Editor’s note: Apologies for the inconsistent updates over the last few weeks! I was not prepared for how busy this summer would be and did not take proper steps to address this issue. Updates should be much more consistent from here on out. Thank you for your patience! –Daniel Lee

Hello, John here with another Exemplar highlight from the Southwest region.

Megan Holden is one of the region’s up-and-coming Level 1 judges, having certified recently and already making waves in the Central Valley. Her diligence and drive did not go unnoticed by one of the region’s all-stars, Eliana Rabinowitz, who had this to say:

“Megan, as of writing this, I have not met you in person, but you messaged me over Facebook. You wanted to connect to other judges and meet other female judges, you were in the process of working towards L2, and you wanted to make a difference in your community. When I asked about your goals, you were really focused on working with the many TO’s in your area to make your area a better place to play Magic. You also had reachable goals for yourself, and you are clearly proactively trying to achieve those. Reaching out like that and putting your ideas out there takes a lot of courage, and being proactive about achieving goals, especially when there is a lot of friction is really challenging sometimes. I am impressed that you did that and encourage you to continue to persistently act on your goals and ideas.”

Eliana’s Exemplar nomination is unusual for it being completely based on remote interactions. But it recognizes Megan’s ambition to become a pillar of her Magic community, something she is doing with gusto. The two judges met at Grand Prix Las Vegas, where Megan got a chance to learn from the best by shadowing Eliana and others on the floor during the event.