"Narvie" Composes a Great 3DVIA User Group Meeting

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I was fortunate to attend the first ever 3DVIA Composer User Group meeting this week in Minneapolis, and I was not disappointed.  Nearly 30 people showed up for the day-long meeting, and everyone was treated to three very good presentations.  The food was terrific too (thanks Susan).

There was quite a mix of users in attendance…SolidWorks/3DVIA Composer users, engineering managers, and technical writers – all looking to become more productive with 3DVIA Composer.

Group leader Chris Narveson did a great job of making sure the meeting ran smoothly, and came prepared with surveys, agendas, and 100 cups of coffee.  The attendees were all very involved in the discussions, and I sat in the back of the room watching everyone take copious notes.

Thanks to Earl Hasz and Tod Cruikshank for coming in and providing two of the sessions – "Working with 3DVIA Composer and SolidWorks", and "3DVIA Composer Tips and Tricks".  Everyone was also very happy to hear from Matt Sauer of MTS Systems Corp. on how his company was using 3DVIA Composer.  User group meetings are great, but having a user come in and present to the group makes them all the more special.

Chris and I were even able to identify a couple of potential speakers from the crowd (yep – we're talking to you Anne).  The group also decided to have 4 "after-hours" meetings per year instead of the original plan for 2 day long events per year.  That may have been my favorite art of the meeting - the members wanted more meetings, and that made Chris very happy.

About the only thing missing from this meeting were giveaway items, and that's my fault.  I'll make it up to you folks next time 🙂

I'm judging this experiment a rousing success, and we will build from here to add more 3DVIA Composer User Groups to the SolidWorks User Group Network.  If you're interested in starting a 3DVIA Composer User Group, stop by the SWUGN website and read up on how easy it is.

Richard Doyle

Richard Doyle

My official title is Senior User Advocacy & SolidWorks User Groups - but most people just call me "The User Group Guy". I've been a SolidWorks user since 1997, and was one of the founding members of the SWUGN Committee. Since starting the Central Texas SolidWorks User Group in 1999, my career path has led me to DS SolidWorks and a dream job supporting the SolidWorks User Group Network worldwide.
Richard Doyle

@https://twitter.com/swugn

Richard Doyle