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.

James Gibbs is a Level 1 Judge from Lexington, Kentucky. His nominations during Wave 7 noticed his influence on the local community of judges and players. Here is what the nominating judge had to say about James:

“James, I want to thank you for all the hard work you’ve put in the past two PPTQs you and I have worked together. You have taken care of everything. Calls, setup, SK duties, hydration, snacks, going to get lunch, and all with a terrific customer service oriented attitude. You have spoiled us as Head Judges and it’s greatly appreciated,” notes Ben Litz.

When sought for additional comment Ben Litz, a Kentucky L2, added:

As soon as I certified for L2, two years ago, James was waiting for me, eagerly ready to test for his L1. I think he was more excited than I was that I had leveled up; and his infectious excitement still endures.

Whenever you see James, he’s having a great time with Magic. He’s always helping new players with deck ideas, talking meta or testing with other players, planning events and constantly making sure everyone else is having a great time playing Magic together. As a head judge, having James on your staff is an absolute delight. I literally just show up and make opening announcements. The rest of the event seemingly runs itself.  He’s relentless in his efforts to find new potential judges and he has one of the most efficient deck checks around.

Just ask him, he’ll be happy to show it to you. I can’t say enough good things about James.  We’re very lucky to have him in Lexington.