I propose a Sawmill Creek Seminar

[Sam Murdoch]

Maybe should be posting this in off topic or in the design forum but as I am writing about a great woodworker's tool - Sketch Up - I'll post here.
Mods do what you will with it. Inspired by recent posts =

I propose a Sawmill Creek SketchUp Seminar featuring Dave Richards

Perhaps offer 3 or 4 events around the country in some what central locations. Lasting 2 to 4 days. Nice places with good local food and/or accommodations with a view. The time to sit and Sketch Up with Dave would be immensely helpful I'm sure and even though we are all at different levels of experience I'm just as certain that participants would come away far advanced than on the first day. The idea is to pay Dave well and then it's worth all of our time. Maybe a few openings could be offered as a Sawmill Creek give away to make it more fun.

Haven't a clue as to how to do it. Any event planners in our midst? It would be an especially great way to meet with you all in this active community who are mostly strangers to each other even though many of us "speak" to each other regularly.

Feel free to say no Dave - I am just coming out of the blue with this idea. Might not prove to be practical in any way. Just throwing out the idea for consideration. Might take a year or more to develop the plan and/or work out the logistics but worth the discussion?

[Lee Schierer]

We used to have regional picnics sponsored by one individual in the area or a group in the summer months where we met each other. The only cost ever was your own transportation to get there and back and a contribution toward a meal in the form of food to share.......

[George Bokros]

I would be open to such an event. My attendance as would most others depend on seminar cost and proximity to location.

George

[Sam Murdoch]

Yes, and I would expect this to cost at least several hundred dollars to David + food & travel & accommodations expenses - of course all depending on the number of people per event. There might be a way to do this all on line with no one needing to leave home but I'm not computer savvy enough to speculate how. I don't think that kind of format would be any where near as much fun and as valuable a learning tool as being in the room with a motivated group.

Some of the logistics would be how to bring people together with SU worthy computers. I don't own a lap top and dragging the Mac around, though doable if I drive, could be impractical for traveling by plane. Maybe the solution is to hold the sessions in a computer lab (in a college town) or at a local business. The Creek community is big and diverse enough that I think we could be surprised by the available resources once we start asking.

In this regards our most important Creek resource is Dave Richards himself. I would be very happy to have the benefit of his SketchUp expertise available for a few days. By the content of many of his posts here I know that he is very generous with advice and very often willing to draw and/or accept phone calls to guide someone through a modeling or design problem. The idea here is not to exploit his generous nature but in fact to recognize the value of his knowledge of and enthusiasm for SketchUp and to pay him well for his time on our behalf.

[Matt Meiser]

GotoMeeting would work for an online class, but that long of a session is not productive IMHO.

[Duane Meadows]

I would love to learn more about SketchUp, but that kind of cost is more than I could/would spend. Have seen some good online instruction. For me I just need to take the time...

Just out of curiosity, have you approached Dave Richards about this? Would be rather pointless to set up seminars with no instructor.

[Matt Day]

I agree that gotomeeting or some kind of webinar would be the way to go.
The length of time the OP suggests I quite a commitment that I don't think many people would be up for. Speaking of being up for, has the OP talked to Dave about traveling around the country for this? I think the idea of it being an in person affair would be cost prohibitive.

Don't some community colleges offer SU classes?

I use SU on every project I do and I'd consider myself a borderline advanced user. If something like this happens, I'd suggest a few different segments that are tuned toward different levels of expertise. Otherwise you'll be starting at square one where some people are, but others will be bored out of their mind.

[Sam Murdoch]

I would love to learn more about SketchUp, but that kind of cost is more than I could/would spend. Have seen some good online instruction. For me I just need to take the time...

Just out of curiosity, have you approached Dave Richards about this? Would be rather pointless to set up seminars with no instructor.

No, it was an impulse post. Only just now before looking at the thread again did I express to my wife that I might have made a faux pas not consulting with Dave first. Sorry Dave if I crossed a line. I guess my thinking was to see if the interest was there from the masses as the first step. Here we are now and so the idea is loose. We certainly would not/could not do any of this without Dave - that goes without saying. Again, I apologize if I offended. I'll PM Dave and let him know what I've done here with this thread.

Perhaps some of us in one region could persuade Dave to come for a weekend. My thinking was that even if 12 people showed up with 12 different skill levels we would all be coming with different problem levels too and having Dave to walks us through would enhance all our abilities. Maybe the idea of such an expense is not so prohibitive to those of us who use SU as a sales tool as well as a shop/design assist. A long weekend amongst like minded Creekers could be like a little vacation even with the "study" involved.

[Mike Heidrick]

Woodworking in America Conference had David Lang presenting Sketch-up a couple years ago. He wrote a woodworking sketchup book. I think that whole conference was $65 plus lodging and food. If you wanted to practice you showed up with a computer. The vendor area was awesome too. Lot of good guys were there.

As to online format - I really enjoy programming classes via Cousera - I take them at my leisure when I want - start and stopping when I want. Those are free. Colleges get grants to do it. Not saying that would work for this but there are advantages to classes when and where you want.

[Sam Murdoch]

By the way - I did contact Dave and he is on board depending on if and how we can make it happen.

Obviously the cost of such a seminar would be a huge variable based on the number of participants and/or the availability of sponsors.
I throw out the $200.00 figure as what it might cost if 10 people show up. What if it were 30? This is all just an idea that is way less than fully developed.

The number of days? Who knows? I'm suggesting a long weekend - 1 day to show up and say howdy and 2 days of class and/or discussion. Plan a small vacation around the event. I'm sure Dave would put together an outline ahead of time so that one could know what to expect and if in fact the specific program is appropriate for one's needs.

I like and agree with Matt Day's comment in post # 7 "I use SU on every project I do and I'd consider myself a borderline advanced user. If something like this happens, I'd suggest a few different segments that are tuned toward different levels of expertise. Otherwise you'll be starting at square one where some people are, but others will be bored out of their mind."

Feedback? Better ideas?