Howdy.

Waynette invited me to submit a blog post or two on her behalf while she rests up after a hectic Thanksgiving.

Many of you don't have SAS Global Forum 2012 on your short-term radar. After all, Opening Session on April 22 is still almost 5 months away. I know a few of you are thinking of it - based on the number of folks who have already completed their conference registration and hotel reservations since we opened up in early November.

I know of another group of folks who are fully aware of the upcoming conference – the potential SAS Global Forum presenters. The Call for Papers closed a couple of weeks ago, and the total number of contributed paper submissions is up from last year!

And, I know of a dedicated group of professionals who have SAS Global Forum 2012 squarely at the front of their minds – our Section Chairs. They’re currently in the process of evaluating all of those paper submissions! Given the number of submissions, it's going to take a little more time than we expected to give each a proper evaluation. However, we are still targeting completion and notification by January 10. 

I am sure that if I check back in 30 or 60 days, MOST of you will be thinking about SAS Global Forum 2012. And, the few who aren't soon will be! It's the SAS user conference of the year - packed with presentations, demonstrations, one-on-one code labs and hands-on training - it's the "you-don't-want-to-miss-it-conference!"

Remember, the dates are April 22-25, and the conference will be held at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, FL.

I hope to see you there.

Andrew T. Kuligowski
Conference Chair
SAS Global Forum 2012