What have you been up to since SAS Global Forum 2009? For me, among other things, I’ve seen Mt Hood on a clear day while supporting the Pharmaceutical SAS users group (PharmaSUG) meeting in Portland, OR. I’ve managed to get to the local farmer’s market on a weekly basis (the tomatoes are in), and I’ve made it to the beach once. The kids are out of school, and the weather is predictably hot and humid here in Cary, NC. Seattle, the site of SGF 2010, is 2,893 miles away. But it just got a lot closer.

We had our official “Core Team” meeting this past week to start official conference planning. Program Manager Donna Daniels hosted 12 of us in a conference room and 2 via phone. So here we go again… and it’s a good thing. Ready, Set, Go! It takes a small army of us from SAS to help prepare for and support the conference. I get to work with folks from ISD, Corporate Communications, Video Communications and New Media, Travel, Security, Corporate Services, Accounting, Legal and Risk Management and more. It’s a huge, campus-wide, team effort. But of course we are not working alone – we work closely and collaboratively with the Conference Chair, Section Chairs, and the SAS Global Users Group Executive Board. All of us come together with one goal of creating a meaningful and fun conference experience for the thousands that we expect to see next April 11 - 14, 2010 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.

What's coming up soon? A revamped Web site debuts, and the Call for Papers opens in a few weeks. I hope that you’ll continue to follow my blog as I post about behind-the scenes happenings. And, I hope that you’ll let me know what keeps you coming back if you’ve attended SGF before. Let us know so that we can keep doing the right things.

And if you haven’t attended yet – well it’s my job to whet your appetite with my view of SAS Global Forum.