The top ten reasons you should've been at Ann Arbor Give Camp:

10. Learn by doing, not just watching or listening. From the first hour to the last, we were immersed in our projects.

9. Great food, great venue, and great sponsors. Washtenaw Community College really impressed me. And the taco casserole from Tio's was the best (almost as good as my sister's). And Verio deserves special recognition not just for the wonderful free hosting they've provided, but also for the on-site tech support from Matt Lagrotte. It's fair to say that a lot of the projects succeeded because Matt was there to help them through the inevitable hosting bumps.

8. A midnight marathon of The IT Crowd, the funniest TV I've seen in years.

7. Three straight days of unprintable jokes. (No, I'm not giving an explanation. Not even a tip.)

6. Great people. Learn from them. Teach them. Laugh with them, and at them.

5. A chance to hear me tell the world I was wrong, and Jennifer Marsman was right. (As Josh Holmes said, he's waited eight years and still hasn't heard that.)

4. Arrive as individuals, leave as a team. And not just your project team, the whole bloomin' Give Camp crew. Under pressure and deadline, we learned what we could do and what we could trust to our team mates. That includes both people I've known for years and new friends like Donald Washington.

3. Somebody had to win. It could've been you. It didn't have to be me:

2. The single best community event I have ever attended. Sorry, Days of .NET. Sorry, VS Live, SD, Tech Ed, MVP Summit. Great events, all, but not the same. There's just something different about all working together under a deadline.

And the number 1 reason you should've been at Ann Arbor Give Camp... Well, I can't pick just one. Try fifteen:

• Care House/Macomb County Child Advocacy Center
• Michigan Humane Society
• The Wellness Community
• Caring Alternatives
• Forgotten Harvest
• Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
• Angel's Place
• Washtenaw County Chapter of the American Red Cross
• Child Care Network
• Golightly Academy of IT
• Center Stage Drama
• Arab American Culture Center
• SDL EQ Enrichment Center
• NOCIRC Michigan
• Wonder Puzzle

Great people. Great venue. Great food. Great times. Great work. All for great causes. There's nothing like Give Camp.

Update: Mike tells his tale.

Update 2: Added URLs for SDL EQ and the Arab American Culture Center. Thanks, Matt!

Update 3: Michael Eaton tells his tale.

Update 4: Mark Gilbert tells his tale. Sarah Dutkiewicz tells her tale. Josh Holmes tells his tale. Philip tells his tale from Columbus (one of our satellite locations). WWJ talks to Jennifer. Nathan Blevins tells his tale from Knoxville. John Mullinax tells his tale as both a supporter and a charity rep.

Update 5: Jennifer finally tells her tale. (What, like work, sleep, and baby are more important?)