This past weekend, I went to SQL Saturday #8 and one of the sessions involved the development and presentation of your "virtual self". In this session, Steve Jones made clear the advantages, both personally & professionally, of having an online presence. Part of Steve's presentation was a great deal about blogs. His speech won my vote and I decided I just had to have one.

So, as my first post, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Mike Laurencelle and I'm a SharePoint & Server Systems Administrator for Sears Home Improvement Products, headquartered in sunny Longwood, Florida. I've been working for Sears for the last two and a half years. Before Sears, I spent eight years working for Thomas Computer, a nationwide catalog based computer sales & services VAR in Orlando, Florida.

I've been in the IT industry now for 15 years. Most people I tell that to are shocked but I practically grew up in a family of IT pros. For me, IT is more than a job to make a living, more than a career to call my own. It's my passion. I am a self proclaimed geek in all things technology. I can't imagine being in any other field. I love what I do.

For Sears I am a member of the Server Administrators team and my primary functions revolve around SharePoint and Virtualization technologies. Those probably comprise 60-80% of my time, with the rest spread among many other projects that help provide variety. I am part of a phenomenal team with a great bunch of people, working for a company I believe in, doing what I love...how lucky am I? :)

Until next time!