And it’s a wrap… SESUG 2022 has posted the papers and will soon shut down the app. While we didn't have the
attendance numbers that we would have liked, all indications are that we were able to provide the attendees with a great experience. Attendees really liked the content. They also liked the roominess of the sessions with tables rather than rows of chairs. At the same time, they liked the intimacy of small numbers in the sessions, making it easier to interact and ask questions of the presenters. They liked the in-session games. And they liked the hotel. On a scale of 1 to 5 (five being excellent) on the attendee survey, no one rated the conference below a four. Some of the highlights:
Networking. Everyone was so happy to finally see each other face to face again. Seeing the number of hugs and smiles as people encountered old friends was wonderful.
- Academic Content. We were able to run seven concurrent sessions of presentations, in addition to super-demos and code doctors. All sessions had attendees and we received much positive feedback. Comments included wanting the 20 minute sessions to be longer.
- Student Showcase. For the first time, SESUG asked all student grant recipients to share their work with SAS and how their college or university is using SAS. The varied use of SAS was surprising and very interesting. This session
was mentioned on the survey as a highlight.
- Keynotes. Sunday evening and Monday and Tuesday plenary sessions included keynotes. These covered Mobile history, data for good, and a 30 year SESUG retrospective. For the Monday morning keynote, Mary Osborne presented in her superhero garb.
- Silent Auction. To support our selected charity, Mobile Baykeeper, SESUG held a silent auction. The
Executive Council and Section Chairs brought new unwanted items for the auction and SAS also contributed some very coveted items. With the auction, ribbon sales, and donations we raised over $1,800 for the charity.
Table Topics. For the Tuesday lunch, a topic card was placed on each table and attendees chose what they wanted to discuss. The most popular topics were cooking (had to open a second table) and favorite books. I set at a table discussing reality TV and learned about shows in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. We were a group of people that had not met, but at the end of the meal one of those at the table wanted a group photo.
We could not have done this without SAS. I would like to especially like to thank Chris and Kate for believing in us and
working to make our ideas reality. I would also like to thank Mary, Jane, Danny, Charu, Chevell, Mark, and Mike, whose presence and participation at the conference contributed greatly to the pre-conference content, conference academic content, try-out stations, and the ability for attendees to personally interact with SAS.
It was not so easy to pick up where we left off when we didn't have an in-person conference the previous two years. Procedures that just happened because they were part of a routine didn't happen that way, resulting in a number of bumps along the road. These will allow us to get stronger going forward as we examine our processes and document not only what to do, but what not to do for the future. Seeing our attendees happily attending sessions, talking with each other and making plans to attend next year was the reward that always makes it worth it.
See you in Charlotte at SESUG 2023!
