Editor’s Note: This article is part of our series of highlighted exemplar recognitions. See our introduction post for all the details, or view all the posts in this series.

Patrick Nelson is a Level 2 Judge from Speedway, Indiana. His nominations during Wave 7 noticed both his events leadership as well as his efforts in organizing and running an area conference for central Indiana. Here is what colleagues said about Patrick’s efforts:

“On Sunday at SCG Indianapolis, we were tasked with trying a new deck check strategy. However, almost every round presented a disruption to that plan. You were able to improvise and communicate the necessary adjustments to keep the event covered both on checks and on the floor, all while maintaining a calm and cheerful demeanor,” comments David Incorvati.

“Having you as my Deck Checks team lead for the Indy Open made my event much less stressful. You lead your team very well, and were a good source to bounce concerns off of as the day went by. I look forward to working with you again!” adds Michael Arrowsmith.

“Patrick, you did a fantastic job running the Central Indiana Judge Conference in Sept ’16. You made sure that all of your presenters were prepared and did an excellent job keeping the conference on track! I see big things in your future and can’t wait to see what you accomplish” notes Patrick Cobley

“Patrick, Marcos and I want to commend you on the hard work you put in to make the first small scale judge conference in our state a success. It’s tough going in without a comparable reference point, but you did a great job planning ahead to make sure things went smoothly and working with presenters to make sure our seminars were the best they could be,” says David Elden.

Here’s what Marcos Sanchez, L2 Judge and Level 2 Tester from Fort Wayne, Indiana L2, had to say:

Patrick had a challenge presented to him that had to be handled within a short three to four month span after the organization of conferences ended up shifting from larger Regional conferences to smaller Area conferences. Multiple mini-conferences were being planned throughout the state, but Patrick had the opportunity to go first in that rotation without any guidepost to look back at in the state. He handled this challenge well, making sure to meet deadlines and put lots of work in to make sure that everything was well prepared.

He brought myself and other L2s from the state in to be able to give a more targeted and focused number of sessions and asked me to put together a workshop targeted towards the type of development that was needed in his area. Overall, he did a wonderful job making sure that the conference had a focus, a plan, and was well executed. He definitely laid out the groundwork for all the rest of the Indiana State Area Conferences that followed.