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Amy Oldham
October 20, 2020
This year marks the 22nd time Equinox has hosted the Protector User Group Meeting (PUGM). Not only is this event an annual tradition, but it is one that we love hosting! We spend time through the entire year planning and coordinating to make sure all parts of the meeting—from development to support to event logistics—come together. Work for the 22nd PUGM literally began days after the 21st PUGM concluded. Development compiled and cataloged the WISH LIST enhancements and queued them in the schedule. Support followed up on questions received during the event and tallied the survey results to determine the year’s training and webinar topics. And Lesa started evaluating event venues for the meeting and networking dinner. While it’s a lot of work, the benefit of being with you, catching up with you professionally and personally, and forging new friendships makes it more than worth the effort.
Each user group is unique and memorable; however, the 2020 PUGM stands apart from all other events we’ve ever hosted for several reasons. First, before 2020, we had always hosted PUGM in person, either at the Equinox office or at the Music City Center. Although we had to transition to an online TeleLink User Group (TUGM) in April 2020 during the earlier days of the pandemic, we had previously held that event online one other time (2012). So, a remote PUGM is truly a first. Second, even if local regulations allowed us to hold the event in person, customers told us they would not be able to attend due to travel restrictions and remote work policies in place at their companies. Third, despite the challenges of this year, we had record attendance for the event! Every single session had a record number of signups and participants. While we recognize that offering this event online afforded additional flexibility, we also realize that it’s a lot to expect anyone to want to attend one more remote meeting these days. We appreciate the time each one of you took out of your day to join us!
We are overwhelmed and grateful to partner with you in the fight against fraud. Your eagerness to register; submission of WISH LIST ideas before, during, and after the event; participation and questions during the event; and your kind words on the follow-up survey are all truly humbling. (If you haven’t yet taken the 2020 PUGM survey, we’d love to hear your feedback; it takes less than 2 minutes.) As David West said multiple times during the event, we grieve the loss of gathering in person, catching up on what’s happened in your life the past year, and treating you to dinner. We eagerly anticipate the next time we can meet in person for the user group.
In the meantime, if you were unable to attend this year’s PUGM, want to review one of its sessions, or share a session with a teammate, we posted the PUGM webinars and reference materials to the Equinox online library. Check out these options:
Indeed, we missed seeing you all in person and look forward to when we can be together once again. We thank you all for carving out part of your day for the Protector User Group Meeting. Your attentiveness and questions contributed to a conference truly like no other!
Amy Oldham is in Corporate Communications at Equinox Information Systems, where she creates and maintains the company’s technical documentation and all other customer-facing publications. Amy is also responsible for the company’s newsletter, email campaigns, press releases, and social media presence. When not writing, Amy enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, attending Dave Matthews Band concerts, and swimming.
To learn more about Equinox, its products, and staff, visit www.equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.
