devised a basic list that may help you to create your own homegrown MSDN event!

• Contact your local Microsoft Evangelists to enlist their support – (Jim O’Neil was on board from the start)
• Create a Plan of Attack – Our plan consisted of two parts: Jim would take care of the speakers, presentations, and Microsoft support and I would head up local items such as the venue, sponsorships, food, volunteers, and promotion
• Price Venue – I priced out local colleges, hotels, and conference rooms (some venues also required food to be purchased through their catering services)
• Find Sponsors – Make contact with sponsors already involved in local user groups, including national sponsors
• Book the Venue – Commit to the venue with a deposit directly from the sponsor
• Find Volunteers – You can find knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers through the local user group
• Promote the Event – There are endless ways to promote your event, but I found the following to be the most effective: announcements at local user group events, user group newsletters, social media, and MSDN flash e-mails

David Hockenberry INETA Membership Mentor WNY DNUG Leader - wnydnug.org  wnydnug

SharePoint Saturday Ozarks

SharePoint Saturday Ozarks was a one day educational, informative, and lively day filled with sessions from respected SharePoint Professionals and MVPs. The event was held on July 18^th at the South Campus of the North Arkansas College in Harrison, AR, a beautiful vibrant city located in the heart of the Ozark Mountains. The event was organized by Mark Rackley, The SharePoint Hillbilly and member of the Ozark .Net User Group. Over 75 attendees turned out for over 25 sessions covering all aspects of SharePoint from custom development, administration, and branding. There were even a few sessions for .NET Developers.

The event was fantastic.  Not only were the sessions awesome in every track, it was a great to see how the SharePoint community is coming together and growing. There were lots of great conversations regarding SharePoint and community going on outside the sessions and continued at the SharePint. A SharePint is an after party event where attendees let their hair down and relax. The SharePint for this event was held at Hotel Seville which was built in 1929.

To find out more about SharePoint Saturday or to get started organizing one in your area be sure to check out the SharePoint Saturday website at http://sharepointsaturday.org. The SharePoint website also list dates and locations for other SharePoint Saturday events. Mark has also posted a great article titled Organizing a SharePoint Event: What you need to Know to help get you started, it is a great overview of the process of putting on a regional event.

I would like to thank Mark Rackley and the SharePoint Saturday event staff for putting on an awesome event and I look forward to SharePoint Saturday Ozarks 2010. I hope to see you there.

Jay Smith Community evangelist Host, User Group Radio  jaysmith

If you have an interesting community event report to share, contact us at noram.marketing@ineta.org.

InnerWorkings Hands-On Developer Training – 25% Catalog Discount We’re known for our fresh approach to developer training – with a focus on active learning by doing, solving real coding challenges, and automated code judging. This month only, we’re offering INETA members a 25% discount on all learning paths in our 600+ hour catalog of self-paced .NET developer training. Use the coupon IWINETA0809 at checkout to claim your savings before August 31st, 2009 or contact us for more details.

Build Your ASP.NET MVC & ADO.NET Development Skills – Free Trial for 1 Month

In the current economic climate, we could all add a few new development skills to our resumes. In conjunction with INETA, InnerWorkings is delighted to offer all INETA members FREE developer training on Microsoft’s ASP.NET MVC and ADO.NET. Visit our website’s promotion page for more information on this free training offer for INETA members. Promotion lasts until August 31^st, 2009.

Thrive is offering the following webcasts on starting an IT consulting business and on career development.

Thrive Live! Getting Started in IT Consulting
Are you thinking of making the leap into IT consulting? Do you want to join the ranks of small business owners making their own mark in the world? You can! In this webcast, we'll discuss the requirements and best practices for setting up your own business. We'll also explore the many hats you'll wear as a consultant and business owner. And we'll examine strategies for transitioning from full-time employee to full-time IT consultant with a minimal amount of risk along the way. http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032422406&Culture=en-US

Thrive Live! (Part 1 of 3) Create a Personal Marketing Plan for Career Success (Level 100)
We’ll show you how to get where you want to go professionally. You’ll leave with new concepts that can turn a job search into an adventure, plus guidance on how to weave your value and vision into a powerful resume and personal action plan.

Thrive Live! (Part 2 of 3): Be Lucky! How to Discover Your Next Job
We’ll explain how to increase your good fortune so you can discover the best opportunities, find better jobs, plus find them faster, by learning how to create your own luck. Topics also include the do’s and don’ts of networking and the most effective methods of job hunting.

Thrive Live! (Part 3 of 3): From Dressing to Dollars: Gain Interview and Negotiating Power
We’ll discuss ways to increase your likeability in interviews and the hidden agenda behind many interview questions. You’ll learn how to dress correctly, follow up effectively and turn the interviewer into your own personal resource. Our Webcast also includes tips on how to skillfully negotiate compensation.

Find all of these webcasts at the Thrive website at http://www.microsoft.com/click/thrive/

See the Future of Microsoft Technology at PDC09!

	Learn about the future of Microsoft's platform when the PDC returns to Los Angeles November 17-19, 2009. Join leading-edge developers and architects to jumpstart product planning and get immersed in keynotes featuring luminaries Ray Ozzie and Bob Muglia, sessions about the future of Windows, the Web, devices, developer tools, and our services platform.
Exchange ideas with peers and Microsoft technology experts during Hands-On Labs, Ask the Experts, Technical Fellows, and Birds of a Feather. Want more? Workshops kick off a day early on November 16th. Registration opens in early August! Register by September 15 and receive $500 off your conference pass.

Code⁷ Contest: Code to the Power of Windows 7 and Submit to Win

Get in it to win it! The Code7 Contest is a worldwide contest recognizing and rewarding applications for Windows 7 which are innovative, cool and show off the new features in Windows 7. Enter now to compete for up to $17,777 and trip to LA for PDC09! Upload your video to www.Code7Contest.com before 10/10/09 to take part, or 8/15/09 for a chance at one of seven $1000 gift cards.

Upcoming Conferences

DevLink 2009	Nashville	TN	08/13-15/09
KickStartz Nashville	Nashville	TN	08/15-16/09
Best Practices Conference	Washington	DC	08/24-26/09
St. Louis Day of .NET	St. Louis	MO	08/28-29/09
VSLive! Orlando 2009	Orlando	FL	10/04-07/09
SharePoint Conference 2009	Las Vegas	NV	10/19-22/09
DevConnections	Las Vegas	NV	11/09-12/09
PDC	Los Angeles	CA	11/17-19/09

Code Camps and Other Events

Jacksonville .NET Code Camp	Jacksonville	FL	08/29/09
Tallahassee .NET Code Camp	Tallahassee	FL	09/05/09
SharePoint Saturday NY	New York	NY	09/12/09
Vermont Code Camp	Burlington	VT	09/12/09
Raleigh Code Camp	Raleigh	NC	09/19/09
Houston Tech Fest 2009	Houston	TX	09/26/09
Silicon Valley Code Camp	Los Altos Hills	CA	10/03-04/09
Richmond Code Camp 2009.2	Richmond	VA	10/03/2009
Southwest Florida Code Camp	Estero	FL	10/03/2009