It’s been some time since we’ve highlighted Exemplars in the NE Region, but it has not been far from our thoughts. Exemplar is more than just a congratulatory pat on the shoulder or a few foil cards. It’s a chance for us to highlight actions and behavior in a way that can be shared with everyone. What follows is a small sample of the wonderful Exemplars issued during Wave 11 to the judges in our region. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did. I would like to thank Charles Featherer for all of the work putting this post together! Without further ado, onto the highlights!
Krystal Rose wrote an Exemplar for Nicola Dipasquale regarding a tough player interaction:
Nicola, I enjoyed being a part of your team at GP DC, but there was one thing that you did that particularly stood out. It is an unfortunate truth that not all Magic players view male and female authority as equal, and I’ve certainly lost calls to near standing male judges in the past, which is a topic of frustration for me, but you did me and every female judge a solid by directing a player back to me when they turned to you mid-call. You did this in a way that was respectful but direct with the player, and showing clear support of my authority as a judge. This seemed like a “given” to you, but I assure you it is not for all judges. It is essential that we support each other and emulate confidence in one another, regardless of who we are, to ensure that player view us as equally capable authorities. I want to recognize this behavior, and I hope you continue to lead by this example.
Krystal’s Exemplar serves as a reminder to all judges that the first one on the scene is the primary judge for the call and should be treated with deference. By sharing this Exemplar, Krystal calls attention to the importance of being aware of the impact your actions have.
Erik Aliff recognized the work of Mani Cavalieri at GP DC in working with another judge who needed some assistance. Positive encouragement is somewhat expected – but it was clear Mani went above and beyond:
Mani, this nomination is for your incredible people awareness on Saturday at GP DC. You had already demonstrated exemplary work as the head judge for a large sealed side event at the beginning of the day with several challenges (in a separate room, quite far from SK, fewer judges than anticipated), but what really stood out to me was your work with a judge who was working at their first GP and was quite overwhelmed by the work. You noticed the potential problems that could arise if he didn’t have additional support and you worked hard to both alert team leads as well as working personally with this new judge to help insure that he had an excellent opportunity to grow and learn.
What stood out when I read this was that Mani found a way to help another judge even though he was already facing several other imposing challenges during the day. When I reached out to Erik about this nomination, he indicated he received a nomination for the same event and overall situation – from Mani! Erik’s remark was that, “…the fact that Mani also highlighted me demonstrates the importance that the exemplary things we do usually don’t happen in a vacuum. People contribute to our exemplary-ness!” Well said, Eirk.
Russell Deustch called out Danny Simpson. Interestingly, what seemed to impress Russell the most wasn’t Danny’s performance at GP Providence but rather the work done by them to prepare for the event:
Danny – I especially appreciated the care and effort you put into writing your cover letters for GP Providence, GP Atlanta, and 2017 US Nationals. The number of times you reworked your application and submitted them to your mentors for revision and reworking clearly shows initiative and passion to make yourself an outstanding applicant for these events. Not only were you receptive to constructive criticism on how to present yourself in your application, you followed-through by asking us to teach you all the skills necessary for your first GP so you would know what to expect. This preparation paid off in spades when your team leads were astonished to learn that GP Providence was your 1st (and not 11th) GP, when that event’s stage staff called you a “Rock star” on social media, and at Nationals when an RC from another region said they’d talk to our RC about getting you to L2. I am very excited to see the massive impact you will surely make on the NYC judge scene. Keep up the exemplary work!
Being prepared for an event is something that is expected of experienced judges. But Danny’s understanding of how much they didn’t know and the importance of learning it in advance displays a level of awareness that will serve them well going forward.
I asked Russell if he had any further thoughts. He added that Danny had put in considerable time adjusting their cover letter and that, “After being accepted I witnessed Danny spend weeks practicing judge calls, brushing up on policy, and learning what to expect at their first GP – all of which empowered them to project confidence and familiarity with the tournament scene despite never being on staff at a large event. As you can tell from their several other recognitions, Danny made a huge splash at their debut tournament due to their diligent preparation.” I think even experienced judges can learn something from this Exemplar.
Jacob Milicic had this to say about Megan Linscott’s taking on a demanding new role in the Judge Program:
I’ve taken you on as my right-hand in the Judge of the Week project. Even though my expectations of you were high going in, still you have managed to exceed them. You have been asking all of the right questions. You have identified potential problems before they became problems and brought them up for discussion, looking in the right places for these issues. And through all of this, with the additional responsibilities, you are still producing high-quality content as an interviewer. I look forward to seeing where you will go as a leader in our project and working with you further to appreciate and celebrate our colleagues in their excellence.
This Exemplar deserved mention due to the level of expertise described. Megan seems naturally good at everything she does – just take a look at her other Exemplars from this round (Judge Letter, mentoring, teaching, photos, and more). Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” He was talking about people like Megan. She’s an asset to the Northeast and I hope she always finds the energy to accomplish her goals.
When I asked Jacob to tell me a little bit more, he was very enthusiastic:
Megan has been consistently excellent on the Judge of the Week project. When I wrote this nomination, she was I guess you could say my understudy. Since then I have been given the Lead of the project, and I snapped off the opportunity to have her replace me in my old role as Manager. She is the kind of person who gets things done, is incredibly fun to work with, and who is motivated out of the desire to excel.
Occasionally Megan and I disagree on something. She is not shy about voicing her opinion when it conflicts with my own. Sometimes this comes up in the project proper, but most often it has come up about food. Specifically blue cheese (she is in favor, I am strongly opposed) and avocado (I am strongly in favor, she is opposed) come to mind. When it does come up in the project proper, she always has excellent points and helps us push toward a more rational and overall better approach to whatever problem we are trying to tackle.
Obviously, in at least one of these areas pointed out by Jacob, Megan is the right person for the job. Who does he think he is, downplaying the value of blue cheese?!
I want to close with something that is very important to the growth of the Northeast Region, highlighted by this Exemplar made by Joe Steet for the work done by Joe Hughto, our Regional Coordinator:
Joe, you’ve been working very hard to maximize transparency as RC of the Northeast, and I wanted to commend you on your different styles of communication and leadership. They’ve been very positively received so far, and it has me very excited for your plans for the future!
A Regionals Coordinator’s work is often done out of sight. In fact, if it’s one thing I have learned about Joe, it’s that he doesn’t rush to the spotlight. That makes pointing out his contributions all the more essential. Joe is taking steps to make sure we’re made aware of important events that affect our Region. He’s making use of multiple social media applications to distribute news and to answer our concerns. The future is bright indeed!