7th Annual SWUGN Summit

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Every year SolidWorks User Group leaders from around the world gather to meet and discuss the state of SolidWorks user groups. Group leaders and the SWUGN Committee share thoughts and ideas to increase meeting attendance, attract new members, and make leading a local user group chapter easier and more satisfying. The SWUGN summit is also a great chance for the group leaders to meet each other face-to-face.

Highlights include the results of surveys conducted in December (meeting attendance is up, group members are happy, and group leaders are very satisfied with the support they receive from the SWUGN committee and SolidWorks). John McEleney made a surprise visit, as did Marie Planchard to offer group leaders some ideas for including students and faculty in their local groups.

The first annual SWUGN awards were presented this year. Congratulations to Rob Rodriguez (Group Leader of the Year), the Colorado SolidWorks User Group (Group of the Year), and Lila Theis and Gene DiMonte (Lifetime Achievement). Awards were also presented to 3Dconnexion (SWUGN Partner of the Year) and MCAD Technologies (SWUGN Reseller of the Year) for their outstanding support of local user groups and SWUGN regional events.

The two hour meeting hasn’t ended yet; group leaders and SWUGN committee members continue to meet over lunch, during breaks, and after sessions to carry on conversations that don’t seem to have an end. A full SWUGN summit report will be available at the end of the conference at www.swugn.org

Richard Doyle

Matthew West

SolidWorks alumnus. I like plate reverb, Rat pedals, Thai curry, New Weird fiction, my kids, Vespas, Jazzmasters, my wife & Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not necessarily in that order.