Hello and welcome back to another exciting edition of Southwest Exemplar Highlights! This is your project lead Daniel Lee bringing you a recognition from one Southern California powerhouse to another. Joe Wiesenberg from San Diego chose to recognize Orange County’s Eric Cheung for his efficient execution of his duties as Area Captain.

Joe is a unique judge that has an impact on every judge that works with him. I have always been struck by his professionalism and dedication to the task at hand. He models many qualities of L3 judges and we are lucky to call him a leader in our area. This also means he is able to recognize great leadership qualities in others, as we can see in his wonderful story about a pen…

“Eric, At the last event I worked, it occurred to me that the red pen I was using was the same one you gave to me years ago at the first event we worked together. I’m not writing this long-overdue recognition over a pen, though. That’s just one example of how much attention you pay to the judges in our region. I’ve known you for several years now, and you’ve consistently been one of the first people to respond to requests for help or information. You’re always well-informed about what’s going on with the stores and judges in your area. Thanks for being an eternally present, extremely diplomatic resource in staffing events and addressing concerns in the OC area. Also, thanks for the pen.”

Eric has been an Area Captain for Orange County for as long as there have been Area Captains in the Southwest and he has done his job very well. As Joe recognized, he is in constant communication with the stores and judges in his area, which is a vital effort to the role of AC. Anyone that has met Eric knows what a joy he is to simply be around, not to mention to work with. Always energetic, always excited, Eric is a staple of Orange County and we are lucky to have him there!

——————-

Hello everyone! Have you ever thought about being a part of Exemplar Highlights? Would you like to increase your visibility to the region while helping spread awareness of awesome judges? Then Exemplar Highlights wants YOU! We are in desperate need for more authors. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact me, Daniel Lee. I am available on Facebook, Slack, or by email either through JudgeApps or to taio2187 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Additionally, I would like to start including a “Special Edition” feature for Exemplar Highlights, particularly devoted to in-event recognitions. For those unfamiliar with what I mean, these often happen during debriefs at the end of a long, multi-team tournament. The Head Judge will recognize a particular person’s efforts that day and they are rewarded with a special judge promo that is usually signed by the recognizing judge and occasionally decorated with the event and/or date as well. If you have a story like this from an event you have worked, I want to hear about it! This will apply going forward as well, so if you happen to receive (or know someone who receives) a recognition at an event, please let me know about it ASAP so we can get a highlight article put together for it. Our judges are awesome and I can’t write about it if I don’t know about it!

Finally, I am open to feedback about how Exemplar Highlights is currently being handled. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to let me know! I am always happy to hear about what can be improved. See you next time!