It must be something in the water. I have been evangelizing F# for some time and have had numerous invitations to speak around Milwaukee, WI and elsewhere in this region. Everyone that I speak to about F# "gets it". I have been having a lot of fun.
The good folks in the .NET Users Group in Rockford, IL (NETRUG; note that they are working on updating the web site; even though I'm not listed, I DID speak) were kind enough to invite me to speak at their March User's Group Meeting.
We had a fantastic meeting. The meeting took place on March 29th, 2006 and was located at a local business and we had the use of one of their conference rooms. Gerry and I arrived in Rockford, IL (from Milwaukee, WI) after an easy, 90 minute drive. About 10-12 people showed up. This post is a little late because I had written it and forgot to publish it (and a Rockford Users Group member emailed me to remind me; dude, where's our post?).
The part I like best about these meetings is hearing the issues of the local groups and how they manage those issues. In Appleton, WI, the toughest issue was trying to determine what topics to discuss in presentations in future meetings. Here the issue was organization and leadership. Leanne Fetter has done a great job getting this group together and they have a lot of great ideas. The group is working to solidify their leadership and roles so that the responsibilities are not placed on only one or two people. Many groups have these issues and it was great to hear open discussion in this group. Of course many other topics were discussed as well, but that the group was focused on leadership means that they are thinking about their durability and effectiveness as an organization.
After conversations on local group issues, I gave my F# presentation. Coming in to a new city, I usually don't know what to expect. The topic is not an easy topic, i.e. F# forces you to think in a number of different ways. I still find myself "context-switching" between C# and F# and "thinking in F#" only after a bit of effort. But the members of NETRUG picked up F# very quickly. As I walked through the presentation, there were a number of good questions and we covered a lot of depth. I try to engage each audience (in different cities) and hope that they respond. This audience responded. Given that the group size was 10-12, I could interact, on an almost individual basis, with each person. This provided for great tempo as well. This audience provided me with useful questions and commentary afterwards as well.
The Rockford .NET Users Group has solid membership and is growing. The group, like many others, is always looking for new members, speakers and leaders. If you are in the area, visit their site, attend the meetings or get involved.