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ACS Heads North of the Border in 2011
Historic Montréal, Quebec, Canada will serve as host to the 28th Annual ACS Conference & Competition from August 3-6, 2011. This marks the first time that the events will be held outside of the United States.
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Seattle Attendee List
& Presentations Now
Available Online
If you missed this year's conference, or if there were sessions that you weren't able to attend, many session handouts and PowerPoint presentations are now available for download online as PDFs.
If you are seeking materials from specific sessions that are not posted online, send ACS an email and our staff will work to locate them for you. A complete list of Seattle attendees is also available on our website. |
Snap Happy in Seattle! We hope you'll enjoy these photos of the ACS conference in Seattle. If you also captured
the excitement of Cheese-a-Topia on your cell phone or camera,
we'd love to see your pics! Submit your snapshots - with your understanding
that the photos may be used in future ACS publications, on-line posts, or in other
outlets - to SeattlePix@cheesesociety.org. When submitting photos, please include the names of people or events so that we can give them a shout out. For files over 5 MB, please provide a link to a file-sharing service, or mail a disk to the ACS Denver office. A display at the Festival of Cheese
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A Special Offer
from ZingTrain
Did you miss the
popular sessions offered by ZingTrain (aka Zingerman's Training) at the ACS
conference? Or did you catch a session then realize you'd like
to learn even more about Zingerman's approach to business? Ari Weinzweig,
Zingerman's Co-Owner and Founding Partner, is extending a special offer to ACS
members: Receive 10% off any scheduled training, books, training
DVDs, or custom consulting through the end of 2010! Plus, when you pay in
full for a seminar more than one month in advance, you receive the Early Bird
Discount - an additional $100 off each seat! See the training schedule
and full list of offerings at their website
To take advantage of
this offer, email ZingTrain, call the ZingTrain staff at
734-930-1919, or complete the online registration form and mention that you
learned about this offer through ACS. |
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Call for Cheese!
ACS has organized another great opportunity to showcase member products this fall: The National Wine Experience will be held in Washington, D.C. on November 20. ACS will be the event's official Artisan Cheese Sponsor. Members can participate by sending cheese or related products for tastings - or by volunteering in our booth. Cheese will need to be sent to D.C. on November 18 or 19. Email us if you would like to be involved in this event. |
Recipe of the Month:
Double-Decker
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Get into the autumn spirit with a seasonal dessert featuring fresh goat cheese! This recipe comes from member cheesemaker Lisa Schwartz.
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Passing the Torch
 Dear Friends,
I am grateful for the opportunity to have led ACS during two remarkable years. What an honor to have presided over an active and astute board that moved ACS toward self management, increased member benefits, built industry alliances and a new online community, developed a monthly e-newsletter, and addressed food safety by creating templates for GMPs, HACCPs, and crisis management. We pushed forward new member-driven initiatives and saw continued growth during what was considered a difficult economic time. While continuing our forward momentum, we recognized the work of ACS leaders before us who invested many volunteer hours, and their personal passions, to build a strong organization capable of taking on so many new challenges.
I would like to thank board members, past Presidents, and fellow ACS members who were there when I needed them for sound advice. I am grateful to Allison Hooper, Christine Hyatt, Kurt Dammeier, Sasha Davies, Greg O'Neill, Carole Palmer, Mike Gingrich, and Tim Smith for their service on the Executive Committee. Thank you to Lifetime Achievement recipients Ig Vella, Dan Carter, Steve Jenkins, Kathleen Shannon Finn, and John Greeley for all they give to ACS. A special acknowledgement goes to Steve Jenkins for helping to build a welcoming and vibrant Town Hall meeting where ideas are exchanged and then utilized at the board's strategic planning meetings.
I appreciate the work of so many volunteers who, since Frank Kosikowksi and a small loving group founded ACS in 1983, have followed their passions to make ACS what it is today. This includes the ACS board; Seattle co-chairs Kurt Dammeier and Sasha Davies; Austin co-chairs Cathy Strange and Jodie Wische; Executive Director Nora Weiser and the ACS team; and more than 1,900 volunteers and generous sponsors who have contributed to building ACS's sustainable future during my term. I have enjoyed our time together and look forward to new work on the horizon with the ACS board (including newest members Marc Druart, Dick Roe, and Bob Wills) and Executive Team. And I am so pleased to introduce Christine Hyatt, your new President, who will carry ACS even further in the next two years.
This is your organization,
David Gremmels
Chairman |
Guiding ACS Into the Future
 Greetings fellow ACS members! What an incredible conference! Seattle was a beautiful convergence of the cheese community: learning and sharing, connecting with friends old and new, and celebrating the hard work, dedication, and passion that go into making and selling great cheese. Huge kudos to the Conference Planning committee and the new ACS staff for organizing and presenting such an outstanding conference.
At this moment in our organizational history, with a transition to self-management and a successful conference behind us, we can look to the future and work to advance ACS to the next level. Together with the new team at our Denver headquarters, we are poised to make great strides in advancing the ACS vision of being the leader in supporting and promoting American cheese.
We are fortunate to be able to build upon a solid foundation created by leaders throughout our 27 year history. Since 1983, countless individuals have contributed time, talent, and passion to build our organization and create the industry we have today, shepherding it through stages of growth and transforming what people think of when they hear the words "American cheese." As we move forward, we are adding yet another layer to this foundation: under the wise leadership of Allison Hooper and David Gremmels, a Strategic Plan was implemented and has been updated to provide direction in the coming years. The opportunities and challenges we now face will inform and contribute to the success of our industry in the future.
Vibrant discussions at Town Hall meetings in Seattle and Austin have demonstrated a clear momentum toward some lofty organizational goals: creating an industry Body of Knowledge, providing online resources, educational and networking opportunities for cheesemakers and the wider cheese community, supporting cheesemakers at the grassroots level, and partnering with regional guilds to understand and inform public policy and perceptions.
Based on input from Town Hall transcripts, member surveys, and direct feedback, the board will meet next month to set goals for 2011. As specific initiatives rise to the top, there will be many ways that members can volunteer and get more involved. The missing ingredient truly is: YOU!
Cheers,
Christine Hyatt
President P.S. Please take a moment to add your voice to our Cheese Chat topic on Facebook: what was your favorite session or fondest memory of ACS Seattle?
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Share Your Time & Talents with Us
Everyone who made it to Seattle experienced first-hand the energy, exchange of ideas, sharing, and sense of community that makes the ACS conference such a unique and valuable industry event. But as an association, we must benefit all of our members year-round, and offer more than just a great conference. To that end, we are actively pursuing new ways to provide benefits, support, and opportunities that help ACS truly be the leader in promoting and advancing North American cheeses.
With Cheese-a-Topia still fresh in our minds, ACS is moving forward with new initiatives to help spread the word about North American cheeses. Next up is the Great American Beer Festival (Sept 16-18 in Denver, CO) where we'll be promoting ACS member cheeses paired with craft beers from around the country. Then comes the National Wine Experience (November 20 in Washington, DC) where we will also reach consumers with samplings that showcase the variety and quality of ACS cheesemakers' creations. The great work done in Seattle on a "Body of Knowledge" defining the work of cheese professionals needs to maintain momentum so that we can complete and publish the findings early next year. And, the feedback from the Town Hall Meeting and post-conference survey should be acted upon. Not to mention that, while Seattle is still in our heads, ACS is already hard at work making sure that our 2011 Conference in Montreal offers another great experience for our members. We can't do it without your support, so I encourage you to:
Share your time: Volunteer
Share your expertise: Submit a Presentation Proposal for 2011
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Thank You from the ACS Team!
ACS Staff at Seattle Aquarium Opening Reception | A sincere and heartfelt thanks from the new ACS staff to all of the wonderful members, directors, presenters, and volunteers who helped make our first conference such a great success! We're here to assist with any questions, suggestions, or ideas you may have throughout the year.
In photo, from left to right: Rebecca Sherman, Marketing
and Communications Manager; Michelle Lee, Programs and Operations Director; Nora Weiser, Executive Director; Stephanie Minior, Member Services Manager.
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2010 Judging & Competition Report
What can I tell you that you don't already know? Record entries, record number of ribbons, most producers entered, most first place ribbons...I don't even want to quote the numbers any more. 2010 was a remarkable year in Judging & Competition, as things were bigger than ever, but also smoother than ever. And all during our transitional year back to self-management.
I want to again thank the Judging & Competition Committee and the management team at ACS headquarters for creating the peaceful, confident, easy-going environment that maintained itself throughout the entire proceedings. I would particularly like to thank all of the dozens of volunteers who help us both in receiving and judging (and the hundreds who worked the conference).
One other thing I'd like to note: one of the reasons we all thought things went so well in receiving was that our cheesemakers did an excellent job packing and shipping their entries. We had the smallest amount of "triage" cheeses, and managed to process about 950 cheeses and dairy products in just one, normal day. (And I said I wasn't going to quote any more numbers...)
These good practices, as mapped out in Pat Elliot's thoughtful and informative letter included with your entry instructions, will be very important as we head to Montréal in 2011. There may be as much as an additional day added to shipping time next year. We are trying to whittle away at hours in this process but, in the meantime, remember what you did so well this year in protecting your goods from Mother Nature. And now, Father Time.
Sincerely,
David Grotenstein
Judging & Competition Chair
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Congratulations to the 2010 Award Winners!
 At this year's Judging & Competition in Seattle, Uplands Cheese Company in Dodgeville, WI was named "Best of Show" for its Extra Aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery in Websterville, VT took 2nd Place for its Bonne Bouche, and Farms for City Kids Foundation in Reading, VT took 3rd Place for its Spring Brook Farm Tarentaise.
Congratulations to our winners, and to all of the cheesemakers who participated this year! See a complete list of 2010 winners on our website.
If you are a 2010 winner and would like to order stickers for your winning products, download an order form and submit it to the ACS office via mail or fax. A digital winner graphic can also be downloaded for use on your website.
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Team DeLaurenti Wins ACS
Merchandising Competition
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Connect to ACS
Stay connected to ACS no matter where you are! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (#cheesesociety), LinkedIn, or our member networking site, CheeseWire. Get the latest updates on our annual conference, connect with fellow cheese makers, retailers and enthusiasts, and tell us what's happening in your world.
Conference attendees are encouraged to post updates about their experiences in Seattle on any of our social networking sites. We hope you'll join in the conversations, and even start some of your own! |
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Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd Annual ACS Merchandising Competition, Shane Wahlund and Jana Werner of Seattle's own 
