| Subject | Creator | Description |
| Aaron LaCluyze | Christopher Richter | I’d better never be able to nominate you for recognition as an L2 ever again! You are someone I am always delighted to have on staff, as I know I can assign you virtually any duty or task and you will step up and do well. Additionally I always enjoy talking / sharing thoughts with you. Thanks! |
| Aaron LaCluyze | Ellis Gyöngyös | Thanks for being a rock in the Chapel Hill MTG community. Players and judges alike look up to you. (and your awesome bow ties) |
| Andrew Croy | Craig Reeder | You’re doing a great job in your local area, and really promoting the community in Elkhart and South Bend. I really appreciate that you’ve been my go-to L1 for events in this area. |
| Andrew Doyle | David Rappaport | Andrew Doyle. Lately the name is commonly used interchangeably with “Crisis averted”. Andrew has been making himself very available to cover shortfalls in the initial rush of Pptq events in the State. This is good, but what makes him an example is that he has also been assisting the Pptq Organizers plan superior logistics to move forward better and smoother. Andy, Thank you for your dedication and commitment to our community’s future successes. |
| Arthur Edson | Steven Briggs | Thank you for being the calm presence and influence in Michigan despite some fairly tumultuous circumstances. It’s important to have calm, steadfast leadership in tough times, which you have and continue to provide. |
| Austin Cook | Ben Litz | You did a great job at PTQ Lexington. I was impressed how quickly you caught on to deck checks, stepping in for the TL that couldn’t make it. You made the tournament run a lot smoother. Thanks! |
| Ben Litz | Matt Sauers | I really appreciate your dedication to the judging program. Making yourself available and accessible is a treat and a value to us all. Thanks for your exemplary behavior in demonstrating to us all how we can work things into our schedules when we can and show the region how to grow effectively — through availability. |
| Ben Litz | James Risner | Ben has helped a number of stores successfully run their PPTQ (many with me but two without me) and has helped run the final PTQ for a local store. Ben has done much for growing our L1 in the area and for helping stores run better events. |
| Ben Sturtz | Frank Singel | Ben, you’ve been a very active member of the local Cleveland judging community. I’ve been very impressed with the effort and activity with which you have been representing yourself in both the local and statewide communities. I have every expectation that you can make L2 in the near future. |
| Ben Sturtz | Anthony Bucchioni | You have consistently performed above and beyond your experience level at events, never shying away from challenges new or old. I have witnessed you save multiple events with your mastery of side event management, keeping a large number of player happy all on your own. Thank you for your consistently strong work ethic and excellent attitude. I look forward to what you’ll accomplish as an L2. |
| Brian Rapp | Matt Newnam | When I was working PM Sides (Saturday) at GP Memphis this past weekend, we got pretty bombed with players as the day went on. You were handling prize payout and reporting results, and as it picked up, you kept your cool and even made sure that other events kept firing, while working with all the judges and Brett to make sure everything went well. Good job! |
| Carl Wilt | Lexie Mettler |
Carl, you have been doing great at all of the events I have seen you work at in. At FNM, you greet everyone with a smile, provide the story with a great atmosphere, and you have been great at the PTQs and PPTQs I’ve seen you work, and I have work with you. Thanks for being a great judge! |
| Carl Wilt | David Elden | Carl, the contributions you and your wife Jeannie have made to Ft. Wayne area Magic are frequent and directly affect a lot of people. From giving us a place for the Ft. Wayne area judges’ meetings to your hard work in getting Ft. Wayne its first PTQ in over a decade, the dedication the two of you show towards making our community better is nothing short of exemplary. |
| Carsten Haese | Jason Lemahieu |
Hey Carsten! Your efforts surrounding our web presence continue to astound. I loved that you took initiative to get the rules chat rerouted to a new server to restore service quickly, and your proactive leadership of JudgeApps development remains top-notch. Thank you for all your contributions! – Lems |
| Carsten Haese | Craig Reeder | You continue to be a boss in about every single way. Most notably, you gave me some of the most direct and actionable feedback I’ve received since becoming a judge. |
| Carsten Haese | Alexei Gousev | Thanks for your continuous work managing the JudgeApps developer team. |
| Cassandra LeDuc | Steven Briggs | it is pretty rare to have a judge step up as an L1 to provide an interesting and insightful seminar, but that’s exactly what you have prepared. Thank you for using your energy and passion in your career to identify a need in the community. |
| David Elden | Bernd Buldt | In 2014, when I became unavailable, Dave stepped up and took over the lead of our monthly judge meetings and posted minutes of the meetings online for everyone to see. He also extended his reach of service and filled all HJ needs in the area. In short, Dave became an area judge who made a difference. |
| David Rappaport | Robert Hinrichsen | David and I worked together at GenCon and GP New Jersey, and on both occasions I was distinctly impressed by his thoughtful, constructive approach to mentoring. He was happy to take as much time as I needed answering my questions on the L3 advancement process, and he provided insightful feedback on a ruling I made on the floor. |
| Eric Miller | Johnpaul Adams | Thanks for doing an excellent job scorekeeping Side Events at the Ohio SCG Regionals this year. This was your first time scorekeeping a large event and you asked excellent questions of me all day on scorekeeping and keep the side events area organized and well-run all day. Great job and looking forward to working mroe events with you! |
| Heidi Sitten | Erik Aliff | Heidi has been one of my mentors since joining the judge program and I would like to recognize the community building she has been a part of both in the judge program and with the player base in North Carolina. She provides constant encouragement and motivation for judges to keep learning and bettering themselves. In addition, she has helped strengthen the player base at the shop that she works and judges at through her excellent commitment to customer service. |
| Heidi Sitten | Lyle Dixon | I continue to be impressed with your dedication to the Eastern North Carolina judge community. When another judge got sick 12 hours before their PPTQ, you busted your tail to try and help provide a judge for the store, and then personally drove to judge the event yourself when you couldn’t find anyone. Eastern North Carolina is lucky to have you! |
| Heidi Sitten | Wesley Holland | When I work with so many judges, it’s hard to single one out. However, you went above any expectations in picking up my slack when I had to call out sick for the PPTQ I was going to head judge. You took it up, and I haven’t heard anything negative about it, so thank you very much. |
| Heidi Sitten | Nicholas Sabin | Heidi, you have really shined as a new L2 in the region. Your attitude is fantastic, you’re dedicated to maintaining strong rules and policy knowledge, and you’ve demonstrated a relentless commitment to making sure stores have judges for their events. Thank you for all that you do! |
| james gibbs | Minh Vu | To my number 2 in holding down the chaotic Cincinnati fort. James, recognized by the local community as strong leader and a wise councilor, has continually stepped up to meet each challenge I throw at him. He’s a fantastic L1 that sets high standard for the other L1s in the local community. |
| James Risner | Thomas Fritz | You’re desire and dedication to making the Judges of KY have a better community is exemplary. Your constant efforts to organize meetups/mini conferences is laying the ground work for our growing community, and we will all benefit in the long run for it! |
| James Risner | Ben Litz | James, You are doing a terrific Job working with me to grow KY. Certifying new L1s, running many, many PPTQs in our state and helping to organize Judge gatherings. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather work with. Lets keep building! |
| Jarrod Williams | Mark Wanich | Jarrod is one of the hardest working judges I have met and have had the pleasure of judging with him several times. He has been a beacon in the Ohio region and is one of the main reasons why my former state has had such a wonderful stretch of good judging and events as of late. |
| Jason Chance | Mark Wanich | Jason was a floor judge at a PPTQ I HJed in December in Ashtabula, OH. Due to a smaller than expected attendance, Jason took the majority of the floor calls, none of which were appealed. A few players expressed how pleased they were with his judging and I echo this sentiment. Keep up the good work. |
| Jesse Meiring | Douglas Isenberg | Jesse embraced the opportunity to do his first Call Draft for the Top 8 of a PTQ a few months ago despite being quite nervous. He didn’t have to do it, but felt it was a good way to improve himself as a judge, a quality that is essential to being a great judge and one I admire. |
| Jesse Meiring | Bryan Campbell |
Jesse, I just wanted to take a minute to recognize you for the fantastic job you did in helping me to control the side events at SCG Columbus on Jan 4. Your dedication to the events really helped make my first experience as side events lead a positive one in spite of the fact that we were absolutely overmatched in terms of events firing vs. staff available. Please keep up the good work and extremely positive attitude. |
| John Temple | Arthur Edson | John Temple has done an amazing job jumping into the Michigan community. He has worked hard to organize PPTQs scheduling with TOs of the area, running judge classes, and taking on the job of Co-State Captain of Michigan Judges. |
| John Temple | Adam Eidelsafy |
Hey John, After moving to Michigan, you wasted no time integrating yourself into the Magic community in the last six months. You’ve lead judges classes that have already produced new judges. You’ve mentored the majority of the active judges in the state. To top it off, you built enough trust and respect in the state to become it’s role. On a personal note, I appreciate the many talks we’ve had and the guidance they’ve provided. You’ve helped me work through a number of challenges I have faced in team leading, managing stress, and conflict resolution. As I transition out of this state, I hope to learn from your example to make the most of the experience. Until next time, |
| John Temple | David Rappaport | John is a transplant to our Michigan Community from the Southeast Region. Initially the State Judges were largely cool towards John. John quickly made himself an invaluable resource in the Community and continues to do so as our State Captain (co-captain). John is seemingly tireless in his efforts to assist in facilitating pptq staffing and revitalizing activity on Micigan Judges Facebook group. There is truth that the more you do the more there is to be critical of. Do not get discouraged by concerns… concerns define and highlight our values… in that way, criticism is a good thing. Thank you for your perseverance and energy. |
| John Temple | Carlos Ho | Finally we got to meet each other! It was great seeing you in Baltimore. But this isn’t about that event. Your tireless leadership of the Judge of the Week project is one of the reasons why it’s been so effective in the last years. Thanks a lot! |
| John Temple | Jason Lemahieu |
Hey John! I’m really impressed with the way you’re taking care of the Judge of the Week. You’re keeping things on schedule, and are really supporting your team members. Things like the WordPress FAQ help them contribute easily, and the monthly reports of pageviews is encouraging. I’m sure that the members of your team are all learning a lot about project leadership from you as well. Congrats to you and your team. Keep up the great work! – Lems |
| John Temple | Andrew Doyle | You jumped right into your leadership position as a Michigan state captain, and your efforts have been visible from the start. From record keeping to L1 development, you’ve had an increasingly positive influence on the judge community in Michigan. Your passion for the community is boundless, and I look forward to working with you to accomplish much more. |
| Johnpaul Adams | Jared Sylva | John – Your hustle and infectiously positive attitude at GP Memphis was easily seen from stage and made a big difference to an event where the staff was stretched thin. You were always moving and I particularly liked the work you did with end of round. Keep it up and I hope to see more of you! |
| Lexie Mettler | Christian Gawrilowicz | The judge community has voted that your article, ‘Redefinition of Level 2 – The Area Judge and What That Means’ was one of the most valuable articles written in 2014. Thank you for helping develop our community. |
| Matt Farney | Minh Vu | I would be horribly remiss to not give recognition to Matt Farney, my PPTQ brother in arms for SW Ohio. Matt has assuredly stepped up to meet the unfathomably high demand for PPTQs in the area. He deserved much recognition for holding down Dayton and much of central-western Ohio; while provided some cover for Cincinnati as well. |
| Minh Vu | Frank Singel | Minh, every time I’ve been on an event with you, I’ve been the recipient of some form of hospitality of yours. Whether it’s Cincinatti waffles or very welcome lodging accommodations, I’ve been both impressed and inspired to try to pay it forward. Keep being awesome. |
| Minh Vu | John (David) Fleig | Minh has done a tremendous job helping the magic community in Cincinatti. Between mentoring new judges and coordinating (and running) all the new PPTQs, he’s been quite the workhorse for the community down there. |
| Minh Vu | Jarrod Williams | Minh did an excellent job at organizing an entire community when it came time for PPTQs. He worked with all the shops in the Cincinnati area to determine when to schedule events and to promote them across the community. In PPTQ Season 1, Minh’s effort was over the top and set the standard for how judges should work with their stores to organize their and for season 2 I saw how Minh adapted his process to be more sustainable from an effort perspective while still maintaining the high level of quality and frequency of events in the Cincinnati/Dayton area. Minh truly is an example of how to be an asset to your community. |
| Nick Louzon | Patrick Nelson | Thank you for stepping up at the recent PTQs in the area, especially the Dragons of Tarkir PTQ in Columbus. I watched you step it up with the low experience staff, and made deck checks a success. Your professionalism was outstanding throughout the day, a prime example for others to follow. And thank you for voicing your concerns over a ruling at the end of the day, it was greatly appreciated. |
| Nick Louzon | David Elden | Nick, when I certified for L2, one thing that was especially exciting to me was the possibility that I might certify a judge who would eventually join the already-teeming ranks of exemplary judges in the Midwest. It didn’t take much time working with you for me to know that I had been lucky enough for this to happen on my first try! You are the type of judge who makes mentorship easy, and your commitment to self-improvement and focus on customer experience have been an inspiration to many, myself included. |
| Nick Richards | Jarrod Williams | Nicholas your performance at the ptq and regional championships exceeds your experience level. Your keen eye for detail and sharp mind for policy are an asset on the floor and your willingness to not only help with tasks, but take charge of them really make you an excellent example for any judge looking to learn about competitive judging and make the leap from store judging. Whether it is checking decks and finding marked sleeves or helping tear down the event area, you are helpful and a wonderful influence on the staff as a whole. Keep going with competitive judging and I look forward to the next event I get to work with you. |
| Nick Richards | Nick Louzon | Your boundless enthusiasm and desire to improve your skills during the two Columbus events I’ve judged with you was a great example of the kind of attitude needed in judges. You’re never afraid to make a mistake, and never get down on yourself for doing so. I want you to keep up the great work. |
| Patrick Nelson | Chaz Estell | Outstanding work creating a document for state-wide PPTQs and spearheading an effort to get all of them judged, in addition to general state-wide judge mentorship. |
| Patrick Nelson | Nick Louzon | Your guidance has been instrumental to my development and advancement to L2. You are a great leader in the state of Indiana, and you do it in your own, understated way. Thank you for giving an eager newb judge the push to succeed. |
| Randy Tice | David Rappaport | As with many Level 1 Judges Randy has been working diligently toward Level 2 advancement, this is not so special. What is an example for others to emulate is the fact that Randy is focused on bringing up his fellow Judges at the same time. At events, I see him going out of his way to invest in others, if only to make certain they are enjoying themselves. Thank you Randy for showing each day that Judging is not about the “me” it is about the “us”. |
| Rath Barrios | Andrew Doyle | Thank you for being a huge part of why the Grand Rapids quad PPTQ ran so smooth. While we were faced with unconventional issues, you took it upon yourself to keep everything organized and coherent. Your performance that day was beyond exceptional. |
| Ryan Bushard | David Rappaport | For some time now I have been invested in advising Ryan’s coordination of the Lansing Magic Community. Lansing has been an area lacking in structure for as long as I can recall, and Ryan, on his own initiative, has been taking on a leadership role in reforming their community so that their unexplored potential as a community can at last flourish. In so doing, he has expressed his own potential as a true leader in that community by encouraging the genesis of a support network of Certified judges which includes himself among their number. Ryan thank you for your dedication. |
| Ryan Bushard | John Temple | Thank you for stepping up and assisting with creating a judge community in Lansing, Michigan as a L0 and now a L1. Lansing has for many years been a deadzone with many Advanced stores and only one judge. Your efforts in setting up opportunities for other judges is exemplary. Keep up the good work! |
| Spencer Cole | Meghan Baum | I want to thank you for all of your efforts to grow the judge community in the Lansing area. You made us aware of the need for an L2 to test L0s in Lansing as well as helped coordinate the testing day we held. |
| Sun LeMunyon | David Rappaport | Sun is a name I see quite regularly on the Michigan Magic Judges Facebook group. Lately I have noted his contributions and find his advice to be both on point and appropriately reserved. Thank you Sun for your gentle approach to our growth as a community. |
| Travis Traxler | Arthur Edson | Travis has done an amazing job growing the judge community in the Battle Creek area. He has mentored quite a few people that have become judges as well as starting a facebook group for people trying to become a judge in his area. |
| Zack Wisner | James Risner | I’ve always had good experiences working with Zack on events. He is very knowledge, good at communicating, and most importantly willing to judge events. We have very few L1 in Kentucky willing to run events and Zack is the best one. |
