Although not continuous, this will be my silver anniversary for attending SAS Global Forums/SUGIs.
My first SUGI and probably most memorable was San Francisco, 1989. Spanning several Union Square hotels, the conference felt enormous. Since this is my favorite US city, getting to run outside to another event felt like I was a resident—one of my favorite pretend things to do!
Fortunately, I had a paper and poster accepted, since my previous employer would only support my attendance by having a paper accepted. Morning (all day) sickness required me to give up the poster, which I later presented in 1990. By the conference, I was feeling much better.
I was also able to attend pre-training where I first met Susan Slaughter, @SJSlaughter, at the Drake Hotel.
As a native Californian, I wasn’t bothered by the earthquake simulation at the Opening Session, but many around me were very scared (possibly terrified)! Later in October, the bay area would sustain huge damage from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake.
Of course, it was with great honor that I was chosen to be the last SUGI chair (2006) that was also held in San Francisco.
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