MinnSUG Data Sharing Statement:

MinnSUG places great value in fair information practices and data protection in connection with the management of our contact database. At SAS's request, MinnSUG may share your registration details with SAS Institute, Inc., including name, email address, job title, and company. SAS may use this information to determine if you register for a SAS corporate event, a SAS webinar, download SAS papers, and engage with the online SAS community. This is a way for SAS Institute, Inc. to gauge the value of their sponsorship of our MinnSUG events. To contact MinnSUG with questions or concerns, please send an email to minnesotasasug@gmail.com.

MinnSUG 2026 Summer Meeting Agenda

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

8:00am – 8:30am                  Check-In / Breakfast* / Networking

8:30am – 8:40am                  Welcome from MinnSUG

8:40am – 9:30am                  "Confessions of a SAS Dummy"

                                             presented by Chris Hemedinger (SAS Institute, Inc.)

9:30am – 10:20am                "PROC SQL: Zero to Hero"

                                             presented by Carleigh Jo Crabtree (SAS Institute, Inc.)

10:20am – 10:40pm             Break

10:40am – 11:30pm             “Python: Unleash Your Inner Coder, A SAS Programmer's Guide to Python”

                                             presented by Charu Shankar (SAS Institute, Inc.)

11:30pm – 12:30pm             Lunch* / Networking

12:30pm – 1:10pm               "Automating Source-to-Target Mapping for SAS Modernization Initiatives"

                                             presented by Mike Krizan (STAT X1, Inc. / dba MicroZahn)

1:10pm – 2:00pm                  “Excel In SAS - An end-to-end PROC SQL Workflow”

                                             presented by Charu Shankar (SAS Institute, Inc.)

2:00pm – 2:50pm                  "Using Git with Your SAS Projects"

                                             presented by Chris Hemedinger (SAS Institute, Inc.)

2:50pm – 3:10pm                  Break / Afternoon Snack* / Networking

3:10pm – 4:00pm                  "When Good People Build Bad Reports: Best Practices and Visualization

                                             Skills for Designing Impactful Reports"

                                             presented by Carleigh Jo Crabtree (SAS Institute, Inc.)

4:00pm – 4:15pm                  Prize Drawing / Closing Remarks

* All meals and snacks graciously sponsored by SAS Institute, Inc.! 

"Confessions of a SAS Dummy"

presented by Chris Hemedinger

Ever wonder what happens when you learn SAS by writing the book on it — literally? Join Chris Hemedinger, the original “SAS Dummy,” as he shares his unconventional journey from curious coder to author, advocate, and everyday SAS user.

In this candid and entertaining keynote, Chris will reveal:

·        How writing about SAS helped him master it — and how teaching others became his best learning tool

·        The real-world tasks he tackles with SAS every day (some serious, some just for fun)

·        The quirky, unexpected ways SAS shows up in his life — from productivity hacks to pet projects

Whether you're a seasoned SAS pro or just starting out, you'll walk away with fresh insights, a few laughs, and maybe even the inspiration to embrace your own inner SAS Dummy.

"PROC SQL: Zero to Hero"

presented by Carleigh Jo Crabtree

PROC SQL Zero to Hero shows how to query and subset data, create and combine tables, and summarize results using PROC SQL. Join this session to see practical PROC SQL code that accomplishes common data tasks from simple queries to more advanced techniques.

“Python: Unleash Your Inner Coder, A SAS Programmer's Guide to Python”

presented by Charu Shankar

Join this practical introduction to Python for SAS professionals. Learn Python fundamentals, explore pandas, and PROC PYTHON, and discover how Python complements SAS for data manipulation, automation, and analytics. Along the way, you'll learn how to read, understand, and validate AI-generated code so you can use modern coding assistants effectively and confidently.

"Automating Source-to-Target Mapping for SAS Modernization Initiatives"

presented by Mike Krizan

Large SAS environments often contain thousands of undocumented ETL programs, macro dependencies, and transformation rules, making modernization to SAS Viya, Python, SQL, R, or cloud platforms difficult and time-consuming. This presentation demonstrates a practical automation framework developed from real enterprise modernization initiatives that analyzes legacy SAS code, extracts transformation logic, and generates structured Source-to-Target (S2T) mappings to accelerate system understanding, migration planning, and downstream generation of modernization-ready SAS Viya, SQL, Python, or R code.

Drawing upon 30+ years of SAS architecture, ETL, analytics, and modernization experience across healthcare, financial, and federal environments, the session will discuss practical approaches for simplifying legacy SAS ecosystem analysis, improving modernization readiness, and integrating SAS workflows with Python, Git, and modern analytics platforms."

“Excel In SAS - An end-to-end PROC SQL Workflow”

presented by Charu Shankar

Excel and SAS are a powerful combination. Excel remains the tool of choice for data entry and business reporting, while SAS excels at data access, transformation, and analysis. In this session, you'll learn how to seamlessly integrate the two using a practical, end-to-end workflow.

•         Metadata Discovery with SAS Dictionary Tables

•         Data Integration with PROC SQL Joins

•         Analyzing Excel data using PROC SQL

•         Reporting Results to Excel with ODS EXCEL

Whether you're supporting spreadsheet-driven business processes or looking to streamline analytics workflows, you'll leave with practical techniques for moving data from Excel to SAS—and insights from SAS back to Excel. 

"Using Git with Your SAS Projects"

presented by Chris Hemedinger

This session introduces SAS programmers to Git as a practical, modern way to manage, collaborate on, and version SAS code using familiar SAS tools and workflows.

What you'll learn:

·        Why Git is the industry-standard version control system and how it brings order, traceability, and collaboration to SAS code projects.

·        Core Git concepts — such as repositories, commits, branches, clones, and pull requests — explained in plain language and SAS‑centric terms.

·        How SAS tools like SAS Studio, SAS Enterprise Guide, and the SAS language itself integrate with Git for everyday development tasks.

·        Practical workflow guidance, including connecting to GitHub or GitLab, choosing HTTPS vs. SSH authentication, and organizing SAS projects for reuse and teamwork.

"When Good People Build Bad Reports: Best Practices and Visualization Skills for Designing Impactful Reports"

presented by Carleigh Jo Crabtree

This session covers best practices for matching visuals to your audience, using color wisely, and organizing content to tell a clear data story in SAS Visual Analytics. We’ll walk through five steps for building compelling reports: drafting a plan, choosing the right chart, focusing on what matters, designing an effective layout, and testing thoroughly while considering accessibility and performance. Attendees will leave with practical, immediately applicable techniques for creating reports that are polished, inclusive, and optimized across devices.  

About the Speakers

Chris Hemedinger
Director of SAS User Engagement

Chris Hemedinger has been with SAS since 1993 and is the Director of SAS User Engagement. His talented team looks after SAS online communities, SAS user groups, developer experience and GitHub, tech newsletters, expert webinars and tutorials. Chris is a recovering software developer who helped build popular SAS products such as SAS Enterprise Guide. Inexplicably, Chris is still coasting on the limited fame he earned as an author of SAS For Dummies, now in its third edition. 

Charu Shankar is a Senior Technical Training Consultant at SAS with 17 years of experience in training across SQL, SAS, Python, SAS Viya, and Macros. She advises learners on the best courses and paths to enhance their technical skills. Charu contributes to SAS Education by delivering workshops, presenting at events, and helping customers maximize their engagement with SAS Education. She has curated unique content for over 100 International SAS conferences, created YouTube videos, and authored 30+ blog posts, and is a well established thought leader in the technology space.

Carleigh Jo Crabtree

Senior Technical Training Consultant, SAS

Carleigh Jo works in content development as a technical training consultant, creating and delivering technical courses designed to make complex data concepts clear and actionable. Her expertise spans DATA step processing, program efficiency techniques, optimizing programs with SAS macros and programming strategies that can apply to a range of real-world scenarios. She regularly presents at conferences and user groups, sharing practical insights that help practitioners solve everyday data challenges. Carleigh Jo is currently pursuing graduate studies in Engineering Management at NC State.