Not that I want to distract you from our upcoming events in October and November, but it is time that we start setting aside a little momentum for our end of the year event in December, also known as The Great ITintheD.com Anti-Politically Correct Happy Merry ChrismaKwanziKah Event, or “Support The Troops 2: Electric Boogaloo”.
For those unfamiliar with the concept…
…we decided a few years ago that we were going to always try and do something a little different with our December events.
Sure, they’re still casual networking events. Sure, it’s still about meeting information technology professionals here in the metro Detroit area.
But still…a little different.
So last year we decided we were going to try and do something to help support Michigan military families. Why? Because it’s a good idea to do, that’s why. If you want to know the history, you can go read this blog entry: http://www.ITinTheD.com/2689/support-michigan-military-families/
And it was a really, really cool thing last year…something that we were really proud to have been a part of, and so we’re doing it again this year.
Because there are always Michigan troops stationed overseas and in harm’s way. It doesn’t matter who’s in what political office, or that bin Laden’s dead, or that it’s been a long time since September 11th, 2001…they’re still out there, and they’re still putting their lives on the line in very real ways to make sure that jagaloons like us can sit around, drink beer, and have lofty philosophical discussions about who has the suckier political candidate and which sports team is better than another city’s sports team.
Plus, the friggin’ Taliban blew up one of our shirts last year, and we’re kinda still holding a grudge about it.
So there are always Michigan troops in harm’s way, and there are also their families back here home that aren’t exactly having a sunny day in the park either.
And so, while we’re busy trying to make sure our kids have a nice Christmas (or “your holiday here”…whatever), and we’re all in that jovial holiday spirit…let’s make sure we make and take a little time to do something for people who do so much for us…without even knowing who the hell we are.
As a result, we’ve got a group of 25 Michigan National Guards troops that have (literally) just shipped out to Afghanistan that we’re going to run with this time around that we’ll be working with and looking to help. They’re in the midst of getting situated in camp as we speak.
So, what do you need to do?
I’m going to give you some links to reading material here on our site from around the time of last year’s event. It would be a good idea if you read them, because it’ll help keep me from asking you “did you read the site?” when you ask me a question.
The event listing for this year’s event on December 13th at Rochester Mills in Rochester Hills. It’s listed on LinkedIn, Meetup, and a few other places, but I strongly suggest you only rely on our site as the definitive and most up to date source of information. That can be found here: http://www.ITinTheD.com/event/december-2012/
How this got started: http://www.ITinTheD.com/2689/support-michigan-military-families/
“The Unofficially Official Frequently Asked Questions” page from last year’s event: http://www.ITinTheD.com/2735/dec-15-faqs/
The “Meet The Troops” section of articles leading up to, and following, last year’s event: http://www.ITinTheD.com/category/meet-the-troops/
At the end of the day…look, this is completely voluntary. Read those FAQs – we’re not going to call you out if you’re not up for this. We’re not going to blast you if it’s not something you feel like supporting. Honest.
It’s just something that we really think is worthwhile.
Heck, I believe it was so worthwhile that I got the ever living hell smacked out of me by a tiny little thing with a serious grudge against men in general and a wicked right hook to raise a few hundred bucks.
But that’s me.
And no, that’s probably not happening again this year.
Unless it’s Bob this time. In which case this will be the greatest fundraising activity ever seen in the state of Michigan…
…but I digress. Anyway, go read those above links, and starting thinking about December’s event folks. We look forward to seeing you there.