AUGI was out in full force at Autodesk University 2005. Autodesk’s annual education extravaganza took place in late November/early December at the Swan & Dolphin Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Starting with the AUGI Annual Meeting, which was SRO with an unprecedented number of attendees, and continuing on to the AUGI Beer Bash, a perennial favorite, and the well-attended Birds of a Feather Luncheon, AUGI made an impression on every attendee at Autodesk University 2005.

Yoshi Honda, AUGI president 2005, on stage at AU. More than 1,500 people attended the AUGI Annual Meeting.

Here’s a quick recap of what happened, when, and to whom.

Top DAUG 2006
The Top DAUG contest was held again at AU and, as always, interest was high in this fun event. The winner of the two-phase contest, which consists of a written test and a drawing competition, reigns supreme as AUGI Top DAUG of the year.

The top ten finalists—those with the highest scores after the written test—were:

KaDe King
Lee Ambrosius
Claude Godin
R. K. McSwain
Greg Silva
Zoltan Ferenczy
Kenneth Przybysz
Tom Pollard
Bobby Jones
Marcus Lane

And then there was one…

The winner of the 2005 AUGI Top DAUG contest was R. K. McSwain. Second place was awarded to Lee Ambrosius and Zoltan Ferenczy captured third. Congratulations to all of the Top DAUG contestants and finalists!

Top DAUG Winners Circle. From left, R. K. McSwain (Top DAUG 2005 winner); Tom Salomone (Hewlett Packard); Chris Lindner (AUGI Board Member); Lee Ambrosius (Top DAUG, second place); Dan Dolan (4D Technologies); and Zoltan Ferenczy (Top DAUG, third place). Special thanks to Hewlett Packard and 4D Technologies for co-sponsoring this year's contest and donating the prizes.

Birds of a Feather Luncheon
It’s a Luncheon…    It's a Networking Opp…    It’s a … Trivia Contest??

That’s right! This year’s Birds of a Feather luncheon, sponsored by AUGI, was all three of those things. There was food, there was great conversation, and there was a fun trivia contest where attendees competed (by table) for a fabulous grand prize—free admission to next year’s Autodesk University for the winning table!

The contest was by no means a slam dunk—you really had to know your AUGI trivia to come up with the correct answers. Just how many local user groups are there, anyway??

Whether or not they won a prize, everyone had a great time at this annual affair.

International Reception
AUGI sponsored an International Reception for AU attendees residing outside of North America. Attendees enjoyed this opportunity to come together and make new friends from far-away places.

AUGI members from outside North America came together for an international reception hosted by AUGI.

Playin’ the Game
Every year, AUGI sponsors an Exhibit Hall game for AU attendees. This year, the AUGI game was based loosely on the book and film, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The game involves completing a puzzle by collecting clues and a booklet stamp from each participating exhibitor.

The winners of this year’s contest were presented with AUGI jackets and copies of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” on DVD.

Winners of the 2005 AUGI Passport Game.

Autodesk University 2006
It’s never too early to think about next year’s event. AU 2006 will head back to Vegas. Hope to see you there!