Don’t forget this very important day! It’s the last Friday of July (July 25 for this year). Mark it on your calendar!

Ok, I have to admit that I actually didn’t know that such a day existed until I found this site, which is the official System Administrator Appreciation Day website.

According to the site, this idea to have a special day for SysAdmins was created by Ted Kekatos, a system administrator in Chicago. He was inspired by a print ad for a Hewlett-Packer laserjet printer showing lines of employees bringing gifts for the IT guy who made the purchase.

The first SysAdmin Appreciation Day was celebrated on July 28, 2000. It has gained support from organizations such as the League of Professional System Administrators (LOPSA), Friends In Tech (FIT), Sunbelt Software, and “In The Trenches,” a podcast for SysAdmins.