I've already announced on my personal blog, the imaginatively-titled David B. Thomas, that I am leaving SAS to go to New Marketing Labs. Today is my last day here. I'm in my office right now, procrastinating, since the packing up has come down to the annoying stage: small things and pieces of paper that may be too vaguely important to throw away. That's the worst part of any move.

This morning I helped lead a half-day social media training session for SAS Americas Marketing folks. It was not only a great way to say goodbye, but also a very vivid demonstration of how far we've come in social media at SAS in the last two years. I was essentially the moderator; the real information was delivered by SAS marketers in Deb Orton's team who are using social media tools to get real results. In what seems like a very short time, they've gone from exploring social media to integrating it into campaigns in ways that can be tracked and measured.

This is a pivotal point for social media at SAS. We've gone from a grass roots movement to an officially-sanctioned effort backed with training resources and driven by people with social media as part of their job description.

This is a tricky time as well. In any large organization, there can be a point where the maverick effort gets co-opted into business-as-usual and loses momentum. It's important that SAS continue to integrate social media across the organization. But don't stifle it's potential with too much process, too many committees and too many review procedures. For social media to work, it needs to be timely, genuine and personal - attributes which aren't traditionally ascribed to large enterprises.

That's it for the pontificating.

I have nothing but positive regard for SAS and the people who work here. No company better deserves its reputation as a top workplace. And the people here are the reason behind all of SAS' success. I have been truly touched by all the kind words I've gotten from co-workers since announcing I was leaving.

Today, at the end of the social media training session, Deb brought the members of the Social Media Center of Excellence, the team she created to act as trailblazers for the rest of her group, on stage to thank me. I don't think I've ever had such a meaningful send off.

Deb and her team demonstrate every day the perfect combination of level-headedness combined with a spirit of creativity and adventure that business folks need to make this stuff work.

I'm extremely proud of all the people at SAS who have seen the value of social media and the potential it has to help SAS reach customers and prospects in genuine and useful ways. I can't possibly thank everyone here, but I do want to single out a few people for special mention, including my boss and friend Kelly LeVoyer, our External Communications Director Pamela Meek, Americas Marketing VP Adele Sweetwood and CMO (and blogger) Jim Davis. (The fact that I can link all of their names to a Twitter account might be all you need to see how far we've come.)

If you're a SAS user and you're not following Waynette Tubbs, you should be. She has truly grasped social media's potential to connect with customers in a helpful, genuine and personal way.

If you're looking for a great example of social media integration, check out SAS Publishing and the ways they're using a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Kirsten Hamstra deserves a great deal of credit for paving the way.

Alison Bolen deserves a special mention as well. Even before I came to work here, she was showing people the value of these new communications channels. Working with her to bring these tools and techniques to fruition has been a joy. She has been an invaluable ally and sounding board (as well as a patient ear at those times when it wasn’t such a joy).

I also want to thank my former bosses: Bev Brown for bringing me on board, and Desiree Adkins for supporting my move to the Social Media Manager job. That meant a lot.

I've gone down this road of naming people and now I don't know where to stop, for fear of leaving someone out. Other people who have provided support and assistance to me and positive role models for their SAS colleagues include (in no particular order) Meg Crawford, Diane Lennox, Sean Gargan, Becky Graebe, Karen Lee, Jens Olivarius, Michele Reister, Kathy Joyner, Memsy Price, Frank Leistner, Aaron Hill, Nelle Schantz, Dina Fiorentino, Jenn Chase, Margo Stutesman, Brendan Bailey, Bill Marriott, Christin Coan, Allison Lane, Falco Kronmueller, Nanna Thorhauge, Patrick Demaret, Marnie McDonald, Patricia Sainz and Andrej Gazdarica.

Okay, now I'm just naming people I drank with in Heidelberg.

I'm expecting great things from SAS and the people here. This company is ideally positioned for social media success: great products, loyal customers, great people and a sincere devotion to doing the right thing.

And I know this blog will continue, as there are many, many more people in this organization now who have valuable information to share about making social media work in the enterprise. Stay tuned and I know you'll learn something.

Now I have to get back to my desk drawer and decide what to do with the push pins.