Dear Reader,
Though I’ve spent the vast majority of my life in North Carolina I was born in a little village in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York called Depew. It was a wonderful place to grow up, and I was surrounded by scores of relatives, most of them living within a few blocks of my house. Still, I hadn’t been back to Depew more than a couple of times since my dad got transferred to North Carolina when I was 10. This past summer I decided to change that and take my wife and three children back to the old neighborhood for a long overdue visit.

Most of the vacation was spent visiting the sites (and doing things like making sure my hyperactive 5 year old didn’t jump into Niagara River and go over the Falls). One evening, though, my sister arranged for a little gathering with my extended family. Whether it was the importance of “La Famiglia” to my Italian kin, or the fact that most still remember me as “Little Larry,” shortly after the start of the event, that intimate gathering had grown to nearly a hundred of my closest relatives. It was incredible how effortlessly I connected with relatives I had never met, or in some cases, hadn’t seen in nearly 30 years. Hugs and kisses were shared freely and quickly followed with funny old stories starring a pre-school version of me. A favorite was a water fight involving my mom’s cousin Frank. One Easter my brother and I thought it would be cute to squirt Frank with the water pistols we’d received in our Easter baskets. Frank, 20 years our senior, endured the attack for several minutes before retrieving the garden hose and delivering a retaliatory soaking that left us dripping wet and freezing and in no condition for the annual family picture.

In just a couple of days I’ll head to Orlando for what is consistently my favorite SAS event, SAS Global Forum. For me, the several days I spend connecting with our users reminds me a lot of the interactions I had with my family last summer. The energy and excitement at SAS Global Forum is unmatched and it does, given the number of smiles, handshakes and stories that are shared, feel a lot like a family reunion.

This year we have a number of opportunities to interact with users. We’ll start by offering a half dozen pre-conference training courses and on Saturday, April 21, a certification testing event where users have the opportunity to take any of our six certification exams.

During the official days for the conference, April 22-25, we'll offer a number of opportunities for users to expand their SAS knowledge. Between Monday-Wednesday we'll present 18 one hour hands-on workshops covering a number of SAS topics. These sessions include follow-along demos with expert instructors in Business Intelligence, Data Management, and Platform Administration.

Most of our interactions with users, however, will take place at the Education booth on the Demo Hall Floor. Here you can get the latest information on SAS Education courses, certifications and events. You can also get a demo of our newest learning product, SAS OnDemand for Professionals. In fact, we’ll have stations set up so you can try out any of our award-winning e-Learning courses, including our popular certification practice exams, so you can test your readiness for taking the real thing.

That's a glimpse into all that Education has planned for you at SAS Global Forum. If you're attending the "family reunion" that is SAS Global Forum, please consider taking advantage of these opportunities, and try to stop by the Education booth to say hi.

Thanks for reading,
Larry LaRusso
Editor, SAS Training Report 

P.S. If you’re not planning to attend SAS Global Forum, consider following the live streams coming from the conference. Live streams are planned from Opening Session, the Technology Connection and more. You will even have opportunities to ask questions of presenters and participate in audience polls. Check it out at SAS Global Forum Live.