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Mid-Atlantic Region News
Gordon Strong, Mid-Atlantic Region Representative
The Mid-Atlantic has held elections, many work efforts with regional contributors, regional exams and competitions, and several significant promotions
Gordon Strong, Mid-Atlantic Region Representative
At a Glance
  • Andy Melchers has helped by creating rank-specific logos for different BJCP branding efforts.
  • Andy Weigel has helped by designing a certificate generating application for the BJCP which has now been implemented on a Judge's record.
  • There were a lot of exams in the region in and regional exams happened twice over the last quarters, plus 40+ competitions.
  • Several individuals were promoted to National and Master ranks.
  • If there are specific concerns, questions, or a desire to contribute, Mid-Atlantic members are encouraged to contact Gordon.
Elections / re-election
Thank you for your support in the recent regional elections. I heard from many old friends, and even more new ones. Since the election, I’ve been working diligently on the items I discussed in my candidate platform.
Representative Status Report
The NHC in June was a busy time; I took the practice cider exam, proctored the mead exam, attended the grader training and judge reception, attended a board meeting, judged, gave a presentation on the style guidelines, and held the annual member’s meeting. The BJCP continues to have a strong showing at the NHC, and offers a number of events and networking opportunities. Much of the content from these events is available on our web site, including videos of some of the presentations and events. We hope to be able to offer videos of more content in the future.
I have also been working a number of projects this quarter, the largest being the style guideline update. I’m leading the team putting together the changes. We’re looking for the guidelines to be done next quarter. I’ve been supporting improvements to the exam process, helping streamline exam processing by graders, exam administrators, and staff. One of the new features of this process is a shorter form RTP; hopefully that will speed up grading. We continue to make improvements in electronic processing of exams, and are now posting the completed RTPs online as part of the judge portal.
I have been coordinating changes to the web site and the migration of our applications, including enhancing the judge portal and adding features to assist the exam directors. We’re looking to improve the judge portal to add more self-service options, including printing personalized materials such as the certificate, wallet card, judge labels, and the like.
I continue international outreach, supporting judge development in Chile and working with people who are interested in starting a BJCP chapter in Spain. Much of the organization’s growth is now happening outside the United States, and I’ve been working with a number of these local groups to help them get off to a good start.
I’ve been working with the board to identify projects and areas of investigation that other board members can pursue independently. I’m happy to see that several of those projects are currently active. This is in addition to the normal board work of discussing policy changes, discussing and approving funding, discussing strategic direction and projects, and handling member requests and issues.
I judged in several competitions and proctored several exams since the last BJCP Bulletin. Thanks to all the people that stopped by to say hello and talk about issues of importance to you.
News from the Region
I wanted to highlight the contributions of two members from our region in some of the recent updates to the BJCP web site and applications.
Andy Melchers, National judge from Cincinnati, helped the BJCP with the redesign of its logo years ago. He continued to help by creating rank-specific logos that we can use for other purposes, like individualized judge labels. He worked with us on the redesign of the judge certificate using the color scheme from our new web site. If you haven’t checked out your judge record yet, please do so. Take a look at the PDF icon next to your rank; it will show you the certificate Andy designed. Hope you like it as much as he does (when I showed it to him, his email simply said “THAT is SWEET!”).
On the same project, Andy Weigel, Certified judge from Pittsburgh (until he gets one more judging point and gets promoted), came up with the method for creating the judging certificate from data in our online database and rendering it differently based on the type of rank. Those certificates aren’t pre-generated; they are rendered on the fly within your web browser. This method will likely be reused for some of our other program materials.
In much less pleasant news, I wanted to note the passing of long-time National judge and Associate Exam Director Charlie Gow from Fairfax, VA. Charlie was deeply involved with both the BJCP and the BURP club from the DC area. Scott Bickham wrote an emotional eulogy that is published on the main web page, and I also saw a longer tribute from Tim Artz of the BURP club. He clearly touched a number of lives, and very likely impacted many of you without you knowing it. The BJCP is a better organization today through the contributions of people like Charlie. He will be deeply missed.
Regional Exams
Seven exams were given in our region in the third quarter of 2014 (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Takoma Park, Cleveland, Frederick, Dayton and Cincinnati – written). In the fourth quarter, there were six regional exams:
November 1. Akron, OH. Larry Reuter. Tasting.
November 22. Philadelpha, PA. Aimee Richard. Tasting.
December 6. Cincinnati, OH. Rick Franckhauser. Tasting
December 6. Pittsburgh, PA. Jack Smith. Tasting and Written.
December 6. Frederick, MD. Bill Heverly. Written.
Regional Competitions
There were 20 competitions in our region during the third quarter of 2014, and there were 14 in the fourth quarter. Check the BJCP competition calendar for competitions near you.
Promotions in the Region (National+)
We had several members reach the Master rank, the most difficult rank in the program to achieve. All of them happen to be BJCP exam graders, which means that they are also making solid contributions to the program. Please join me in congratulating:
Mike Bury, PA
Bill Heverly, MD
Jim Koebel, MD
We had several members reach the National rank, where we look for additional contributions and leadership. Any of you guys want to be graders? I’ve heard that it helps you reach the Master rank… Please join me in congratulating:
Mike Reinitz, DC
Jim Alexander, PA
Steve Amey, OH
Stefin Clapham, MD
(Editors Note: This list was compiled in October 2014. The BJCP Bulletin wishes to also congratulate those who have reached National, Master, and Grand Master ranks since that time.)
Closing Thoughts
If you have any BJCP issues or suggestions, please feel free to contact me. I’ve worked on a number of items for people in the region this quarter. If I can’t help you directly, I’ll be sure to get you in touch with the right person. If you see me at a competition or exam, stop by and introduce yourself. I always like to meet people in the region, and talk about what you think about what we’re doing as an organization, and hear your thoughts about what else we need to do in the future. We continue to have a number of things planned, and I’m looking forward to talking about them as we get them completed.
If you would like to contribute to the organization, please get in touch – particularly if you see an area that needs improvement and where you have specific expertise or skill. We often start new projects and committees and need people with time and commitment to getting the job done. We often post announcements looking for help; watch for these in case we don’t have anything suitable currently. If you are a National or higher ranked judge, please consider helping the exam program by grading exams. That is the single most important any senior judge can do for the program. We continue to streamline the process, so think about giving it a shot. Contact the exam directors to volunteer.