I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of the US through my work with SAS users groups.  My latest trip was to Fort Worth, Texas, where I saw my first rodeo and attended the South Central SAS Users Group (SCSUG)  Educational Forum.  

The forum opened with a special welcome and an invitation from SAS Global Forum 2012 conference chair Andy Kuligowski to SAS users to participate in SAS Global Forum 2012 in Orlando.  Rick Langston, from SAS, presented the keynote “What’s New in SAS 9.3” during Monday’s lunch.  When Langston asked how many users were currently using SAS 9.3, only a handful responded “yes.” But by the end of the keynote they were excited to learn more about it, so he referred folks to Donna Bennett’s Super Demo “SAS 9.3 Deployment: A Sure Bet!”

SAS staff presented 13 papers and 10 super demos.   The forum attendees were also treated to  posters, presentations, half-day seminars, tutorials and hands-on workshops.   SCSUG proceedings are now online.

New this year was the Junior Professional Program (administered by the SCSUG Executive Committee).   To be eligible:

• Be a recent graduate (fall 2010 or later) of a college or university and used SAS in coursework or research OR used SAS on the job for three years or less.
• Would otherwise not be funded by your company to attend the forum (part-time or full-time employment).
• Be able to provide a supervisor or professor’s contact information as a reference.

Ten junior professional winners from three states were selected and two presented papers. The Junior Professional Program was very successful at all regional conferences in 2011.

Congratulations to conference co-chairs Lisa Mendez and Ed Beattie for hosting a fun, informative  event.  Next year’s educational forum is scheduled for Nov. 4-6, 2012 in Houston, Texas.  

What are some of the fun things that you’ve done while attending a SAS users group event?