Dog Food for Human Food

One of the best things about our local IT community is that people are so helpful. It doesn't matter if you have a JavaScript question, are a usergroup newbie, or just want to meet other tech pros. Someone is always willing to help. This isn't limited to helping ourselves either. Many companies and individuals regularly take time out of their schedules to volunteer. They participate in events like GiveCamp, teach others to code, and work at area food pantries and homeless shelters.

With this in mind, when the Dog Food Con steering committee proposed a food drive called Dog Food for Human Food, I immediately loved the idea. I have high hopes that our helpful IT community will make this a success.

Food drive participation is simple. All you have to do is bring non-perishable items to the conference. We will have donation drop-off boxes near the registration desk. After the conference, volunteers will donate everything to Groceries-to-Go and Mid-Ohio Foodbank. LifeCare Alliance's Groceries-to-Go serves clients of the Columbus Cancer Clinic and Project OpenHand. Mid-Ohio Food Bank collects and distributes food to over 550 food pantries and local charities.

Both organizations welcome donations of virtually any non-perishable goods. But they also gave me a list of their most wanted items. These include:

• Canned fruits (in juice or light syrup)
• Canned soups & stews
• Canned vegetables
• Cereal
• Pasta & pasta sauce
• Peanut butter
• Tuna & other canned meat

Thank you in advance for participating!

Dog Food Conference 2012

Lately, I've done a lot of talking and tweeting about Dog Food Conference, a local conference focusing on Microsoft technologies. I'm a relative newcomer to the IT community and a bit of a marketing nerd. So I'm super excited that I'm on the steering committee and handling marketing and social media for such a well-known conference.

Dog Food started when its founders realized that the Midwest needed an event for Microsoft professionals to meet and learn from one another. It was successful and, with the exception of 2011, has been held every year since 2008. Over 400 people will attend Dog Food 2012 to learn about technologies including .NET, SharePoint, Windows Phone 8, Azure, and Active Directory and XBOX. The conference takes place November 8-9 at the Microsoft Office in Columbus.

This year, Dog Food is adding two new events to the agenda.

• Dog Food for Human Food: A food drive benefiting Mid-Ohio Food Bank and LifeCare Alliance's Groceries-to-Go program.
• Women in Technology panel discussion: Five ladies will talk about their experiences working in a predominantly male-dominated industry.

Tickets to Dog Food 2012 sold out in just a few days. But, there's still time to add your name to the wait list. You can find the latest conference updates at the Dog Food Facebook page or by following @dogfoodcon and the #dogfoodcon hashtag on Twitter.