SAS History: I am the Director of Education for SAS in Canada. I joined SAS in 1997 as a member of the team teaching core SAS® technology – from data management to Web applications. I came to SAS with experience from both the business and academic worlds and with an appreciation for the value of receiving the right training at the right time.

Family: I am married and have four kids – one girl and three boys. Luckily for our daughter, she’s the oldest.

Pets: With four kids to keep us busy, we (or should I say, I) have been avoiding even the discussion of bringing a pet into the mix, but I’m starting to lose that battle. The youngest is now three and the kids are “dog crazy,” so it’s looking like we’ll have a pet dog in the spring or summer. Thanks to the Internet, a wealth of research has gone into evaluating dog breeds, and at this point, it looks like Airedales are in the lead.

Sports/Hobbies: Hockey is my sport – so Canadian, eh? I played in a league last year, but this year, with all four kids in minor hockey – and coaching on two of those teams – my time is focused on the kids’ hockey, which I really enjoy. Another hobby of mine, thanks to our cold winters in Canada, is to have an ice rink in the backyard, which the kids spend hours and hours on. I also enjoy home renovations and construction. Going through university, I had summer jobs building houses, which taught me a lot about building that comes in very handy now. And some day – in all my spare time – I would like to get back to restoring old cars. My dad, brother and I restored a ’69 Chevelle a few years back.

Favourite Foods: I grew up on a beef farm, so for me there’s nothing like a Canadian steak! I do enjoy trying new and different foods from all around the world; Toronto is home to many fine international restaurants.

If I could be anything at all (besides a SAS programmer), I would be: A singer in a band and travel in a world tour. Until then I will stick to singing in our SAS Canada band!

When I’m not programming in SAS, I like to: Do home renovations and construction and help the kids with their piano and violin (though I would be much more help if I played either one).

One thing every SAS programmer should know: All SAS programmers should know how to start using arrays in their programs and applications, what they are and where they might be appropriate. For an overview of how to use arrays, check out my SAS Global Forum paper: http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi27/p066-27.pdf

What my ideal weekend would be: My ideal weekend would, of course, be four or five days long. It would be a mix of spending time with the family, having friends over and probably building something. My ideal vacation would be, of course, spending time in the Caribbean!