Participate on the SAS Support Communities, earn conference swag!

[ShelleySessoms]

It’s that time of year again…time for the unveiling of the SAS Support Communities conference swag. We know you anxiously await these goodies each year, so wait no more!

As in past years, remember that you can earn this swag only by attending the conference and marking certain achievements on the community. Some of you have already achieved these milestones. Some of you will have to work for it. But trust us, this swag is worth it!

The items include:

• a 3-way flashlight for all that late-night, um, work.
• an insulated SAS Support Communities mug…your choice of beverage not included.
• and a one-of-a-kind messenger bag made from recycled SAS banners.

And you know your communities team is always here to help you. Wondering what to do with all this cool stuff? We offer a few fun ideas. Have other suggestions? Feel free to comment!

How to earn this swag

You might have noticed that when you hit certain achievements on the SAS Support Communities, you earn badges. Much like last year, the criteria for earning our communities swag is tied to these badges and your recent activity level.

To earn the Flashlight, you must have provided 5 responses in the community and received the "To the Rescue" badge.

To earn the Mug, you must have posted at least 5 topics in the community and received the "Fire Starter" badge.

And, finally, we want to give you a truly unique item: a custom messenger bag, made with material from SAS' own roll shades and conference material. It's so unique that it's even different from last year's bag! So if you earned one last year, you'll still want one this year. To walk away with this beauty, you must have received an accepted solution and given 5 likes...earning you the "First Accepted Solution" and "Motivator" badges.

    

Remember, in order to earn any of these items, you must have some recent activity on the communities site. Our requirements are simple: you must have visited the communities (while signed in) on at least 5 different days in the past 6 months (counting back from the conference date). Any participation is rewarding, right? But active participation gets you this sweet swag!

To claim your swag*, visit us at the SAS Support Communities station during the Quad's operating hours.

(*All items available while supplies last. Visit us early to make your claim!)

[novinosrin]

This is great! I want to check my eligibility whether or not I meet the requirement and if I am then how do i claim?

Our requirements are simple: you must have visited the communities (while signed in) on at least 5 different days in the past 6 months (counting back from the conference date)

"To claim your swag*, visit us at the SAS Support Communities station during the Quad's operating hours"  Is there a form or something to fill?

[ShelleySessoms]

Hi @novinosrin, click on the arrow by your user name. Select "Profile" and then you'll see all the badges you've earned. You will collect the items you've earned during the conference in Denver.

Good luck and I hope to see you in April!

Shelley

[LinusH]

Got the bag (thanx).

But make no mistake, I'm coming for that golden grail, sorry, mug...!

[AaroninMN]

WooHoo!  See you in 75 days!

[JuanS_OCS]

See you soon! I am fascinated by the mug 🙂

Shoot, since I have read "holy grail" from @LinusH, I can only think of rabbits with bloody eyes.

[ptimusk]

Wow, cool, can't have enough laptop bags or laptops. I dunno. And with our weather and power outages more flashlights please. Looks like I have 30 days of visits this year with this new badge "Promising Attendance 2017" : Which reads: 'Whether it was a "month of Sundays" or 30 consecutive days, we appreciate your (at least) 30 days of visits in 2017! We like seeing you around!' thanks. I really just discovered the SAS Communities site in the past few years.

I do hope to attend the conference too and I hope to finish my fabulous e-poster. I hope it is fabulous. I am looking forward to attending for my 7th year in a row.

[ecn]

Awesome, looking forward to it! Might need to make a few more posts before I qualify for what I want though, haha

[art297]

@ShelleySessoms: Just looked at the badges I've earned. Do I earn the 2018 Presenter badge if I've got two papers being presented at this year's SGF? I don't think I'll be able to attend so the papers are being presented by my co-authors.

[ChrisHemedinger]

@art297 - it won't surprise you that we use a SAS process to determine badge eligibility and automate the assignment.  In our process, you have to be registered for the conference to earn the Attendee badge.  If also presenting, then you get that badge.  

But what good is automation if a human can't intervene and override?  Enjoy your presenter badge -- now you are an aberration in our data...but what else is new?

[art297]

@ChrisHemedinger: Much appreciated, as always! Hey, maybe I'll win another contest and end up being able to attend anyway.

Both papers are quite significant, but I'd definitely like to help present one of the papers, namely 'An Easier and Faster Way to Untranspose a Wide File'.

The paper had its origin in a community forum question about making a wide file less wide, and it's the first paper I've ever co-authored with a SAS employee (Gerhard Svolba). The macro that will be presented can save users a lot of both processing and development time when they have to accomplish a task involving making a wide table either long or less wide and, at the same time, lower the chance of the user making an error during the process.

Regardless, as Joe Matise, Matt Kastin (FriedEgg) and Gerhard will be presenting the papers, I'm sure that they will do a fantastic job.

The paper will be presented Tuesday, April 10th (Colorado Convention Meeting Room 502), at 10 am.

The other paper, 'Excelling to Another Level with SAS', is just as exciting, and will be presented Monday, April 9th, at 4:30 pm, at the Colorado Convention Meeting Room 503.

Since I turn 74 right after the conference, this will likely be the last papers I present or co-author at a SAS Global Forum. However, since I said that last year as well, who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Art, CEO, AnalystFinder.com

[PabloNogueras]

All "carrot".  Some nice prizes has incentivized me!

[ShelleySessoms]

I hope to see you at SASGF, Pablo!

[PabloNogueras]

Most definitely!

32 SUGI's and SGF's and counting. 

[dgritt]

After missing the past three years due to personal conflicts, I'm excited to finally be able to attend SAS GF!

I've been two a few MWSUGs and am ready to take it to the next level.