{"id":785,"date":"2026-08-22T03:09:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T03:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/?page_id=785"},"modified":"2026-08-22T03:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T03:09:39","slug":"sam-philliber-candidate-for-regional-advocate-2026-southeast","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/sam-philliber-candidate-for-regional-advocate-2026-southeast\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Philliber &#8211; Candidate for Regional Advocate 2026 &#8211; Southeast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: This is a candidate page for a Judge Foundry Election. Information on this page is provided by the candidate, and does not represent the opinions or positions of the Elections Committee or of Judge Foundry. For more information about this election, see <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/index-2026-board-of-directors-and-regional-advocates-election\/\">the schedule and index for the Elections at the 2026 Annual Meeting<\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-788841da wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Name:<\/strong> Sam Philliber<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Cartersville, Georgia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Election:<\/strong> 2026 Annual Meeting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Running For:<\/strong> Regional Advocate for Southeast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/files\/2026\/08\/Sam-Philliber.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/files\/2026\/08\/Sam-Philliber.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-786\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nomination Statement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hello!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My name is Sam and I am a Level 3 Judge from Cartersville Georgia. I am running to be your Regional Advocate. I have lived in Cartersville my entire life, so I have deep roots in our region. I began judging right as the pandemic began, and picked up competitive Magic with the creation of the RCQ system in September of 2022. It was at this point I was introduced to my mentor, Gary, who would become an integral part of my judge career. Gary taught me not only the ins and outs of running a competitive Magic event, but the things the policy docs can\u2019t teach you &#8211; how to apply to large events, be a good convention judge, and much more over the years. I\u2019ve gained more mentors over the years who have each taught me different things that proved integral to my growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I say all of this to say: I\u2019m running on a platform that values mentorship. I want to help judges be connected with other judges in their area. I want to create spaces for mentorship and growth. One challenge the Southeast currently faces is several hotspots without L2+ judges who can test L1s. I want to not only help create L1s, but mentor existing L1s to Level 2, so that they may continue to grow and pass on their knowledge to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As your Regional Advocate, I pledge to be there for all judges who need me! Get you connected, have places to communicate, and help others grow! We already have some existing spaces for existing judges, but one of my goals is to create public communication groups &#8211; such as a Facebook group, to give Southeast specific information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are stronger as a group and that is why I plan on working with each of you to help you achieve your best self and grow together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q1: Judge Program Direction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Question: Many members are uncertain about our future due to Wizards of the Coast&#8217;s plans to reinstate a Wizards-run judge program. How will you support your region through this uncertainty and potential transition?&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is certainly a turbulent time to be a Magic Judge. And that\u2019s been the name of the game since I joined up. When I became a judge, it was through Judge Academy. Then, Judge Academy stopped operating, and we existed in limbo for a bit. Then the community led programs came along. And now we are coming full circle to some sort of WOTC centered program. That to say: I\u2019m no stranger to all of this. I pride myself on my ability to maintain a level head and keep each invested party as up to date as possible. I will support the Southeast by providing updates as we receive them from WOTC and helping educate on potential new program questions where I can. As an accountant (and a Magic Judge) I am used to staying up to date on policies and procedures. A new program would certainly come with many of those and I plan on staying up to date on all of them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Again, I am calm in the face of uncertainty, and will be able to support all judges during this time as we potentially transition to a WOTC program however I can. Whether that be through being an outlet for venting, a calm voice in the storm, or simply a place to ask questions, I will be there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q2: Local Judges and Judging<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Question: As a Regional Advocate, how will you support local judges and encourage local judging in your region?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local judging is a huge part of the program. I remember before I was connected with my mentor, I often felt isolated as a judge, and had no idea about proper procedure. I winged it where I could. To support local judges, I want to encourage use of our Southeast Discord (and other communication tools I want to implement) to give them places to be mentored, ask questions, and give answers too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I also want to be a place that stores can reach out to when they need a judge. Whether it to be help with prerelease, FNM, or RCQs, Judges of all kinds are needed, and I can help point those stores to Judges in their area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q3: Programs and Projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Question: What tools\/projects do you plan to use to support and grow your region?&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One thing that Southeast desperately needs is a Judge Conference! We haven\u2019t had a proper one in many years. I want to be able to support local judge conferences and support organizers to create them in their area. I would love to be a resource to guide organizers through the process, provide ideas, or anything else they might need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally I want to create new lines of communication to go out to the region. We currently have the Southeast Discord, but I don\u2019t believe we currently track if all members of the Southeast are a part of it. I plan to have some line of communication with every judge foundry member in the region, whether that be an email, discord, facebook group, or whatever is needed! That way, if they have a question, want to get connected, or just need help, they can always have a way to reach me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Note: This is a candidate page for a Judge Foundry Election. Information on this page is provided by the candidate, and does not represent the opinions or positions of the Elections Committee or of Judge Foundry. For more information about this election, see the schedule and index for the Elections at the 2026 Annual Meeting. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35,8],"tags":[9],"language":[],"class_list":["post-785","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-2026-annual-meeting","category-candidates","tag-regional-advocate"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/785\/revisions\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jfelections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}