If you had to choose the Simon Cowell of the mid-1900s, you'd be hard-pressed to pick someone more qualified than James Rae Denny. From 1946 until 1957, Denny was the primary talent evaluator and general manager for the Grand Ole Opry, turning the popular music house from a "dance barn" into a showcase for future musical superstars. Shortly after his death in 1963, Denny was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame for his uncanny ability to "discover legends" and his many contributions to the music industry.

You have to imagine, then, that Denny was pretty confident when he shared this brutally honest assessment with a teenager who had just come off the Opry stage to polite applause on Oct. 2, 1954: "You ain't going nowhere, son," Denny told him. "You ought to go back to driving a truck."
Fortunately for the music world, Denny's advice didn't discourage that performer. Vowing never to set foot on the Opry stage again, a young Elvis Presley did return to his home in Memphis - not to resume his job delivering office supplies, but to launch one of the most successful music careers in modern history.
So, how did Denny miss Elvis's rising star? Most seasoned forecasters would argue it was simply proof of a saying often attributed to baseball-player-turned-"philosopher" Yogi Berra: "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."
Tough? Yes. But not impossible. To help organizations improve their forecasting endeavors, SAS is hosting the fifth annual business forecasting conference, F2010. This year's gathering, to be held June 7-8 at SAS world headquarters in Cary, NC, will shine a light on getting the right information, and using the best methods, to streamline your forecasts. The conference will feature four keynote addresses and a dozen session talks covering practical applications, methods, tools and successful case studies in business forecasting. Pre (June 6) and post-conference (June 9-11) training extend the opportunities for learning.

If you're doing forecasting of any kind for your organization, you won't want to miss this excellent learning opportunity.
I hope you enjoy this month’s issue of SAS Training Report. And, as the King liked to say, for reading, I…thank you, thank you very much!