Editor’s Note: This article is part of our series of highlighted exemplar recognitions. See our introduction post for all the details, or view all the posts in this series. This article was written by Central and Western Massachusetts Area Rep Chris Cahill.

Joe Hughto is a Level 3 Judge from Northampton, Massachusetts. He has been recognized for his work in Judge Projects, participation in the Northeast region, delivering effective feedback, and work at events. Here are some examples:

Joe! I love the initiative you took with Mystical Tutor. You had an idea, and rallied a team to help see it through to completion. You’re generating some awesome content. Keep up the great work! – Jason Lemahieu

Joe, I wanted to recognize you for your efforts to bring a sense of community to the Region. These efforts have included work on getting regional judge shirts produced and continuing to provide webforms and other methods for the region to collect information. Those things made my life easier as an RC, but more importantly, made the judges of the region feel better about themselves. – Shawn Doherty

Your insight into people’s performance and abilities as judges – in varying levels and roles throughout the program, and including yourself – continues to impress me. It is tremendously useful, both in helping me grow personally, and in understanding how the program works and behaves. This type of mentorship you provide is invaluable, because it is something that not everyone can do. It is a big part of why I continue to enjoy working with you and talking about the program. Looking forward to our next event together. – Mani Cavalieri

Joe, I want to thank you for being an excellent team lead at GP Vegas. Not only were you organised and excellent enough to do what was required, but you put real effort into helping me and the other judges on the team grow and learn. It’s not uncommon to easily sideline people, especially new people, when taking on new challenges but you instead made me feel particularly relevant, and while you thanked me for the contributions I made to the team, I wouldn’t have done well without your support and encouragement. Thanks! – Lucy Wyatt

Here’s what Chris Cahill had to say about this recommendation:

On the eighth day of exemplary judges, it is my distinct pleasure to present Joe Hughto. As one of the most rec’d judges in Wave #3 (13!), there are many things to be said about Joe. He has quite skillfully filled what could have been a leadership void in New England now that he is the lone Level 3 in that section of our region. That leadership was reflected in the recommendations he received, particularly showing calm in GP Vegas, and in offering much needed feedback to those of us who really need it. Beyond that, he has been an incredible figurehead for the Mystical Tutor project, creating a wonderful team to propel the project forward, while also maintaining the excitement level necessary to keep the project going. Last, but certainly not least, Joe has made it a central part of his focus to help us feel like more than just a group of colleagues who see each other at events and on Facebook. With his help, among others, we are forming our own identity as the Northeast Judge family. Thank you, Joe!