Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and classrooms all over the US are decorated with shamrocks and the green top hats of the mythical leprechaun. According to legend, if you ever catch one, the leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchange for its release (not to mention the pot of gold they guard). Anyone who catches one of these creatures is lucky indeed!

In seven short days, many of us will be gathering in Washington, DC, for SAS Global Forum 2014. Although conference planners can’t grant magical wishes like leprechauns, they have found three ways to make attendees feel really lucky:

• Haven’t registered yet? You don’t have to catch a leprechaun to have your wish granted. This year, online registration is open through March 23, and discounted day passes are still available for SAS users in the DC area. Arrive early, and you can take advantage of the parking passes too. That’s better than finding a lucky clover.
• Fun, meals and giveaways—participation at SAS Global Forum includes all of these. If you join in the gaming from your smart phone, you could win prizes (no pot of gold but still very cool prizes!) And don’t forget to post some pics on Instagram.
• There’s no rainbow, but you will find gold at the conference—gold in the form of valuable SAS content and support. Don’t miss the more than 70,000 square feet of software demos, problem-solving clinics and SAS staff, sponsors and partners in the SAS Support and Demo Area. And for the first time, pre- and post-conference tutorials are open to the public. Seats are still available.

I’ll be at SAS Global Forum this year! Hope to see you too. We can talk about all the presentations, people and activities that make us feel lucky we attended.