When the IASUG conference founder and 2012 co-chair John Xu was asked what makes this one-day event so successful year after year, he said, “The most important factor is the leadership. We are lucky that we have core conference volunteers committed to supporting the conference.”
The Sixth IASUG (Iowa SAS Users Group) One-Day Conference was held in Des Moines this year. The conference co-chairs, Louis Schenck and John Xu, planned the presentation and speaker lineup around the theme of "Illuminating Your Career Path." Kirk Lafler's keynote, "What's Hot, What's Not - Skills for SAS Professionals," got the ball rolling.
SAS speaker Darius Baer was impressed with the Iowan welcome and the IASUG conference. "I think this is the largest one-day SAS user conference," he said. "It was very well organized." Another thing that really surprised Baer was the great mix of new users. "At most conferences, you see a lot of people attending the advanced SAS classes. But here, a far greater number attended the sessions on elementary SAS techniques."
Attendees must have liked the way the conference materials and its structure: 99% of those who completed the survey, checked 'will attend or recommend someone else attend next year's conference.'
One attendee said, "This was my first conference, and it was awesome. I have a bunch of new things to take back and learn more about. I would recommend this to anyone who is working with SAS."
Download the IASUG conference proceedings for your illumination.
