| Subject | Creator | Description |
| Aaron Hammer | Jacob Milicic | At the SCG Invitational in Columbus, you showed up remarkably well-prepared for your assignment on On-Demand events. Not only did you research how your role worked and asked questions prior to the event, but you showed up with materials like some post-it tabs to help you be better organized and were prepared to note table ranges for each on-demand event you fired. As a result, you handled ODEs at that event with distinction. This level of tournament preparation is outstanding and really goes above and beyond expectation for an L1. I am confident that your commitment to excellence will take you far in the judge program. |
| Alex Lowe | Minh Vu | A good job stepping up and judging that modern tournament that was a bit larger than the owner anticipated. I know you wanted to play for the playset of Tarmogoyfs, but kudos for giving up the opportunity to ensure the tournament was run well. |
| Alex Morse | Andrew Doyle | Alex, you’re a very sneaky fellow. I don’t get the chance to see you very often in the act of judging, but you always seem to be available for our community whenever a need arises. Your name was on my short list of possible nominations right until you solidified your spot with a solid act of community outreach on SCG States weekend. When you were dealing with your potential cheating case, you made the conscious decision to better educate thd individual involved over another recourse. Your ability to recognize that situation as a learning moment for that player helps the community develop. Alex, thank you for being a caring leader in our area. |
| Alexander Smith | John Temple | Alex, your work on the Michigan Magic Judge, Great Lakes Magic Judge Facebook pages, and the Great Lakes Regional blog has been outstanding. Helping me grow by proofreading my articles and teaching me better ways to get my message across has been excellent. Beyond that you have been making sure that the Michigan Magic Judge page has been kept up to date on all relevant judge program announcements and large event solicitations. This dedication to not only the judge program but a fellow judge is absolutely outstanding. Keep up the hard work! |
| Alexander Smith | Jarrod Williams | Alex, I really appreciate the work you do on the blog preparing articles. You help bring a professional flair to the posts there. Your work on the exemplar highlight project helped make it happen and helped highlight a lot of the good things happening in our region. |
| Alexander Strange | Matt Sauers | Alex, I was impressed with your exemplary behavior at our PPTQ at Grinning Goblin. I had asked Dan to work it out at the store, but apparently it wasn’t communicated well, but you showed up ready to work anyway. Being flexible on small events keeps them in business and endears them to you, which is a clear leadership quality when you first give of yourself. Well done! |
| Alison Chambers | John Temple | Alison, everytime I have been at Pandemonium in Michigan whether it has been working an event or just player you have always been an absolutely outstanding customer service agent. You always have a smile on your face and assist players to the absolute best of your abilities. Continue being this shining example of customer service for players and judges alike! |
| Allison Coleman | Ben Sturtz | Jason, your ability to manage multiple events at Kidforce Collectibles is impressive. What is exemplar however, is your ability to sneak in that special touch or bit of attention. I recall taking part in one of your 2HG prerelease events recently. While running both a sealed and a 2HG event, you taught two brand new players how Magic works and helped them build and tweak decks. This commitment to new players and that bit of special attention really sets you and your work apart from many other Level 1 judges. It shows you care about not only the game but your local community. Thank you for being a exemplar mentor. |
| Andrew Alderson | Nick Louzon | Andy, you’re always willing to take time out of your day to answer judge questions. I’ve seen you take phone calls at the game store in which you work that are specifically asking you to clear up a rules issue. Additionally, you are always there to confirm a ruling I make during FNM; oftentimes taking time attention away form your own match to assist. |
| Andrew Doyle | Andrew Thompson | Doyle, at Grand Prix Detroit, I was on the Deck Check Team. You were on Logistics. The Deck Check team handed out worksheets for other teams to fill out as they collected lists, with instructions on how to fill those out. These worksheets were meant to help the Deck Check team organize the lists. Many of these came back filled out incorrectly, and were of little use. Your was not only filled out correctly, you added additional information that was very useful. Not only did you meet expectations, you exceeded them! Having worked with you from the beginning of your judge career, this did not surprise me, but I thought it deserved recognition nonetheless. |
| Andrew Doyle | Arthur Edson | Andy Doyle has really stepped up his participation in the program ever since becoming an L2. Andy has helped with covering PPTQs in the early period of his L2. He has also been a thoughtful voice in discussion about ways to improve the program. More recently, he has become an active Area Captain and has been active in regional discussions. |
| Andrew Thompson | Steven Briggs | You have done an outstanding job of being a very steadfast leader in Michigan. You are so incredibly consistent in certifying new judges, helping communities grow while supporting leaders you have developed and build them brick by brick into local and area leaders. Bravo to you on the northern Michigan empire you continue to forge. |
| Ben Litz | Thomas Fritz | You’re assuming the reigns of the Ky Premiere Play magic group for connecting players to tournaments, and being the ‘go to’ guy to implement changes needed and moderating, as well as bringing on new moderators, is exemplary. The coordination you provide through the documents updating, stat keeping, and facebook group running is having major positive impact on the KY magic community as a whole! Thank you for being kick ass! |
| Ben Litz | James Risner | Ben is invaluable to Kentucky judge program in a number of ways. He helps manage a player focused event tracking group and he has rearranged his schedule to cover an event at the last second when the original judge had to withdraw. I know events would go without finding a judge if it were not for him. |
| Ben Sturtz | John Temple | From Patrick Cobley L1, “Ben, you showed exceptional leadership on Sunday as sides lead. You took the reigns and made sure that everyone on the team knew what they were supposed to be doing and asked what our strengths were, so we could continue to grow. It wasn’t until later that you informed us that it was your first sides team lead, I for one was surprised! Your dedication to make sure side events fired without a hitch and your judges and players all had fun during the event proves to me that you were an Exemplary Leader!” |
| Ben Sturtz | David Incorvati | Every time we’ve worked together, you’ve never failed to inspire me and others to do better. Whether it’s taking on a leadership role in the community or discussing a weird call, your attitude and professionalism have brought immeasurable value to so many events and players. |
| Bernd Buldt | Jarrod Williams | Bernd, I want to recognize you for the work you do with the Fort Wayne judge meetup. Not only have you used it to build up the judge community, but in rotating it through the different stores you are improving judge/TO relations. In addition you’ve used it as a training ground to build new leaders by allowing people to run the meeting and bring forward their own ideas and concerns. In doing this you aren’t only building judge community but ensuring there are leaders being built up as well. |
| Bernd Buldt | Adrian Estoup |
Bernd When i arrived at my first GP they assigned me to be under your supervision without me knowing what was i gonna do. I was judging a side event on friday with you and you sat down with me and took your time to explain everithing to me from start to finish. It meant a lot to me because even then on the second day you where behind me and asking how was my first GP experience going. I honestly was impressed for being such a great teacher for sitting down for a couple of hours with me and telling me how the Gp’s would go. Thanks! Submited by Diego Garcia, L1 from Puerto Rico |
| Bernd Buldt | Renato Spinelli | Bernd, even if we were not on the same team at GP Washington, we had a chance to spend a lot of time together. After a few minutes it was clear to me that you had a lot to share, and I was very happy to cover the floor with you. The way you talk to players and give them penalties really inspires me. You gave the most educational and less harsh warning I have ever seen. Thank you! |
| Bernd Buldt | Marcos Sanchez | Bernd, I want to recognize you for your great work as our new Area Captain in the region. Your approach has been very impactful and has lead to many great discussions between you and I as well as our entire fort wayne area judge group. You’re not afraid to call attention to people when they need to be called out, but you also know when to hold back and give people space to do their thing. Between finding ways to improve our area, as well as making great suggestions for how we can collect information from local players and how we can best work for the judge program here in Fort Wayne, you’ve been doing lots of good for our community, and it’s very much being felt around the area. |
| Bernd Buldt | Nick Louzon | At SCG Indy, you were my team lead. Throughout the day, I was never confused as to what my task was. I also had a stressful experience with a player during the day, and the ease and skill with which you led the team really helped me put the experience behind me and focus on the event. |
| Brian Rapp | Jennifer Scott | Brian, you were the HJ for the Two-Headed Giant event on Sunday at GP DC when we ran into some software issues that made the start of the event…exciting. You handled it amazingly well–you took the first (convoluted) plan I gave you for starting the event and were ready to run with it. When that didn’t work out, you adapted quickly to the changes. Because of your flexibility with a difficult situation, the delays to the event were minimized. Thank you. |
| Carsten Haese | Randy Tice | Carsten- I have always admired your ability to speak clearly to both players and judges alike. You have, by far, the best knowledge of the inner workings of Magic. I nominate you for neither of those (even though both are Exemplar worthy!). I nominate you for your passion of your charity event, Cast A Spell on MS. For that last seven years, you have poured your heart, soul, and mind into an event, knowing full well that there would be no monetary compensation at the end of it for you. You have given many of us in the Great Lakes Region a sense of purpose for charity in our own communities. I want to say thank you for the inspiration you have given to me personally to give back within the broader Magic Community! |
| Carsten Haese | Peyton Turner | Hello Carsten. I had the pleasure of judging at your Cast a Spell on MS tournament this year, as I did for the previous two years, and it was again a wonderful experience. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity each year to do good by judging. Further, this year I brought a new L1 to judge at his first large scale tournament. You provided him with many opportunities to start side events, and an opportunity to judge a competitive legacy event, and I think all in all he had a wonderful introduction to judging as part of a team. This means a lot to me, as I was in the same position he was in when Frank Singel suggested I apply to judge Cast a Spell for the first time, and it gave me a good impression of the judge program, and a strong desire to continue judging. Thank you for your role as a positive influence in the judging community. |
| Casey Barnett | Thomas Fritz | When Regionals in Nashville hit cap and we were down some judges, you stepped up and buttoned up your shirt despite your intentions to play, helping make the event a success. In addition to that, you were willing last minute to jump in and be my floor judge at a larger than average for the store PPTQ almost immediately after, and made it so that I could take time to work with future L1s while you crushed on floor rulings. Your willingness to participate and step up to the plate is exemplary, I see you doing great work in the Western KY area, and I look forward to working with you more! |
| Casey Barnett | Jonathan Holland | When we we short staffed for Regionals in February, Casey helped us out by dropping from the tournament and judging instead. He did a great job on the floor and was a member of the deck check team for the day. I really appreciated his sacrifice to ensure that the players had the best experience possible. |
| Casey Barnett | James Risner | The difference a short time makes! I certified Casey a little over a year ago. With Tommy Fritz’s help, he has turned into a breakout dependable judge. He has recently started helping with announcements of “things to do this weekend” for the players in the state! |
| Casey Barnett | Robert Romine |
You did a excellent job at SCG Regionals in Nashville. You came in expecting to play, but when you were asked to judge by myself you were very willing to come in and lend a hand. And you were very good on the floor. I always had a good sense of where you were and what you were doing. Despite having to bring in 2 Judges on a Emergency basis the I didn’t notice any real wait time between when judge calls came up and when they were answered, and that is because of the hustle you displayed out on the floor. Thank you for coming in and helping out, I’ll absolutely keep you in mind next time I am having to staff an event like that. |
| Clint Herron | Joe Wiesenberg | Clint, I recently saw you participating in a discussion thread about the Exemplar program, where you were expressing dissatisfaction with how L1s are able to participate in the program. I really appreciate how willing you were to advocate for them, but you took it a step further. You took the time to do research on developments that were before your time, and how things had changed to get us to where we are today. In a thread that had a lot of people talking past each other and missing each others’ points, you spent effort to better understand the context surrounding the discussion and shared that with everyone else reading. Thanks for serving as an example of how to continue to advocate for your own goals while still recognizing the work of people on the other side of the issue from you. |
| Clint Herron | Minh Vu | Superb job helping a store transition to a new owner and navigating the complexity of the WPN. You helped the older players adjust to the new store environment and helped the new players who came from the various other stores closing around you. |
| Clint Herron | Justin Miyashiro | Clint spoke his mind in an important discussion on the Exemplar program itself, bringing up important concerns about it’s efficacy, or lack thereof, for many judges. He was willing to express his concerns in the face of opposing views from many experienced judges and did so clearly and respectfully, going to great lengths to continue the conversation and respond to critiques of his position. He even did further research into the context behind the program and expressed the importance of understanding all the perspectives on it. His contribution to the development of an important aspect of the Judge program is an Exemplary one in my view. |
| Clint Herron | Thomas Fritz | You’re use of slack as a fairly disconnected judge in our regions serves as a shining example to other judges to how it can be a powerful connection tool. I’ve learned of your apps, your work, your concerns, and had/witnessed valuable discussions with you via the medium, though we never met in person. Hopefully others can learn from your exemplary willingness to engage through communication channels like Slack. |
| Clint Herron | Milan Majerčík | Hello, Clint. We do not know each other personally, but I have read your points in the discussion about the Judge Exemplar programme. And I was impressed. Not only by the described effort you have put into helping your local community (which is sometimes beyond what is expected from an L1). What touched me the most was your ability to self-reflect and adjust your opinion after hearing opinions of others. It is fine to have opinions and it is great to be able to fine-tune them in accordance with other facts. It is not simple, by no means. This ability will be useful in any team you will ever be part of. |
| Daniel Francke | Andrew Thompson | Dan, you did an awesome job as the deck check team lead at the SCG Standard States event in Bay City. You went above and beyond your assigned role throughout the day, ensuring not only that deck checks were covered (I believe your team deck checked almost half the field by the end of the day) but also that you and your fellow team lead Mark covered everything. You two made me feel utterly superfluous as Head Judge. While doing all of this, you handled numerous judge calls professionally, accurately, and in a friendly manner. Thanks for your hard work, and thanks for making the day turn out great! |
| David Elden | John Temple | David, your growth has been amazing in the last few months. You have taken some very critical feedback and really grown from it trying to stretch out in an effort to work better with others. Your skills at leading on the tournament floor have also increased drastically due to your increased empathy as a result of this feedback. Keep on this path and many doors will open for you! |
| David Elden | Riki Hayashi | Reviewing up (in level) can be hard, especially as many judges view L3s as the unicorns of the Judge Program. You’ve reviewed me twice in the past year. Not only do I appreciate the feedback from a personal standpoint, but it’s something very important as a whole, and I hope that you continue to look to review higher level judges (and in general). |
| David Elden | Marcos Sanchez | Dave, you have a wonderful ability to make complicated and unintuitive rules examples easy to comprehend. You did a great job preparing rules questions on a specific topic for our monthly area Judge Meeting, and I can always count on you to have a unique approach to any rules questions, especially during our area judges groups discussions on our Facebook wall. I aspire to be able to create interesting and thought provoking questions to help mentor other judges in the same way that you do. |
| David Elden | Brian Rapp |
For activity at SCG States – Ohio during 4/23/16 – 4/24/16 David, your innovative idea of pre-staging the decks for top-8 after deck checks where the top seeded players were all on the same side of the table, so that the head judge could make announcements as to who had “the decision”, reduced the amount of overhead required and allowed the players to get to playing that much faster. I will definitely be incorporating this procedure into my events in the future. Thank you. I look forward to working with you again. |
| David Elden | Peyton Turner | Hello David. I’d like to thank you for your work at Cast a Spell on MS this year. Taking a day to judge a charity tournament isn’t something just anyone will do. I’d also like to thank you for the mentoring you did as head judge of the competitive legacy event for the L1, Patrick Green, who I brought to the event. I heard from him how you managed to effectively handle an absurdly terrible deck check, and allowed him to be a part of the process. |
| David Elden | Bernd Buldt | In a way I hate to repeat myself, but some things bear repetition. Your SoI FAQ was, IMHO by a margin, the best so far by offering a great mix between things critically relevant on the floor and corner cases for the nerdy rules guru in us all — in a word: exemplary! |
| David Elden | Jacob Milicic | Your set update digests are an exceptional example of leveraging your strong rules knowledge into a tool to mentor other judges. The fact that you devote an appreciable amount of your time each set to gathering up interesting questions using the newer cards and then sharing that set of information with the community is amazing. I point every local judge I know at these updates because of the gems of information contained therein and you should be proud of the work you do. |
| David Incorvati | Jarrod Williams | David, You were the sides lead for Friday of the SCG Invitational in Columbus and were tasked with running sides on the floor and on a mezzanine level and didn’t have direct access to stairs to get up to the second level. You managed your personnel well and kept the player experience good despite the challenges with the venue. Keep up the good work! |
| David Incorvati | John Alderfer | While Northeast Ohio may not have your talents for much longer, your efforts to make sure that the area is still supported are greatly appreciated. |
| David Incorvati | Michael Anderson | David, thank you for your work as a part of my first team lead at the SCG Open in Columbus. Your input and direction on end of round procedure was very helpful, and gave me a compass point to keep that part of the tournament rolling. |
| David Incorvati | Ben Sturtz | David, you have been a great positive influence within the program. I consider myself fortunate to have you as a sounding board. Where I believe that you have gone beyond the call of duty, is the assisting me with the both personal and logistical judge issue that I have encountered recently in the Cleveland area. Your advice and voice helped fix the tournament side of this issue. Thank you. |
| David Rappaport | Steven Briggs | You have made tremendous strides in your leadership capabilities to provide guidance to veteran L2’s and newer L3’s, to find a stronger sense of self-awareness and balance in your work, and your confidence and the confidence others are finding in you continues to grow. Keep on this path, because your ability to lead and judge effectively grows with each step forward you take. |
| David Rappaport | Heidi Sitten |
Dave, You and I have a lot of differences when it comes to program philosophy, however I will always be grateful for the efforts you made when I moved back to MI last year to make me feel welcome and to help introduce me to the judge community here. Also, Force of Community- your work to bring stores together to organize a charity tournament is awesome. Not only that, you save the sealed boxes you receive as comp from GPs and use those to pay judges to work these events. For this, you have my respect Sir. |
| David Rappaport | James Mckay | David has always been there for me at events and out, whether I am judging or playing to lend his ear and provide meaningful advice on issues I encounter and provides me with so many different ways of thinking. I come away from our discussions with a renewed investment in myself ability to use that knowledge to help others. |
| David Rappaport | Huxley Bentz | David, you voice has some strange soothing magical powers, it makes me feel welcomed and accomplished and even in the face of mistakes it makes learning from them feel good. Your calm kind words really helped me stay on track during GP Toronto and for that I really want to thank you! |
| David Rappaport | Daniel Jackson | David you’ve been a wonderful mentor to me,and have given me a lot of wisdom. Your style of teaching forces me to learn why things are way they are, but leaving me with more knowledge of when to ask what would I want to change. Thank you for all your help, I’m a better judge because of you. |
| David Rappaport | Graham Schofield | Your logistical insight into running the Super Sunday Series trials on Sunday with such an efficient use of judges was exemplary. And you did so in a way that empowered your floor judges to enjoy the otherwise scaring prospect of judging or deck checking for 3 simultaneous events. Your staff were grateful for your leadership and providing opportunities for your judges to grow. |
| David Rappaport | John Temple | Dave, there are some many exemplary things that others could emulate from you but I’m going to focus on this one. Your many many conversations with me about patience and working with others have really had a major impact on my ability to work with others. This speaks highly to your ability to mentor even your peers. Thank you for all the late night conversations and even talking me off the ledge a few times! |
| David Rappaport | Scott Neiwert |
David, At GP Toronto, you pulled me aside during the main event and spent some very valuable time teaching me about the methods you use to develop your teams and individuals on the teams. This has been a point I have personally struggled with, as it is not a skill that has come as naturally to me in the context of an event as it comes for you. I’m hoping to very shortly apply the lessons you passed on to me to my own approach to team leading in short order. |
| David Rappaport | Jarrod Williams | Dave, You’ve been a source of wisdom and insight regarding judges in the region and a great advisor as we’ve stepped into this new region. You are always willing to tell me what I need to hear and have helped me be a better leader. Your dedication to the judges in the region and your mentorship make you a hub for judges in the region and a trusted advisor. Thank you for all you do. |
| Dylan Huesing | Nick Louzon | Dylan, we worked together at the SCG Season One Regional Championship in Columbus OH. If I recall correctly, this was your first big competitive event. As you may be aware of, you rocked it! This was shortly after the HCE change, and you corrected me on one blown call (can’t believe I missed that!). I was really surprised that you were as well-versed for as inexperienced as you were. |
| Eric Miller | Matt Farney | Pre-release events (esp. midnight ones) are a unique judging opportunity. The mixture of anticipation, mixed player levels, packed venues, and new card interactions is a daunting challenge. Eric Miller has bought into this completely. With a combination of excitement, energy, and focus that is entertaining for players, staff, and spectators, Eric runs the events as a mixture of judge, hype man, and ringleader. Tailoring the event experience to the players/venue/setting is an underrated skill and one that Eric is knocking out of the park at pre-releases. |
| Frank Scarber | Jake Maheu | Frank, I wanted to express my appreciation for the way you stepped up to run our prereleases solo when I ended up getting very ill on Friday night. Not only did you do so on short notice, Jeff later told me that you did an excellent job keeping the wheels in motion as you iron-manned all three prereleases. |
| Frank Singel | Ben Sturtz | Frank, I continue to benefit from working alongside you. Your expansive knowledge of all things Magic is impressive. When I get to work on an event with you, I always know that I will be learning something new and interesting. An example that comes to mind is the time we spent at the SCG Invitational in Columbus going over counterfeit cards and how to spot them. Thank you for the time and the lesson. |
| Heidi Sitten | CJ Crooks | Heidi, we’ve never met, you don’t even live in the same region as I do and that is the foundation for this nomination. Ever since meeting Judges in the Raleigh area, I’ve heard your name as someone that reaches out to mentor and support people. I gather you were once a main fixture around Raleigh. Thank you for not only embracing your new region as an area captain but also continuing to support judges a thousand miles away. Your efforts to help judges anywhere they need help is inspiring. I hope one day we meet in person. |
| Heidi Sitten | Sean Linkous | From the start of my journey as a judge you’ve been my rock. Even after certifying me for L1 you’ve continued to mentor me. From helping me get my first few events to talking about rulings/policy late night. I couldn’t ask for a better mentor and friend. |
| James Gibbs | Ben Litz | James, thank you for stepping up and helping out at SCG states this spring. You volunteered, jumped right in and got top 8 deck checks done very quickly; that really saved us a lot of time on the event. Also the weekly events you’re running are really helping out the community with good play options. Much Appreciated! |
| James Hooker | Johnpaul Adams | Seriously, what you and Alfred do on a regular basis running the On-Demand area at PES GPs is a sight to behold. That area is expertly covered and you guys have a near-perfect system in place that ticks along like clockwork. Don’t think that the work you do there goes unnoticed, because I saw a lot of great things coming from your area of the tournament at GP: Detroit. Excellent work, guys! (As a note: I’d give the same Exemplar Req to Fred, but I cannot find him on the JudgeApps database to do so. 🙁 ) |
| Jarrod Williams | Raoul Mowatt | Jarrod, I want to congratulate you for a smooth transition starting as the Regional Coordinator for the Great Lakes Region. Under your leadership, the new region has started new communication channels, addressed the age-old problems of badges, and started to forge its own path. |
| Jennifer LaCluyze | Nicolette Apraez | I don’t get to see you at events very often, but when I do your performance is much higher than I could expect or hope for from an average Level 1. In addition be having a good mind for event logistics, you are kind and courteous to judges, players, and staff alike. At the most recent SCG Indy event, two interactions with you stuck out for me. The first was when I was filling in for the event you were on. You were one of the easiest End of Round judges I’ve ever worked with. You were understanding of the priorities I was juggling between the two Classics, as well as savvy enough to give me a heads up when the number of outstanding tables got low enough that I needed to switch back to your event. The other behavior I witnessed from you was the honesty and responsibility you took for a mistake you made on the floor. You accidentally gave outside assistance because you thought a match had finished, when they actually had another game to play. Even though neither player complained or was upset, you walked straight up to your Head Judge and told him what you had done. Many people try their hardest to cover up mistakes that they make, but you knew you did something wrong, and rather than keep it quiet or let it bring you down, you were “matter-of-fact” in your actions, learned from it, and moved on, which is a treat to experience. Thank you for your work in Indy, and I hope to see you at another event soon. |
| Jeremy Toma-Cooper | Jason Riendeau |
I’ve seen you at a ton of Grand Prixs, and every time that I’ve seen you, you are doing something to help make the event better for someone. Whether that’s helping out on Reg, unpacking and repacking the kit, or handing me a bottle of water on the other side of the room. You always bring the hustle and demonstrate a dedication to making sure the event runs well, regardless of role. Outside of the event, you’ve repeatedly taken a bunch of time to go over logistics of an event and discuss how to make our events better. You have a solid knowledge of both the big picture and minute details of how to run a Grand Prix, and you’ve used both to help me out. |
| Jeremy Toma-Cooper | Josh Nevin | Jeremy gave me my first chance at my first comp REL event and started my road to L2, and when he learned of my plans to take the next step in judging, constantly encouraged me, along with quick replies and helpful information for any question I had during this processes |
| Jeremy Toma-Cooper | Daniel Jackson | Toma you are the loud glue that holds our events together. Whether its working orize wall handing out cool stuff and making players weekend, or out on the floor giving rulings and making people smile from your demeanor. When things well, you are passing the praise around, and when fires are happening you are the best responder we have in the progam. |
| John Alexander | Minh Vu | Recognition for having the conversation to the store owner about his foul language at the Prerelease. I know it was very awkward considering he is the TO, but standing up for the newer players is very important. |
| John Kmiecik | Adam Eidelsafy |
Hey John, Looking back I’m amazed at how much you’ve influenced my judging. Seeing your energy and enthusiasm at everything from large Prereleases to small EDH leagues made me excited to play Magic. Watching you work your Magic :p compelled me to follow in your footsteps. FNM after FNM, you took me under your wing with the same energy you bring to each of your events. You helped with my L1 interview, you helped me find my first judging gigs, and with your help you were the first to celebrate my promotion to L2. Two years later, it brings be great joy that you continue to bring that same energy to every event, and to every candidate. While we’ve gone in different directions in the Magic community, I’ll never forget how you made me into the judge I am today. Thank you, Safy |
| John Temple | Rob McKenzie | John, you did a remarkable job head judging your first Open. By my estimation, you were in charge of an event twice the size of your prior largest event, and you handled staff scheduling, team lead feedback, and a tricky high-profile DQ extraordinarily well. You demonstrated diplomacy, a willingness to listen to feedback, and poise that were all exemplary. |
| John Temple | Carlos Ho | John, thank you very much for leading the Judge of the Week project for so long. I know it’s been difficult many times and it’s easy to burn out, so I’m happy to have seen you go up every time there’s been a down. Here’s to more featured judges! |
| John Temple | David Homan |
This was a long time coming, honestly. Your approach to giving your time to help others has been paramount in my path in this program. I doubt I’m the only one with that idea as well. When I looked into being a judge, you were quick to invite me into your house, and into this community. When I became a judge, you were constantly talking to me about policy, rules, even the program itself. You were there helping out with projects ideas. After you moved, that never stopped. You are there to bounce ideas off of, and to help my own understanding of policy. Your approach in giving your time to help other people is exemplary. |
| John Temple | Tanner Sorensen |
What can I say, you killed it at GP Houston! Working on your team was an experience that has left an impression on me. Your skills as a team lead definitely shined that day, but none as much as your team and morale building. Every round you reinforced the importance of our tasks through enthusiasm, and your interaction with your team on a personal level was something I’ve yet to experience at an event of this size. I really appreciate the discussions we had. Your delegation and event awareness are obviously very tuned and that was shown at the end of every round when the lot of the team would be sorting slips. When you saw the piles start to shrink, and people starting to gather at the clipboard at EOR you were right on top of getting unnecessary hands back on the floor to help turn-over the round. Seriously great job man, can’t wait to work with you again in the future. |
| John Temple | Michael Anderson | John, your efforts on both the setup for and education about the new regional Slack channel have been pivotal to that project’s success, and has given judges across the region a new and vital tool for communication and collaboration. Thank you for your hard work! |
| John Temple | Johnpaul Adams | : Thank you for being a great mentor this Exemplar window. I think I’ve talked with you as much about the L3 process as I have Jarrod this cycle, especially in dealing with and getting a critique on my first pass at my self-review. It’s also been great to talk to you about leadership issues within the reason as well, especially in discussing what my leadership role in the region is supposed to look like. Thank you for your time in helping me with these things. |
| John Temple | Erik Aliff | John, at both GP DC and the Columbus Invitational, you provided both constructive feedback and encouragement that went well above what I would expect of a judge. You had the chance to observe me head judge my first Sunday Super Series and in addition to demonstrating an excellent example of a floor judge (hustle, reliability) you also made sure to take excellent notes of how I was handling my first go at an event of that size. You went through areas that I needed to improve–some that I was aware of, but also some that I would consider blind spots. You did it in a way that gave me motivation to improve–I knew that I had a ways to go, but I also could see a way forward. You further reinforced that exemplary behavior at the Columbus Invitational a few weeks later where you followed up with me on things that I had been working to improve and helped me see more of the bigger picture of my path ahead in the judge program. Thank you again for your support, encouragement, and feedback! |
| John Temple | Thomas Fritz | In the wake of a regional restructuring, in no time flat, you have demonstrated leadership brought us tools and risen the Great Lakes region. You’re advocacy of tools like Slack, and your willingness to open up on provide the support needed to make the tools useful and wide ranging is nothing short of exemplary. You played no small part in the quick transition to make the Great Lakes feel like a full connected and established region despite how young it is. |
| John Temple | Adam Eidelsafy |
Hello Temple my old friend, On the 2nd day of SCG invitational you were on my team. Despite also being the support judge and testing a judge for L2 you still found time to observe my performance as a team lead. Then you gave me all of that feedback before leaving for the day. As events get longer and longer it’s getting increasingly difficult to discuss our feedback of others when it happens so I’m glad you’re still working hard to make it happen. Thanks, |
| John Temple | Matt Sauers | John, your exemplary diplomacy in dealing with the likes of me deserves recognition. We’ve had some challenging conversations recently, and your patience and understanding deserve to be rewarded for your efforts. I am not an easy guy to deal with when I’ve got the spear forward, but you continue to focus on a greater whole outside of the situation which enables you to be trustworthy for many folks in the region. Your right-hand-of-the-RC is work felt through our region. Well done, and thank you! |
| John Temple | James Risner | John has been someone I’ve relied on for advice and help, to become a better judge and to help serve those in my state. I’m a better judge because of him. |
| John Temple | Bernd Buldt | This one hurts as I had resolved not to nominate any L3; they are exemplary by definition. And I will not recognize you for your virtual 24/7 presence on slack, although I’m tempted to (but also tempted to say, “go, have a life”). I really wish to commend you on the determination you showed when it came to bringing a sheep everyone believed lost back to the fold — exemplary! (even for L3 standards) |
| John Temple | Nicolette Apraez | You have always been extremely supportive of me as a judge, whether that is having policy discussions at events, or being extremely understanding when life events forced me to take a step back from program work. Throughout the most recent Invitational, I talked to you about my concerns regarding stagnant L2 Skill Growth, and we possible plans for mitigating that knowledge gap. I appreciated you taking the time and reminding me that there are many avenues I could take toward helping those L2s. Additionally, I feel as though you are always willing to give honest feedback, and I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to make comments on my self-review. Not only did you help me realize there were a few things I left out, but you popped back into google docs and let me know that you had been following along with my edits, and that they looked good. Thank you for helping me continue to grow as a judge. |
| John Temple | Nick Louzon | John, you are a constant presence in the newly-minted region. Your facebook presence allows me to keep tabs on all the happenings that I need keep tabs on. In addition, you are the consummate lead-by-example type of judge. You’re always on, and it shows. |
| John Temple | John Alexander | It was a wonderful experience having my L2 exam proctored by you. You have not only a passion for the program, but the motivation and work ethic to back it up. You are a massive force in deciding policy for the entire program, and even in the case of my L2 interview it was part of a larger plan that you had to improve them for the rest of the program. You have already made an indelible mark on the program and you seem to have no intention of stopping. I look forward to any time I get to be on staff with you again. |
| John Temple | Ryan Nightingale | John, you always have a helpful, steady ear to lend to anybody that needs help. The work I hear about you doing in your region is stellar, and the way you conduct yourself lends itself to leadership – you inspire and strive to bring everybody around you up. Your self-sacrifice to bring people together and create memorable experiences inspired me to do the same, and I aim to be somebody the community looks to for strength like you. Thank you! |
| John Temple | Riki Hayashi | I had meant to write this in a past wave and didn’t. It’s been a few months now, but I wanted to write about your advancement to Level 3. If I had to describe this nomination in one word, it would be Perseverance. As part of my stance to make L3s better, I was hard on you during the evaluation process, with a review that didn’t pull any punches. Although it wasn’t my intention, I thought that you might quit at that point. You didn’t. You came back, acknowledged your weaknesses, and resolved to work towards improving them. I’m fond of saying “I won’t give up on you, as long as you don’t give up on yourself.” You held me to this at a time when I needed it. With everything going on in my life, I kind of felt like giving up on you and telling you to find someone else. When you passed your panel and advanced to L3, I felt a weight lifted. There were a lot of obstacles standing in your way, you didn’t let them stop you, and you kept a positive outlook throughout. |
| John Temple | Jarrod Williams | John Your help with getting the region setup has been invaluable from the blog to the slack and helping organize people to help with these things. You’ve been a valuable sounding board for me and I appreciate all the insight you bring. |
| Johnpaul Adams | John Temple | JP, at the StarCityGames.com Indianapolis Modern Classic you were the Non-Deck Checks Team Lead and you knocked it out of the park. Quite successfully you managed a team of three relatively new judges to not only accomplish your assigned tasks but excel at them. By ensuring that all tasks were well delegated you left yourself free to work on anything unexpected that came up. You handled the pressures of the many tasks without it showing to your team exuding the confidence that you show as a member of any team. You were an all star at this event and every event we have both been present for. Keep up the hard work and it will pay on in dividends! |
| Johnpaul Adams | John Alexander | My experiences with you have been incredibly important to my development as a judge. Each tournament you have run has gone exceptionally well, but even past that you have found the opportunity to teach me when I have made mistakes. The most powerful experiences I have had included making mistakes and being corrected by you in a clear and definite way. After the mistakes were pointed out and corrected you reassured me. It will be hard to call for another rewind without remembering your admonishment and advice. I truly hope to see you more, and hopefully be a better judge at that point because of your example. |
| Joshua Dillard | Thomas Fritz | The way in which you have stepped up to the plate and evolved yourself as a pokemon judge into a magic judge working toward L2 is exemplary. The difference is night and day between the two events I worked with you, and as an L1 you are quickly learning and applying the skills needed to advance, while at each event, you’ve been willing to impart knowledge to me from the Pokemon events you have worked. |
| Lexie Mettler | Sherwin Ng | Lexie, I wanted to recognize what an excellent job you did as a scorekeeper for the Modern Classic at the StarCityGames.com Invitational Weekend: Columbus. Despite on going issues with WLTR you were able to mitigate the issues with aplomb. It was not until the event was over that the HJ debriefed us of how many challenges WLTR created. Nonetheless you rocked it and the event was hardly impacted at all with your speed and experience. Great job rocking it and for keeping the event running smoothly! |
| Linda Detwiler | Richard Warren | Linda, I recently had the chance to work with you at a SCG IQ. I was impressed with your skill and drive during the event.Before the event, during the Judge Breakfast, you were engaging and well-informed; you had really done your research previous to the event. Your insight at both your strengths and weaknesses was refreshing. During the event, you stayed focus on the players and helped resolve an issue that could have quickly escalated out of control. Your ability to see that the table setup for the event needed to be changed, and then take the initiative to perform the necessary actions without prompting helped the event run a lot smoother. I look forward to seeing you grow as a judge, and hope that sometime soon you elevate to Level 2. |
| Mae Cotton | James Risner | One of the best Kentucky L1 in a number of ways. Max is someone that knows the rules well and spends a great deal of time understanding and answering player questions. I’d recommend him to any TO for any event no matter how large or small. |
| Marcos Sanchez | Jess Dunks | After being my Deck Checks Team Lead at the SCG Invitational, you specifically followed up with me after the event to get feedback about your performance. In addition to that, however, you took an active role in that feedback, asking specific questions and clarifying anything you didn’t understand. I’ve no doubt that this attitude will help you very much in the long run, and I wish more judges took such an interest in their own self-improvement. Keep it up. |
| Marcos Sanchez | Jarrod Williams | Marcos, I’m always impressed by your work at events, but now you’ve impressed me with your work outside of events. By running the player experience survey in the Fort Wayne area you gave the area judges a tremendous view as to how their work was perceived. Your contribution to the exemplar highlight project was excellent and helped us highlight the efforts if judges in our region. Thanks for all you do and keep up the great work! |
| Marcos Sanchez | Erik Aliff | Marcos, this exemplar recommendation is for your preparation leading up to the SCG Columbus Invitational that we worked together on. Prior to the invitational, you responded to a forum post on the Invitational thread about goals for the event. I took specific note of it since you were on my team.for Friday and you were slated to be a team lead for that Saturday. While being a team lead is definitely something to prepare for and have goals, you showed me that you were also thinking about how to help make Friday a success as well. Throughout the day on Friday, you showed that same level of proactivity in response to questions I posed to the team and to you specifically. Keep up this level of proactive preparation! |
| Marcos Sanchez | Justin Purcell | Marcos, you reached out to me about reviving the dead IPG for Players project. You’ve mostly taken the reigns on the new iteration, and have kept us on schedule and making progress toward a complete document. |
| Mark Emonds | Andrew Thompson | Mark, you did an excellent job as the paper team lead at the SCG Standard States event. You performed like an experienced L2 throughout the day, ensuring that everything was covered with minimal help (interference?) from me. You and your fellow team lead Dan made me feel utterly superfluous as Head Judge. While doing all of this, you handled numerous judge calls professionally, accurately, and in a friendly manner. Thanks for your hard work, and thanks for making the day turn out great! |
| Mark Emonds | Andrew Doyle | Mark, your judging story so far has been everything that we look for in the program. You’re an icon in your local scene, help judge the SCG states events every time they come around, and even judged your first Grand Prix this year. While this nomination isn’t for you showing up to work in the local community, it certainly would be a glaring omission to leave that out. I’m nominating you today not for being present, but for all of the comments I heard at Grand Prix Detroit about your performance. From taking side events seriously to managing the microphone for your first time, the only thing I heard about you were the good impressions from others on your professionalism, how comfortable you were with the work, and willingness to work. While we certainly expect every judge to have those qualities, it’s refreshing to see a judge exemplify those qualities on their first big stage. |
| Matt Sauers | Marcos Sanchez | Matt, this is an overdue nomination for your ability to ask the hard questions. You’ve helped me better evaluate my position in the program by reminding me of what really matters in being a judge. You’ve shown time and time again that your impact is on those around you, on your community, and on helping build those around you up to their full potential is the real measuring stick of your impact and your effectiveness in the program. The challenges of early this year were significant, and you brought a level of truth to the situation that many judges need to hear to really understand what it is about this program that makes them stick around. I’m sincerely glad you did, and can’t thank you enough for it. |
| Matt Sauers | Minh Vu | An exemplar for the mentoring you have given over what the Exemplar program means and how my personal experiences were interfering me from seeing what should be considered exemplary work. These discussions also show me judging through a lens of the emotional timbre of the casual player; which is a perspective I discount too often. |
| Matt Sauers | Stephen Hagan | Your work on facebook to push the community forward and make sure it is always questioning itself is exemplar. Keep pushing. It makes the community a far better place. |
| Matt Sauers | Randy Tice | Matt- I know this year has been a rough one for you as a judge. You have wrestled with thoughts of deleveling yourself to completely leaving the program. I, for one, am very glad you have not. You have brought so much to the community in Indiana. Everything from helping to build your area to helping the new Area Captains in your state to get antiquated to their new roles and responsibilities. I am proud to nominate you for this recognition on your servant’s heart and your community building, as well as your continued leadership! I believe you have taught us all to appreciate the program and each other more simply by giving the advice for us to think for ourselves! |
| Matt Sauers | James Risner | Not a lot of people have the bravery to stand up and voice their opinion when many disagree. I appreciate when you have done so in the last 6 months. I believe the judge program is better when people have and share their opinions. Thank you. |
| Matthew McKinley | Arthur Edson | Matt has been a very important member of the Battle Creek community. He not only has been quick to step up and work additional events, but he has been organizing a play group at his college. For his college group, he has been setting up events and securing prize support for those events. |
| Meghan Baum | Damián Hiller |
Though I do have some suspicion that this is not totally your own (and nothing but your own) merit, Rich Hagon came to compliment me during GP Houston as lead of the event in general and her in particular, for how awesome her work as part of the DC team was working with coverage. I t seems like coverage team values very highly having the decklists of involved players even before they begin playing (as opposed to a couple of minutes later) as it lets them see what they are applying, any interesting card choices, etc even before the match begins. This is a practice I had not pushed much for as I didn’t know how valuable it’s for coverage team but have since then prioritized a lot more and pushing for my DC teams. Thanks not only for providing such good work and presentation to the coverage team but also for teaching me new things that while small, are important and have a lot of value! |
| Meghan Baum | Jarrod Williams | Meg, Your work on the Next Step project has been a huge benefit to our region. It shows your passion for welcoming people to the program and to the region and provides all judges with a great starting point. You created a great resource and I know a lot of judges will benefit from it. Keep up the good work! |
| Meghan Baum | Leon Henderson | Meg Baum! As you are so used to being greeted. You are an amazing judge and person. You are a fantastic leader as demonstrated at SCG Milwaukee last year. You led paper team fearlessly but also let us hang loose a bit. When I made an error about reporting back to some players, you gave me feedback but I left not feeling like I had made a massive error but feeling like there was always room to grow. You walk that line with feedback very well. Your customer service is excellent and you are always a friendly face to see at events. Which is good because you work so many of them! Your judge skills are refined and sharpened to a razor’s edge, with no hesitation in what the correct ruling is. You helped me attain L2 by quizzing me and poking at me about why I wanted to be L2. You put me through the paces and made sure I was L2 material. But you also made sure I knew that I would get there. Once again, walking that line. For all you have done and continue to do, that is why you are exemplary. |
| Meghan Baum | Randy Tice | Meg- we have known each other all of my judging “career”. You have been one of my biggest cheerleaders as well as one of my biggest motivators. I feel you have earned this nomination because of your ability to adapt to your “judglings”. You try your hardest to let us spread our wings and fly, even when you know we are going to stumble and fall. You then help us up, and try to help us understand how we can do better the next time. Time and time again, you have constantly kicked my rear end when I have made some silly mistake, only to be the first to ask me how you can help me understand why/how the situation can become a strength. I am nominating you for helping me, and other judges, fine tune our craft in judging! |
| Meghan Baum | Thomas Fritz | Your work towards the advancement process of young L1 and L2 to be’s in this region through the ‘Next Step’ program is amazing. Not only are you putting together the tools, but your engagement of others seeking assistance and ensuring you make the best possible tools you can is exemplary. Seeing it come to light from just ideas is exciting, and rolling it out will no doubt bolster the ranks of judges and provide solid resources to many who may not know the process or have questions about how it works. |
| Meghan Baum | Billy Gilmore | I have been blessed with knowing Meg for over a year now and she is the most caring judge that I know of. She has many times lifted me up when I was feeling down with her care and she always looks out for others as much as she takes care of herself. This care leads to what I am recommending her for and this is the great job she has done in helping with the Judge Buddy program. She has taken a very active role in helping judges that are new to GPs and making them feel safe and get the help that they need to be the best judge they can be at the GP they are working at. |
| Meghan Baum | Matt Sauers | Meghan, your contributions to a welcome-wagon and one-woman welcome committee for our region is exemplary. To have a singular codified document now to guide us all in a new L1 checklist for both the victim — I mean, subject — and the testing judge is not just a delight, it’s a necessity that we have long lacked, and your attention and hard work has enabled us all to be better. Because of your work, you have made all of us better. Thank you! |
| Meghan Baum | Josh Nevin | Your knowledge and charismatic attitude as head of deck checks at toronto, along with your round by round little tasks and challenges made for both a fresh, engaging and knowledgable six rounds. Thank you for making my first deck check team shift both fun memorable and full of learning experiences |
| Meghan Baum | David Carroll | Your ability to cut through the crap and find the missing lists at GP Houston was both amazing and extremely helpful for me and the rest of the deckcheck team on day 2! Thanks for your insight and hard work! |
| Meghan Baum | Heidi Sitten | Meg, I’ve been wanting to write this for a while but have foundered finding the correct words. You make such great efforts to make all judges, especially those in your region feel like part of a family. You are the go-to welcome wagon when a new judge is certified. Your work with next-step and the handout for new L1s really brings new judges into the fold, shows them what resources are available to them and keeps people from “falling through the cracks.” Keep being awesome. |
| Meghan Baum | Arthur Halavais | Meg, at GP DC I watched you handle a few calls from a team of players who were hearing impaired, and ask questions and deliver your rulings in American Sign Language. You were not the only one to take calls for this team, nor the only one to do so with some amount of ASL. You were, however, the most visibly excited. Your exuberance at being able to make a player feel more welcome at a major event was visible and contagious, helping to lead to many other judges on staff learning some basic signs for common player interactions and even helping to create an opportunity for the team in question to be featured in an article on the Mothership. Your willingness to devote time outside of events towards skills that translate into more awesome player experiences and your excitement about using those skills is excellent. |
| Michael Anderson | Minh Vu | This recognition is for impressive logistics in finding room for an additional 11 players at a capped PPTQ with no drop in quality. The space I know is very small, and I’m still not sure how you did it. I was approached by independently by no less than 5 players after the event who asked about how to give positive feedback on your efforts in making sure that everyone who came to play got a chance to. |
| Minh Vu | Jonah Kellman | Minh, I know you’ve heard this before, but you work with Mystical Tutor is consistently above and beyond. You participate in forum posts and pose questions to help us produce the highest quality content we can. On top of that you’ve taken care of a backlog of tasks, not assigned to you, without being asked! |
| Minh Vu | Jonathan Holland | Minh Vu is a community staple in the Ohio area. Without him, Cincinnati would have a hard time finding someone to run their PPTQs. Minh Vu has told me that he takes time to visit all the stores in his area at least once a year, so that they have a friendly face to attach to the judge program. This also gives the stores a contact point when they need to schedule things and find a staff. Even when dealing with adverse conditions, he always puts forth his best effort when on the floor of a tournament. (Like Sunday on the past Indianapolis SCG Open) Keep up the great work Mihn! |
| Minh Vu | John Alexander | Well it’s hard not to respect Minh. He was my mentor for L1, L2, and even up until today. He has made Cincinnati his home base, organizing the PPTQs to a degree that I think is rare to see anywhere else. On top of this he makes trips to as many events as possible in the Great Lakes area and puts out a massive showing. If i named just one of these thing I feel it would be enough for a nod, but he does all of it. |
| Nate Metz | David Incorvati | Your rapid growth as a judge since joining the program has been impressive. You’ve displayed remarkable poise while dealing with some of the more trying members of the community. You have also been a great help with mentoring candidates, both in discussions and by example. |
| Nick Richards | Bernd Buldt | You did not only beat me at very single deck check we did at the Open but also, throughout the day, anticipated what the next steps are and thereby showed an understanding of tournament operations that belied your level. Your work ethics is just — exemplary! |
| Noah Stromberg | Johnpaul Adams | Noah, do not think your excellent judging (when you do judge) goes unnoticed. I got many compliments on your work in the store on the IQ we held in Feb. and was told by the TO it was one of the best run events he’d had by someone not on staff in some time. It’s great to know that your skills at running high-level competitive REL events in little prep time is as tuned as it is. It is always a pleasure to staff you for events because I don’t have to worry about the event having negative reviews later. Thanks for your work and integrity in the region! |
| Patrick Cobley | Brett Schoppert | Patrick, we worked together for 2 days of the Columbus Open, and you were an excellent addition to the event. Your positivity was contagious, and your customer service was extraordinarily. You brought up many calls that you took, and I felt that I learned quite a bit from the rulings and calls that you mentioned. Finally, it was my first time running ODEs, and you took time to show me the ropes. I can’t wait to work together again in the future. |
| Patrick Cobley | Marcos Sanchez | Patrick, I’d like to thank you for how consistently reliable you have been at higher level events. You’re without a doubt one of the most respected L1s I can recall, and your ability to stay positive during challenging events is astonishing to me. Most notable, at SCG Indianapolis, because of my poor planning you ended up stranded on the other side of the room from the rest of your team. You didn’t complain even once, and in fact thrived on handling ODEs by yourself. Your commitment to make the most out of any situation is very admirable, and something I absolutely want to recognize you for. Your attitude inspires me to be more outgoing and positive with players overall. |
| Patrick Green | Peyton Turner | Hello Patrick. I would like to recognize your work in becoming part of the wider judging community, and particularly thank you for joining me in judging this years Cast a Spell on MS. Driving to Toledo to join me for 16 hours of judging for nothing more than the reward of having done good as your first large event inspires me to think about what more you will do in the judge program. Further, you did a fantastic job judging your first competitive event, even noticing a possible instance of cheating that your head judge missed. |
| Patrick Nelson | Leon Henderson | I don’t even know how to begin this recognition. I guess ill start with thank you. When I first met you at SCG Cinci in September, I knew that you were important. Then we worked together again for GP Indy after having a tremendous celebration with Jarrod. Every time, I realized that you are the kind of person I want to have on my events. You are a fearless leader, a great mentor, and the best friend I could hope to ask for. At SCG Cinci in January, I was panicking a little bit about running my own 50+ person scheduled side event by myself. You took me aside and calmed me down and reminded me that I was going to be ok. this was after dealing with your own problem of breaks for the sides team. you always have a bright personality and a tremendous laugh that lifts the spirits of anyone around you. Your customer service is always on point and you know how to get to the heart of any issues. you also kept me in the program. After failing my L2 the first time, I was considering dropping altogether. But you talked to me and helped address my concerns like a truly great leader. And I am happy to see that faith rewarded with you being named an AC of Great Lakes Region. From your PPTQ Spreadsheet to your communication about coverage in the state to talking with the local stores about any issues they are having, you constantly remind me what I want to be as a judge and as a person. Thank you Nelson. Please keep up the good work. |
| Patrick Nelson | Nick Louzon | Patrick, I hope it never gets to the point where people who practice continued excellence fail to get recognized. If so, you will be the first to be forgotten, because you’re the steadiest, most hard-working presence in the Indiana judge community. The work you do behind the scenes is like the body of an iceberg with the events you run the tip. They say the true character of a man comes through when nobody’s looking, but Patrick, I’m always looking. |
| Patrick Nelson | Zachary DeLadurantaye | I was fortunate enough to work with Patrick on deck checks. When I told him I wanted to learn more about the deck check team lead position, be began pouring knowledge and resources on me. The unique part about his teaching style was not only telling me how he runs things, but also how he has observed other judges doing it. This blending of styles was very informative and led to a very comprehensive teaching experience. I’ve never taken two pages of notes from one judge during an event before! |
| Peyton Turner | Frank Singel | Peyton, you have done an outstanding job of taking an active role in mentoring L1 and prospective L1 judges in Cleveland. Even as I faltered in my own mentorship of others, you have actively gone out of your way to promote involvement of L1s in the area to try judging in environments outside of their LGS, such as Patrick’s involvement with Cast a Spell on MS this year. Keep up the great work! |
| Randy Tice | John Temple | Randy, thank you for your work on the Great Lakes Magic Judges polos and various other swag. Taking the time from your busy family and work schedule to assist in creating, marketing, and distributing these items for our region will help others become more enfranchised in our region. Keep up the hard work outside of events! |
| Randy Tice | Peyton Turner | Randy. I’d like to thank you for being a great head judge at Carsten’s Cast a Spell on MS this year. It was a pretty small judge staff, but we still managed to have some great conversations to keep us going all day. You provided some well thought out answers I hadn’t heard before to a number of my stock weird rules questions. Judging for the kinds of shifts we pulled at Cast a Spell can be pretty exhausting, but having you as head judge for the main event helped to keep it a pleasant experience, even into the 12th hour. |
| Randy Tice | David Elden | Randy, what sets you apart is your great enthusiasm. You’re the sort of person whose energy knows no bounds and will do anything to help out. Your contributions are appreciated, whether it’s traveling great distances to participate in judge meetings and work with judge candidates or even just keeping everyone’s energy up at the end of a long day at a big tournament. Keep on inspiring me to do better. |
| Randy Tice | Christopher Wendelboe | At GP Detroit I witnessed that you have an infectious positive attitude that really brightened my day, all day. Your attitude showed just how much you cared about the event and making sure that the players were having fun and were excited to be playing Magic. Definitely keep this up! |
| Rory Horan | Jake Maheu | Rory, you’ve done an incredible job working with our local community. Your work in creating our standard and modern leagues and championships has been vital in fostering a resurgence in competitive play in Port Huron, and our playgroup, myself, and Jeff cannot thank you enough for your efforts. |
| Sam Robinson | Matt Sauers | Sam, you have really tackled an area this quarter which remained somewhat untamed after the inception of the PPTQ system. As Comp REL events declined in the Laf/WLaf area, you moving there began to rejuvenate the stores willing to host. This quarter saw a real boost in events and attendance, and into next quarter you are handling a fifth of Indiana’s PPTQs, there! Well done! Your inspiration to local stores is indeed exemplary! |
| scott williamson | Michael Anderson | Scott, your work in rebuilding the Magic community on the east side of Cincinnati as stores are closing and relocating, and helping stores obtain and increase their WPN status. The area is indebted to you for your efforts. |
| Sean Fancher | Bernd Buldt | I was somewhat concerned when I accepted the role of HJ’ing States b/c of a somewhat inexperienced staff. You relieved me of all doubts: you came prepared, you were solid in rules and policies, absolutely dependable with any assignment, and inquisitive and eager to learn more — in a word: exemplary! |
| Spencer Cole | John Temple | Spencer, your help with initially setting up the Great Lakes regional Slack channel was instrumental in it becoming the great tool that we have today! You even went above and beyond writing an article on how to use popular features in Slack making it even more user friendly for our regional. Your articles happens to be one of the more popular articles on our regional blog. Keep up the hard work on Slack! |
| Spencer Cole | Jarrod Williams | Spencer, I appreciate all your work on the exemplar highlight project and on the regional slack. You’ve helped highlight the great things judges in our region are doing. Your work on the slack has helped improve on a tool for the entire region. |
| Spencer Cole | Zachary DeLadurantaye | During SCG Indy, we worked a unique EOR system where we were required to recruit our own help from judges on the floor. As soon as Spencer knew the system we were running, he made himself available to me every round. He showed a lot of initiative and was an enormous help in turning rounds over quickly. |
| Thomas Fritz | Jarrod Williams | Tommy, You’ve been doing a great job at maximizing opportunities for mentoring in the Bowling Green area. You’ve been doing a great job at training up judges there and are helping them prepare for L2. In an area that can be limited in terms of opportunity for judging you’ve been making sure that all the judges are aware of opportunities and you help get the right judges there. Keep up the good work! |
| Thomas Fritz | James Risner | Tommy does an excellent job of mentor some of the fine new Kentucky judges in the state. He also helps with the community leadership. It would make our task of handling Kentucky more difficult if we didn’t have Tommy helping. |
| Travis Traxler | Scott Neiwert |
Travis, your performance at GP Detroit helping with On Demand Events was exemplary. To start the day, you asked me what you could do in order to make the day better. The initiative you showed to start the day on the right food was great; I wish more judges would ask questions when they want some help or don’t know a new system. Throughout the day, you maintained a very high level of energy on the floor. You were one of my runners, continually start pods of everything from draft to modern to legacy. Your voice projected well, and your enthusiasm for what you were doing never seemed to waver. You made jokes which got all of the players in your pod into good spirits. Thank you for all of the hard work you did at the event! It was certainly an exemplary performance. |
| Travis Traxler | Jarrod Williams | Travis, I worked with you at GP Detroit on sides and at the SCG Invitational. I was impressed with your energy and positive attitude as well as your ability to just take over tasks. You took more and more responsibility and made the day easier on other team members. Keep up the good work and you will be a level 2 in no time! |
| Travis Traxler | Randy Tice | Travis- I love working with you! You are one of those judges that have the energy to keep up with me! That should be Exemplar, but it is not. What is Exemplar is the way you take an event and make it your mission to have fun, make sure the players have fun and the staff has a blast! On several occasions, I have personally witnessed you taking the time to make a tough ruling, and hand out a penalty, then five minutes later the player is laughing and joking and having a great time again! Thank you for making us all look good with your enthusiasm! |
| Trenten Novak | Randy Tice | Trent- I find it laughable that you think no one sees the hard work you put into every event you are on staff. GP Detroit you were helping me with the two headed giant sealed event and we heard judge being called. While I was still spinning around to see where the call had come from, you were already rushing 10 table lengths away to the main event to answer a call! That is Exemplar worthy! Not taking the call (that is our job!) but the fact that you recognized the main event was short staffed and immediately went to the team lead and asked to go help out where you might have more of an impact. Exemplar work requires exemplar behavior and by addressing an issue that someone was not aware of, then filling that role- that is Exemplar actions! |
| Trenten Novak | Matt Sauers | Trent, you inspire me weekly. There’s always some tidbit of you that you share in social media which makes you approachable as a person because of your honesty and forthrightness. Recently, you brought up a topic about the Exemplar program itself, and I think the braveness that you approached this was exemplary, and taught the entire viewing audience about the hard limits and boundaries of its operation. You entertained other points of view and took time to discuss these challenging issues personally. I’m glad to have you in the program, and your exemplary even-handedness through what could have been an explosive series demonstrates exemplary diplomacy. |
| Trenten Novak | David Elden | Trent, your work at Cast a Spell on MS was exemplary. You were characteristically unflappable through many stressful situations and offered clear solutions to the problems that came up. Your level head and realistic outlook were a big part of what made the event run so smoothly. |
| Trenten Novak | Peyton Turner | Hello Trenten. I’d like to thank you for the work you did at Cast a Spell on MS this year. Devoting a day to scorekeeping for a charity tournament isn’t everyone’s idea of a great time, but you were a part of the positive energy that kept us all going into the 12th hour of the event. I’d also like to thank you for giving advice to Patrick, the L1 judge I who came to the event with me, on how to run side events. I was busy on the other side of the hall with the main event, and Patrick had never fired an event before, but everything went splendidly. Thank you for being a positive influence in the judge program. |
| Trenten Novak | Leon Henderson | Trent, you have been a major force in both the judge community and my personal improvement. When I was on track for L2 you reminded me that a good L1 is called an L2. That pushed me to make sure I would make it and prove that I was that good L1. You regularly help out with Cast a Spell in your local area and promoted awareness for a great cause. Further, at SCG Louisville, you helped me keep my head on straight when I was going through a period of doubt both in that event and in my place in the program. I am always happy to see you on staff because it means that I have a solid teammate I can rely on and good times are sure to follow. You are a good judge. Keep up the good work! |
| Tyler Frauhiger | Jarrod Williams | Tyler, You’ve done a great job helping a store get into organized play and also mentoring other judges to enable them to have multiple judges to work with for their events. Keep up the good work! |
| Tyler Frauhiger | Marcos Sanchez | Tyler, you’ve shown a wonderful spark of initiative lately in progressing as a judge. You took it upon yourself to find a store in town that needed your help and who didn’t know how to reach out to the judging community, and take it upon yourself to build them up as another place for our community to play the game we all love. You take that same kind of determination when it comes to finding opportunities to work on higher level events. Keep using this determination and I’m sure you’ll find a great place in this program for yourself. |
| Tyler Frauhiger | David Elden | Tyler your work with DCBS has been nothing short of exemplary. When you found out that there was a store in your area that wanted to get into running Magic tournaments, you volunteered your time and expertise to help them reach that goal. You worked with the store employees to familiarize them with Magic store levels and showed them how to build a player base. While doing so, you helped out as a judge at their events and mentored one of their regular players, who, with your encouragement recently became a judge himself. Community focus like yours is what’s responsible for Ft. Wayne’s thriving Magic scene. |
| Tyler Frauhiger | Bernd Buldt | Upon certification, you became not only a staple at our monthly judge meetings eager to listen, to learn, and to contribute, but when a new LGS opened up in town, you jumped at the opportunity and took it under your wings — good wings, I should add. You lead by example — exemplary! |
| Vicki Knoer | Jarrod Williams | Vicki, The work you are doing in your community is awesome. In organizing the chapter of the Lady Planeswalker Society in Louisville and your ongoing efforts to host events that are welcoming and inclusive of others, you are being a force for positive change and a leader in your community. Thanks for all you do and keep it up. |
| William Dair Grant | Matt Sauers | Dair, you did a great job at the PPTQ in February. What specifically caught my eye is your continued forward focus on the player’s perspective both when taking a call and when providing other tournament information to the players. This is not just a leadership quality, but an exemplary customer service quality. The manner in which you dealt with players who were concerned about their performance kept the whole tournament grounded. Even in the Top 8 when we had a player attempting to zone draft in timed draft, your calm demeanor kept the player from tilting while we recorded the LPV, and kept the whole draft relaxed after a tense moment as new players weren’t accustomed to the format. |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | Sherwin Ng | At the SCG Open Indy on 3/20 you took a difficult call regarding a possible Marked Cards upgrade. When the ruling was given the player started to cry. However, you handled the situation with professionalism and poise. You gave the player plenty of time to collect himself and informed him that this penalty was not extremely serious. This was an amazing display of customer service and I wanted to commend you on the way you handled the tough situation. Great job! |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | Dustin Wilke | I thought you did a fantastic job as team lead at SCG Milwaukee. Not only that, but you really helped me come out of the event as a much better judge. While I didn’t do everything perfectly, you really encouraged me and helped me to know what I could do better next time. The feedback you gave will help me grow as a judge. |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | Bernd Buldt | When we tried something new for the EoR team at the Open, you absolutely rocked the show: you were open to embrace totally new things, implemented them with resolve, were pro-active and made helpful suggestions throughout the day. In a word, you were — exemplary! |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | Brett Schoppert | Zach, you are the side events master. And I do not mean this in a joking way – you are literally the best side events judge I have ever seen. You have the perfect way of interacting with the players in a funny and intertaining way. The way you fire drafts is a method that is so good that I might have to steal it. Additionally, you have great costumer service and seem to really care about the players having fun. I also want to thank you for letting me do a couple deck checks, and showing me how to do deck checks at the larger scale events. We had many meaningful conversations today, and I think that I learned a lot from you. You are an exemplary judge. |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | Johnpaul Adams | I think this will be stated in more than one recommendation, but I was beyond impressed with your work on my team at SCG Indy in March. Your work ethic was evident the moment I saw you on the floor of the event. In adition, and as a judge who has had to deal with younger players often, finding that delicate balance between knowing policy, communicating policy to a younger player, and also handling the emotions that may come with a harsher penalty than usual is a heavy challenge. You handled a very challenging marked cards situation with a younger player on this event and handled it excellently. Well done and keep up the solid work! |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | Michael Arrowsmith | Zack, you continue to progress as such a stellar rate! Observing you at SCG Milwaukee, you carried yourself as a team lead with the professionalism and poise of a seasoned L2. It was noticeable from the player side. Good leadership, approachable, and on-point. Great job! |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | Andrew Doyle | At times, attitude is everything. From the time that I started working with you as a judge, you’ve been the most upbeat individual I’ve ever worked with in the program. That attitude translates very well in the form of your effort at events as well as your online presence. Not only do you keep other judges on their toes, but you also know how to pay attention to the woes and worries of players of all skill levels. The northern Michigan community has grown considerably due solely to your dedication to make that growth happen. I feel very fortunate to have you as a leader in my area. Zack, thank you for being a positive and vocal supporter of competitive Magic. |
| Zachary DeLadurantaye | David Incorvati | Your performance at the SCG Columbus Invitational on Friday was excellent. Your ability to handle the constructed events on the mezzanine made my job as sides lead much easier. But even more amazing than your performance on/above the floor was your feedback at the end of the day. Our conversation then had probably the most impactful direct advice I’ve ever had as a judge. |