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 New Jersey Area Rep Dan Collins.

Welcome to the final post in our Exemplar Wave 4 series, where we highlight a few Exemplar recognitions that we think are great or unique, but didn’t have time to cover yet. These are recommendations that didn’t make it into the main highlights series, but still want to call some attention to.

Ilan Seid-Green is a Level 2 Judge from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This recommendation from Chase Culpon is for an interaction that might seem minor, but is very important in allowing our community to remain a safe space. Ilan is involved in the Judges for Diversity project and has spoken at conferences about creating a welcoming environment, so it isn’t surprising to hear from Chase about how Ilan corrected a careless use of language.

Ilan–I wanted to recognize you for one of the briefest interactions I’ve had with a judge. I used some language carelessly while we were interacting at a recent event, and you called me on it immediately. You managed to do so privately, directly, and clearly–bringing it to my attention, without it coming across as an attack. That kind of dignity & grace in this short interaction is a reflection of your diplomacy skills & your values overall. Thank you for being an advocate. – Chase Culpon

Dan Jackson is a Level 2 Judge from Albany, New York. This recommendation from Shawn Doherty is an interesting one: Many would discount Dan’s work to prepare a conference proposal simply because it didn’t immediately pan out. However, by developing a plan to host a conference in Albany, NY, Dan provided more information and options for our region both in the moment, and going forward. Shawn points out that even though there was no immediate payout, this creates a great resource for future conference planning.

Dan, I wanted to recognize your efforts in putting together a proposal for a potential Spring Judge Conference. You provided many details which laid out how the conference would be run and the different logistical aspects of putting it on. It allowed me to make a fair assessment of what I could expect the next conference to look like. Now, although, I didn’t choose your proposal as the one to move forward with, your proposal is something that will be a great resource for planning future conferences. Thanks for your hard work on this proposal. – Shawn Doherty

Ben Eldridge is a Level 2 Judge from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. This recommendation from Shawn Doherty is really two in one: in addition to Shawn’s own input, Adam Daniere went out of his way to recognize Ben’s great work at a recent SCG Open. While off duty, Ben identified an issue that some judges were having, and recognized that he was able to lend his experience to this situation. He stepped in, helped the judges calm down and understand the issue, and found a solution.

Ben, I wanted to recognize you for your efforts to help the judges around you be successful. You seem to take the time to help fellow judges understand situations and use your experience and knowledge to better those around you. Your work at the Judge Conference testing L1 candidates was an example of that. Another example of this was shared by Adam Daniere: “I can’t remember the specific SCG open, but I do remember that there were two L1s (one experienced, and one fairly new) who had discovered a problem with the deck lists and were also missing a chunk of them. They were scrambling to get things fixed. I was on deck checks that day and at the time I was busy checking a deck. I noticed Ben, who had just finished his lunch, walk over to the L1s who looked terrified that they had misplaced a stack of lists and that it was stalling their sorting. After hearing their situation, Ben decided to get off his break 30 minutes early and donned his judge shirt. The first thing he did was calm them both down, telling them that it was OK and that the lists could be found, and that these things happen all the time at events. He did an excellent job getting everyone to keep a level head and focus on the task at hand. By the end of that round not only had they retraced their steps and found the lists, but had fully sorted the DLs by the time the Deck Check team lead returned. They two L1s were both extremely grateful to him, and the entire event showed how dedicated Ben is to both the efficiency of the event and the well-being of his fellow judges.” I hope you continue this type of selfless behavior at events in the future. Focus on the things that help the event move forward. Focus on helping the event and the people involved succeed. Keep up the good work.

Alex Mullins is a Level 2 Judge from Cambridge, Massachusetts. This recommendation from Mike Noss recognizes a document that Alex prepared on his own initiative, and shared with the rest of the program, answering some frequent questions from PPTQ winners. This is interesting because this isn’t part of a project, it isn’t something that anyone “assigned” to Alex, it’s just a resource that he made on his own and chose to share.

Alex, I was Head Judging a PPTQ and as I do for every PPTQ I HJ, I went and looked for the FAQ document you wrote for PPTQ winners. Not only did I find the link you originally posted two seasons ago, but I was pleasantly surprised to find you had already updated it with the most recent and relevant information for the current season. I never saw anyone ask for your immediate action because they had an event coming up, but was very appreciative that you’ve been staying on top of this document that answered a lot of the questions my players were asking in the finals of the event. It made everyone’s life easier so thank you for being proactive in providing supporting documentation! – Mike Noss

Katie Bishop is a Level 1 Judge from Astoria, New York. This recommendation from Nicholas Sabin comes from GP Pittsburgh, and is for the perspective and suggestions she shared with Nicholas regarding inclusivity.

KB, I wanted to thank you for our chats at GP Pittsburgh last year. You spoke enthusiastically about making the program more open to people, and more welcoming, and it opened up my perspective on what we can do to become more inclusive and inviting. I hope you’ll continue talking and working and advising; the program benefits from your voice. – Nicholas Sabin

Adam Eidelsafy is a Level 2 Judge from New York, New York. This recommendation from Nicolette Apraez calls out his performance at an SCG event, starting with volunteering to handle an extra task to streamline the beginning of round tasks, but more specifically, for going above and beyond in a role that at first seems pretty easy, but which can actually be very draining.

At SCG Columbus you did a great job on Sunday Coverage. It’s easy to feel isolated while in that position, but you were actively engaged in the entire event, and always willing to help if whenever you could. In one particular round, I was passing off duties to another judge to go on break, and you volunteered to take down feature match tables to make it easy for him to manage the large amount of beginning of round tasks. This was great because it allowed him to focus on the tasks that he was filling in for while I was on break, while ensuring that everything got done in a timely manner. Additionally, you take more tablenotes that anyone I’ve seen. It’s clear you take your job seriously, regardless of what task you are assigned to, and I really appreciate that. I’d like to see more judges understand their role in an event, and own it the way you do. Thank you for being a great rock on any event I’ve seen you on. – Nicolette Apraez

Anthony “Krug” Hullings is a Level 2 Judge from Croydon, Pennsylvania. This recommendation from calls out his community work and especially his mentoring. Even as an L1, many judges in the program had an opportunity to learn from Krug. I know that a number of the judges who certified for L1 at the recent Judge Conference did so after learning from Krug and Charles Featherer, a pair that has put a lot of work into teaching new judges, and each other.

Anthony’s work with the judges and and community in his area is exceptional. He is constantly mentoring, helping, and answering questions. His skill and excitement about mentoring is high enough that he is my first choice when someone wants to learn to do those things. Multiple people have assumed he is the area representative, which speaks an immeasurable amount to his level of involvement with other judges. Anthony is, to say the least, an outstanding member and mentor of the local community. – Ilan Seid-Green