March CheeseWire Newsletter

The latest cheese headlines from around North America plus exciting news from some ACS members.

Read the full article

This month's recipe - Creamy Mascarpone Mushroom Soup
- comes from Debbie Crave at Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese.

2010 Sponsorship

When you sponsor the ACS Conference, you lay the groundwork for powerful, long-lasting relationships with other people and businesses in our industry.

Please take a few moments to look over the 2010 program, which you may view by clicking here. We hope you will agree that your participation is not only philanthropic in developing the American artisanal cheese industry but also beneficial to your company's own marketing and public relations efforts.

Sixth Annual Oregon Cheese Festival

Oregon-inspired culinary events, including a Meet the Winemakers and Cheesemakers Dinner and a farmer's market-style artisan food and wine festival, will kick off with the Oregon Cheese Festival this weekend.

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March NASFT Webinar

We are excited to announce another opportunity for ACS members to attend an NASFT webinar at the special rate of $59.

The next webinar is Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Read more

North American Cheeses Travel to Paris

A selection of north American cheese were presented by ACS members at the 41st annual winter Guilde des Fromagers meeting in Paris France.

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Message from ACS President David Gremmels

Dear Members,
The American Cheese Society's new Executive Director, Nora Weiser, its board of directors, dedicated volunteers and brilliant advisor Steve Baer of SMB Holdings have been busy with the transition to self management and prioritizing strategic initiatives while building an information rich, interactive and fun conference.

I am excited to share a few of the speakers our conference co-chairs, Sasha Davies and Kurt Dammeier, have lined up. The keynote speaker is Laurie Demeritt, President and COO of The Hartman Group, a leading consulting and market research firm. She will share trends as they relate to our industry and will help us understand how to interpret and take advantage of them.

The closing address will be presented by Michael Pollan, Author and Professor at UC Berkeley who will present his perspective on where human and natural worlds intersect as they relate to food, agriculture, gardens, drugs and architecture. Conference Registration will be announced in April.

It was only four weeks ago that I announced Nora Weiser joining ACS as our Executive Director. She has located a space for the new headquarters in Denver, Colorado and is the process of negotiating the lease. Nora has thoroughly defined our staffing needs and is now recruiting and building our team. ACS has hired a new Member Services Specialist, Lara Therrien, who joined us last week to manage and organize our benefits and data. Please join me in welcoming Lara to our team.

Nora is working closely with Steve Baer, SMB Holdings Corporation and FSA to transfer all of ACS's records, historical data and operating systems from FSA to our new headquarters. FSA, our third party management group, has been hugely supportive of the transition to self management. We extend a huge thank you to Tony Butler, John Bunker, Peg Plaut, Jeff Allen, Maria Chapman and others who support ACS's independence and transition to self management on April 1st. We acknowledge the enormous lifting that Jeff Allen has put into working with the board of directors in creating ACS's dash board management tools and prioritizing ACS's immediate, short-term and long term goals.

This is your association,
David Gremmels, President

From the Judging and Competition Committee -
the Mystery of Entry Codes

"I am not a number, I am a cheese."
But for official judging and competition purposes you're only a code - no name, no company, even on our most important documents: the judges' handwritten scoresheets.

Karen Silverston explains how a cheese becomes an entry code - Read the full article

Member Profile

Meet ACS Member and 2009 Conference Scholarship Winner Alessandra Trompeo and learn about how she became a cheesemaker.

Read the full article

2010 Scholarship Opportunities

Cheesemaker, Student and Chef Scholarships
The ACS Scholarship Committee is excited to announce that it is now accepting applications for scholarships to attend the 2010 Annual Conference & Competition in Seattle, August 25-28!

In addition to the full and partial cheesemaker scholarships, there is also an opportunity for one full scholarship to a student member and one partial scholarship to a regional chef.

A full scholarship allows for a complimentary conference registration, four night's hotel accommodation, and up to $500 towards travel expenses. A partial scholarship provides a complimentary registration to the conference - a $450 value.

For more information about each of the scholarships, to apply online, or to download an application please click here. Scholarships will be awarded based on need and merit. The deadline for receipt of all scholarship application materials is April 30, 2010!

Good luck to all,

John Eggena
ACS Scholarship Committee Chair

John Cromptom Memorial Trust Scholarship for Retailers
The John Crompton Memorial Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the Third Annual John Crompton Memorial Scholarship(s) earmarked for retail industry attendees of the 2010 American Cheese Society Conference.

Eligible applicants are current members of the specialty food retail trade exhibiting enthusiasm and dedication to the cheese industry and a desire to further their education in the field. Educated and passionate retailers are integral to the long-term growth of the American specialty cheese industry, and the purpose of these scholarships is to assist attendees who might otherwise not be able to travel to the American Cheese Society Annual Conference.

Interested applicants may download an application and read more about requirements here.

Social Networking Update

Keep up with all the latest ACS buzz on a variety of social media. If you haven't already, check out our Facebook Fan page (www.facebook.com/americancheesesociety), our twitter feed (www.twitter.com/cheesesociety) or our blog (www.americancheesesociety.blogspot.com).

A talented team of featured contributors will keep you in the know on all things cheesy with regular postings throughout the week. We'll also be spreading the word on the curd to the cheese-curious beyond our industry with general interest pieces so pop by and "fan" or "follow" ACS and invite your friends to share in the goodness.

Spring Means ... Baby Animals!

Post pictures of the latest arrivals down on the farm to the CheeseWire Social Network for a chance to win ACS merchandise. Pictures can be posted by cheesemakers or those visiting the farm. The only request is that you let us know where and when the cuteness was captured. Submit your entries by March 31 (tag them with "baby animals," please) for a chance to win!