Welcome back to another exciting edition of Exemplar Highlights featuring Mike Griffin‘s recommendation for Sam Wolloch of Arizona!

This Highlight recognizes Sam’s ability to operate under substandard conditions and still manage himself, the players, and his event. This exemplar tells us what happened and how Sam reacted, but it reveals much more about Sam’s character as a Judge:

“Sam has shown a willingness to step in and judge when plans changed unexpectedly. He maintains a professionalism while judging, and in a recent large tournament, identified an issue before it escalated and was able to keep players from making a heated conversation worse. I had the opportunity to play in this same large event, and he also impressed me during top 8 when the head judge had become distracted. Sam was left understaffed and without clear leadership in place during the top 8, but handled it well and solo. While the situation may not have been ideal, he rose to the challenge and was able to keep the tournament’s integrity and pacing on track.”

Sam considers Magic a passion of his life and became a Judge in order to learn and help the community. His favorite thing to do while judging is help new players understand the nuances of deck design as well as answering questions at regular REL. These actions help grow the Magic community, encourage new players to improve their play and communication skills, and increase his respect within the community.

Although he admits that he has “ruffled some feathers” at times with his comments, Sam anticipates others to hold him to equally high standards and he advocates for the players when necessary. These experiences enabled him to identify a potential conflict before it got to an uncontrollable point.

During the same event, Sam was put into a scenario that many Judges are familiar with: being understaffed and without leadership. Good help is hard to find and Head Judges are frequently pulled away from events and leave their subordinates without direction. It is important to recognize that it is easier to lead people who are well-prepared and self-motivated. These types of characteristics are praised in the Judge Program as they make everyone’s job easier.

Thanks for being an exemplary Judge Sam Wolloch and thanks Mike Griffin for the recommendation! We look forward to your future Exemplars.