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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 with Hermione: Unleash Your Inner Coding Witch"

                                             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"

                                             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 with Hermione: Unleash Your Inner Coding Witch"

presented by Charu Shankar

Join Hermione Granger on a thrilling coding journey where you’ll learn to slay coding challenges like a true wizard—using Python as your magic wand! Just as Hermione faces down dragons and dark spells with wit and determination, you’ll tackle the essentials of Python programming with her strategic approach to problem-solving.

In this fun and fast-paced session, you'll learn to master Python’s core elements: variables, functions, and loops—all with the same precision Hermione uses when crafting complex spells. Python’s readable syntax will make you feel like you’re casting spells in no time, whether you're automating tasks or working with data.

By the end of this adventure, you’ll be equipped to conquer coding challenges like a seasoned wizard, ready to take on any dragon (or program) that comes your way. Grab your wand (keyboard) and let’s start coding like Hermione!

"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"

presented by Charu Shankar

Excel and SAS are universally loved. Both have their strengths. Excel has been around a long time, and many non-SAS users use the spreadsheet to enter & manage their transactions. SAS is great for analyzing data. Why not marry the strengths of both? Get data from Excel into SAS, complete the analysis in SAS and then send the results to Excel. This would be a great help for colleagues who don't have SAS on their desktops. Come learn the many ways to get data to SAS from Excel and data from SAS 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. 

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.