It was February 27, 2011. Derek Schauland (twitter | blog), Microsoft File Storage System MVP, was stepping off the plane after attending MVP Summit when he sent me a message on Twitter: I have an idea.

I love ideas. I thrive on them. I asked him to give me more information. The next two words sold me: tech beers. I saved his message, and I'm glad I did, because today, I can share with you what he did with me. "Tech presentations at a microbrewery with some deep content." I was intrigued.

We talked on the phone. We met and talked over beers. We met again, and again. Discussions were had about the format of the event, the dates, the location, and much more. We brought in Mark Cyrulik (twitter) to help with the planning.

Many months and many beers later, this idea has become an event.

On a Saturday in November, Derek, Mark and I, and 50 or so of our closest technical cohorts, are going to gather at a brewpub in Northeast Wisconsin, have sessions and discussions about virtualization, and drink delicious beer.

I am thrilled to be part of this group. I believe this is going to be one of the best training events I've ever attended. Why?

• We're going to have attendees from a mix of disciplines. It's not just SQL people, or system administrators, or developers. We are inviting people from a variety of roles.
• We're talking about one topic, all day. This session will be on virtualization. The next one may be about SQL Server. Or SharePoint. But that is the only thing we're talking about. That's going to allow us to deep dive. We want 300-400 level discussions on the topic we choose. We're going to get the opportunity to see how this technology affects people in different positions across the organization.
• It's small, so it's intimate, and people will get to know each other. Our attendees won't be sitting in a room of 200 people for one hour, then a room of 75 different people the next hour. The group stays together, all day, to talk and learn together.
• We're drinking beer! Our events are going to be at local brew pubs. What's better than technology and beer?

You can view more updates at http://techontap.org. Are you interested in attending, speaking, or sponsoring this cool event? I can't promise a seat at the first one, but please email jes@techontap.org and we'll talk!

I want to thank Derek for coming up with this idea, and asking me to be a part of it. I want to thank Mark for stepping in and helping, and the countless hours of paperwork he's done. I want to thank my husband, Justin, for supporting me while I get involved in another event. I hope the community is as suportive of this as I am!