Hello there, SAS user community! I’m so pleased to welcome you to this first edition of the ‘In A Crunch’ newsletter. What a year this has been so far – we’ve added social distancing, PPE, bubbles and, lest we forget, murder hornets to our vocabularies. I do hope you’ve all been able to find your footing during these challenging times and that you and your loved ones are all safe and enjoying quality time together as much as it’s safe to do so.
We’ve certainly missed the camaraderie that the in-person user groups offer across the country. Speaking for myself, it’s been hard not seeing my SAS friends and colleagues from British Columbia to Nova Scotia and all places in between. While I’m certainly anticipating a return to the full user group live event schedule in early 2021, it’s a challenge to make it through the rest of 2020 knowing that we’ll need to continue to do our part by moving our meetings virtually. Thankfully, Alice Yuan, our User Group Program Manager, has been working hard behind the scenes to think of new and interesting ways of continuing to offer some level of support to the great user community across the land. She’s launched a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ style series wherein you, the audience, get to direct the flow of a technical demonstration of SAS’ PROC SQL. I, for one, am excited to see where you help drive the talk! It will be taking place July 29th and if you’d like to attend, you can register here.
Speaking of virtual events, it would be remiss of me not to mention the amazing pivot pulled off by SAS in moving SAS Global Forum to a virtual format. Taking the format of Netflix style ‘seasons’, there has been a steady roll-out of great technical and business level talks over the past month or so. You’ll find them all on the SAS Users YouTube channel – have a look, there’s great content to digest!
Keeping with the theme of virtual support, the Ask The Expert series has been revitalized and relaunched – now, with global appeal! Over the next few months you’ll notice a steady stream of live and on-demand content coming up. To check out the past webinars, feel free to visit the Ask The Expert webpage… and don’t forget to subscribe to the Ask The Expert Community on the SAS Support Communities to learn about upcoming webinars as well as connect with fellow SAS users.
On a final, personal note – I’ve found that at times during these past few months, I’ve had some challenging moments. The confusing overlap of my work life and my home life, the sadness of missing my friends and family, the frustration of watching summer from my balcony… I’ve felt these all acutely. I’m willing to bet some of you have as well. When I’ve started to feel overwhelmed I’ve found time to reach out to a friend or a loved one to chat, or put on a podcast and gone for a good long walk. We in this community can continue to be beacons of support for each other – let’s not forget that we’re not here only to support each other’s work and professional growth, but as friends and colleagues as well. If you’re in need of an ear to listen or a virtual shoulder to lean on, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly. Together, we can not only make it through these tough times, but come out stronger, more connected and more grateful than ever for all the wonderful experiences and people in our lives.
Stay well, and stay safe!
Matt Malczewski
Customer Engagement Lead, SAS Americas
