Howdy TAGITM!

Howdy TAGITM!

38 days, 19 hours, and 11 minutes until it’s go time for the annual conference as I type this! Registration opened last week, and admittedly, it was a bit of a fiasco. These last several years, we’ve become accustomed to the onslaught for the exhibit hall and sponsorships. What was a surprise this year was the rush for resort rooms. It’s true, we missed out on about 75 rooms due to renovations, and it’s possible some of those rooms may be available prior to our event. Any unfortunate soul who has been through home renovations surely can sympathize. Delays, headaches and hurdles come with the territory. My experience says it’s the same for tech projects and for those of us caught up in facility builds.

The room problem was not ideal, of course, but I’m not aggravated with La Cantera by any means. Being the glass half full man child I am, I see the positive. TAGITM’s popularity has surged past our wildest dreams in recent years. When I first volunteered to serve on the education committee in 2017, I don’t think anyone would have dreamed TAGITM would become what it is today. The org was always popular, but it has really exploded in recent years. Credit to all y’all for getting the word out! It truly is YOUR org, and I hope everyone is proud of what has transpired. It was 2018 when we had our 40th anniversary at La Cantera, and I can recall being enthralled by how nice the resort was. I couldn’t believe we had the juice to hold a wildly successful event there. It was a risk to even try! Fast forward to today and we’re going to pack that gorgeous resort with all kinds of TAGITM awesomeness in April!

So, I say all that to say this. For the folks impacted by the room issue at La Cantera…I’m sorry for the nuisance. Same goes for our partners. The good news is we’re going to power through like the good Texans we are, put on a ridiculously amazing event, have a dang good time, and march towards our future facility in 2026 that has roughly twice the capacity. I hope we have a couple of years to grow into the JW Marriot Hill Country, but you know, I also hope we’re pegging the tach on that place soon as well! Why, you ask? Because that means TAGITM is continuing to grow and surge in popularity! It’s right there front and center in our vision statement on the website. Serving as the premier organization for government technology professionals in Texas. That’s right big dawg…all the bumps in the road are leading to something even bigger and better down the road and ya boy is here for it!

On to other topics. I would be remiss not to mention the GIS Summit in Lewisville. My goodness y’all, that far exceeded our expectations…SOLD OUT, baby! Shout out to all the GIS pros that attended, my dude Chris Lee for hosting, and to Gonzo and the rest of the GIS committee for lining up the day. I’m told our speakers were on point, and the vibe was outstanding overall. I don’t know about Gonzo, but I’m ready to proclaim TAGITM’s GIS experiment complete. GIS folks are part of the TAGITM fam now. Hopefully not the crazy uncle at Thanksgiving type family member, more the overachieving relative that’s into maps and swears ESRI is the greatest thing since sliced bread type. Witnessing the growing collaboration with GIS professionals has been one of my favorite TAGITM efforts these past few years. I say let’s keep the TAGITM GIS train moving forward.

The last thing I’ll mention is the upcoming awards and scholarships. I’m hearing you all did a phenomenal job submitting people and projects for our various awards. I love it! Anyone that knows me knows I take every advantage thrown my way to elevate my city and staff through recognition. I’ve always viewed it as part of my responsibility to uplift and build our culture. I am thrilled to see so many of you submitting write-ups. It’s a worthwhile investment in time to ensure our staff and organizations are aware of the amazing things tech is doing for them day in day out. Same goes for the scholarships, seems like we are doing really well there. It’s so great to give back and help springboard those early in their careers. Of course, a big thank you goes to the Unger family for initiating this very positive effort. That’s all I got folks, until next time, thank you for reading and have a wonderful month!