The CAD Society Announces 2003 CAD Society Industry Award for Community

2003 CAD Society Industry Award for Community is awarded to C.J. Shirk, regional sales director for SolidWorks Corporation.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (PRWEB) April 30, 2003 - The CAD Society, a not-for-profit CAD industry association, today announced the winner of the 2003 CAD Society Industry Award for Community. The recipient of this years award is C.J. Shirk, regional sales director for SolidWorks Corporation. The award will be presented at a ceremony on May 17 at COFES2003: The Congress on the Future of Engineering Software, being held in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The CAD Society Industry Award for Community is awarded for outstanding work in improving communication and developing community within the CAD industry.

Shirk is receiving the award this year for developing and spearheading SolidWorks innovative Retraining Program. Through this program, unemployed engineers received free SolidWorks® CAD software licenses for six months, and had access to training and certification, enabling them to gain the valuable technical skills potential employers seek. The program began in March of 2002, and to date, thousands have taken advantage of this unique opportunity.

C.J.s commitment to the people working in the engineering and design industries earned him the Community Award this year," said Joe Greco, president of the CAD Society. The Retraining Program he spearheaded has helped many unemployed CAD workers get the skills they need to find jobs. Its commitment like his that helps give this industry a strong sense of community."

Shirk has 13 years of experience working in the CAD industry. He began his career as an aerospace sales specialist at Intergraph, a company that produced design and manufacturing software. From there, he worked as a strategic account manager at Autodesk, before taking his current position as territory sales manager at SolidWorks.

The CAD Society Industry Awards recognize the contributions of individuals within the CAD and engineering software industry. CAD and related engineering software applications are used in the design of buildings, automobiles, consumer goods, and just about every manufactured product in the market today.

The CAD Society also presents awards in two other categories:

Lifetime - For a lifetime of outstanding technical and business contributions to the CAD industry.

Leadership - For outstanding technical and business leadership in the CAD industry, and focus and dedication to the needs of CAD users.

About SolidWorks Corporation
SolidWorks Corporation develops and markets software for mechanical design, analysis, and product data management. Founded in 1993, SolidWorks' mission is to unleash the power of 3D for everyone in product development and foster a collaborative user community. For the latest news, information, or a live online demonstration, visit the company's Web site (www.solidworks.com) or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call 1-978-371-5000).

About The CAD Society
The CAD Society (www.cadsociety.org) is a not-for-profit industry association with the goal of fostering community and encouraging open communication among those who make their living within the CAD industry. It has been a leader in creating interoperability guidelines that encourage software vendors to develop applications that can share data openly. Non-voting membership is free for individuals.

About COFES
COFES: The Congress On the Future of Engineering Software (www.cofes.com) is an annual event created for the engineering software industry by Cyon Research Corporation (www.cyonresearch.com.) This years event is being held in Scottsdale Ariz., May 15-18.

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Contact:
Joe Greco
President
The CAD Society
joegreco@cadsociety.org

Rachael Dalton-Taggart
Strategic Reach PR
303-487-7406
rachael@strategicreachpr.com