Each June, representatives from the more than seventy worldwide PTC/USER Regional User Groups (RUGs) come together at the annual international conference. This meeting offers local leaders an opportunity to talk about common challenges facing groups, and to share a variety of home-grown solutions. In Orlando this year, we will build on this tradition and host our first RUG Leadership Forum immediately prior to the kickoff of the 2003 World Event.

The RUG Leadership Forum will feature a specially developed program provided by the Center for Excellence in Association Leadership (www.cealweb.com). Drawing upon the extensive knowledge base at CEAL, we will examine concrete strategies for developing regional groups and the support structures necessary to sustain them over the long term. This training will be blended with the experiences of the groups to create effective plans to help both younger RUGs and the more mature organizations grow their roots and prosper.

Regional user groups are independent entities and as such, are largely dependent on the skills of their leaders for success. By sponsoring this program, we hope to help our volunteers meet the needs of their groups and reach even more PTC software users in their communities.

If you are a RUG chair or are thinking about starting a RUG in your area, please contact Rick Snider for more information about the Forum.

Rick Snider is Executive Director of PTC/USER and can be reached by e-mail at rick@ptcuser.org.