June 2017 Anniversaries

Here are the June 2017 judge anniversaries!

15 years

from Cheddar, United Kingdom
from Derby, United Kingdom
from Johannesburg, South Africa
from Nottingham, United Kingdom
from Isernia, Italy
from Portsmouth, United Kingdom
from Chelmsford, United Kingdom
from Overland Park, Kansas, United States
from Chiba, Ichikawa-shi, Japan
from Toyama, Toyama-shi, Japan

10 years

from Moscow, Russia
from West Fargo, North Dakota, United States
from Tokyo, Japan
from Baltimore, Maryland, United States
from Sinjuku-Ku, Japan
from New Braunfels, Texas, United States

5 years

from Montreal, Canada
from Guadalajara, Mexico
from Guadalajara, Mexico
from Brownstown, Pennsylvania, United States
from Rochester, Minnesota, United States
from Akarp, Sweden
from Moscow, Russia
from Eustis, Florida, United States
from Shizuoka, Japan
from Valence, France
from Hasuda-shi, Japan
from Florence, South Carolina, United States
from Boston, Massachusetts, United States
from Toronto, Canada
from Sautee, Georgia, United States
from Perryville, United States
from Toronto, Canada
from Nicosia, Cyprus
from Brisbane, Australia
from Novosibirsk, Russia
from Bjelovar, Croatia
from Pittsfield, Maine, United States
from Tucson, Arizona, United States
from Little Elm, Texas, United States
from St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
from Pavia, Italy
from Santa Cruz, Bolivia
from Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
from Oxford, Ohio, United States
from Seoul, South Korea
from Lexington, Kentucky, United States
from Guatemala , Guatemala
from Iowa City, Iowa, United States
from Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain
from Lissone, Italy
from Malaga, Spain
from Trofa, Portugal
from Milano, Italy
from Malmo, Sweden
from Sao Jose, Brazil
from Douai, France
from Singapore, Singapore
from Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
from Cookeville, Tennessee, United States
from Bellevue, Washington, United States
from Chino Hills, California, United States
from Prato, Italy
from Bielefeld, Germany
from Plantation, Florida, United States
from Kaliningrad, Russia
from Pembroke Pines, United States
from Malmo, Sweden
from Oregon City, United States
from Cagliari, Italy
from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Bolivia
from Penang, Malaysia
from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, United States
from Penang, Malaysia
from Northport, Alabama, United States
from Glen Allen, Virginia, United States
from Miami, Florida, United States
from Northport, United States
from Beijing, China
from Marquette, Michigan, United States
from Yokohama-shi, Japan
from Kokubunji-shi, Japan
from Sao Paulo, Brazil
from KoÅ¡ice, Slovakia
from Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
from Castelar, Argentina
from Wyoming, Michigan, United States
from Fukushima, Iwaki-shi, Japan
from Belo Horizonte, Brazil
from Teresina, Brazil
from Vranov nad Toplou, Slovakia
from London, Canada
from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
from Reynosa, Mexico
from San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico
from Veniano, Italy
from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
from Santiago, Chile
from Keaau, Hawaii, United States
from Calgary, Canada
from Hilo, Hawaii, United States
from Lake Grove, New York, United States

Congratulations, and thank you for all your hard work!

Retired but not retired

This month, we have a total of 4 anniversaries to celebrate: , , , and ! First off, we have Kenji’s RC, , who has a few things to say about Kenji’s 15 year anniversary:

“It was 2008 I met Kenji first time when he came back to Japan from Canada and started judging again. Many judges were pleased with Kenji’s return. He is actually elder judge. We are on his 15th anniversary for certification but we know he helped GP Tokyo 1999. But at that point 2008 I did not know anything about him. Now he is one of best the judge I really want you to know about him.

Kenji has a lot of success story, HJed GP Hiroshima, our RC … but such topics that you can find easily are not featured today. Father. I believe he is a role model of active retiree-L3. I respect his judge-work-life balance.

Kenji decided to step down to L2 when his second baby became about 9 month old. His announcement was humble and polite but we could find an important thing in it. Always he was able to rebalance and keep himself being judge when life changes. He found the way of judge with one baby. He found another way of judge with two baby. *note: I am sorry but he is a little stereotype-busy-Japanese. He has great job, literally our future rely on it.

Normally, it is a pleasure to bless but lonesome when my friends stop judging because they got better job, married, baby, second baby or various event happened on their life. But I felt honestly ,at Kenji’s farewell speech in GP Chiba, expectation to next season. Kenji put a period to L3 and play new role.

Today, he join XP team and dedicate broadcasting fellow judges’ exemplary actions. And sometimes he give us valuable forum post. One more thing, he judge at store as much as he is comfortable.”

Our favorite truta

Next, talks about a judge in his region celebrating 5 years in the program:

“Emmanuel is one of the few L2s in the northern reaches of Mexico and has been actively involved in mentoring, certifying and helping other judges grow in his country. Fellow judges Erick López Basulto and Alejandro Reynoso, who were tested by him, mentioned that he has always been a great teacher, someone who has opened their eyes to new ideas and has encouraged them to take a step forward as judges. Noé Alfredo Álvarez also remembers how invested Emmanuel has been in improving the community in the northern states of Mexico, helping out at multiple events throughout those states and certifying a new generation of judges who are now key members of the Mexican judge community. Omar González commented that one of Emmanuel’s greatest strengths is his project work, which has shown other judges in Mexico that there are infinite ways to participate in the judge program and help it grow. Finally, both Álvaro Ibáñez and Pedro Márquez wanted to let Emmanuel know that they admire his leadership within the Mexican community, which wouldn’t be the same without his participation in it.

Thanks for these last 5 years, Emmanuel!”

An historic judge!

Rounding out the last of the normal anniversaries is Gareth Tanner, who is celebrating 15 years! has a few words regarding his contributions:

“Gareth Tanner was a long-respected name in the UK community when I entered it. His tireless work on forums and mailing lists brought education and policy updates to many judges, myself included. I have strong memories of an intermittent quiz and question project that Gareth spearheaded in the UK community, keeping judges engaged and thinking about rules and policy. Although family commitments have reduced Gareth’s event density, he still co-manages a Level 2 Study Group that a significant number of recent Level 2 judges in the region have praised for help along the way. Gareth is always thinking about similar ideas, trying to find a way to contribute in any way that he can, to build infrastructure and systems where he sees them lacking. Fifteen years is a long time commitment from anyone, and I know that Gareth has contributed significantly to my own knowledge, as well as that of many, many other judges. Gareth, it was a pleasure to see you back on the floor recently at a large UK event, and I hope to see more of you – and your work – in the near future.”

Sometimes we take him seriously

Finally, we have one L3 anniversary this month: the Anniversary project’s very own Shawn Doherty! His RC, , wrote something for this 15 year L3 celebration:

“Shawn Doherty has been a Level 3 judge for 15 years.

Wow. While I am nowhere near the gifted storyteller that Shawn is (few are – his knowledge of the history of the program and his sense of humor combine to make for some wonderful narrations), I do want to take a little space to commemorate this anniversary. But where to start?

I could start with the fact that he spent almost a third of that period (about 5 years) as the Regional Coordinator for the Northeast US. His home state of Delaware was tacked on to the region so that he could “temporarily” take the blue shirt. He was no stranger to community work, having previously grown the Chicago community while living there. As his successor, I can attest that the Northeast has definitely benefited from his guidance through these years.

Similarly, I could highlight his excellence at tournaments. Shawn is a member of a small group of judges who has been on staff for over 100 premier events (Grand Prix, Pro Tours, etc.) with a long history of local events as well. It is my opinion that his understanding of events, what needs to happen and what can go wrong is strong enough that he pulls off the impressive feat of making whatever task he’s assigned to look easy (I mentioned earlier that he has a reputation as a storyteller – I’ve seen lesser judges steer into trouble emulating his style without realizing just how much is happening in the background).

Wherever you look, it’s clear that we, our events, and our community have greatly benefited from Shawn’s contributions. Congratulations on 15 years at Level 3, Shawn, and thank you.”

Happy anniversary to all of you! We look forward to many more years of judging from you all.

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