Register On-Site for ACS 2014!
Advance registration for the 2014 ACS Conference in Sacramento is closed, but it's not too late to join us! On-site registration is available at the Registration Desk in the West Lobby of the Sacramento Convention Center beginning on Tuesday, July 29th at 1:00 PM. Registration rates won't increase on-site, and last minute rooms are still available at our partnered Conference hotels.
Click here for registration rates and conference updates, including a schedule of this year's program.
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Congratulations! 2014 John Crompton Memorial Scholarship for Retailers Recipients
ACS is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2014 John Crompton Memorial Scholarship for Retailers. This scholarship is earmarked for retail industry attendees of the 31st Annual ACS Conference in Sacramento. Educated and passionate retailers are integral to the long-term growth of the American specialty cheese industry, and the purpose of this annual scholarship is to assist attendees who might otherwise not be able to travel to the Conference.
Congratulations to the following individuals, who will join ACS in Sacramento as scholarship recipients!
- Kara Chadbourne, Antonelli's Cheese Shop in Austin, TX
- Louise Converse, Artisan Cheese Company in Sarasota, FL
- Erin Harris, The Cheese Poet in London, Ontario
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Go Mobile at #CheeseSociety14: Get the Conference Mobile App!
Keep important Conference information handy on your mobile device with the free ACS mobile app! Visit itunes.apple.com or play.google.com on your Apple or Android device and search for "American Cheese Society" to download the app and enjoy a mobile version of the Conference schedule, regional maps, directories of staff, sponsors, and attendees, event floorplans, and much, much more!
The 2014 Conference Mobile App is sponsored by Cowgirl Creamery, Laura Chenel's Chevre, Marin French Cheese Company, and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company.
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It's Not Too Late: Sign Up for a Volunteer Shift & Join the "Cheese Guard" in Sacramento!
The ACS Conference & Competition may be a few days away, but we still need your help to make our 31st annual event a success!
ACS is seeking volunteers to assist with shifts in Sacramento through Saturday, August 2. To show our appreciation for your time, ACS will offer volunteers:
- Official "Cheese Guard" t-shirt available only to volunteers!
- Complimentary ticket to the Festival of Cheese on Fri, August 1.
- Complimentary meal whenever your shift coincides with an ACS Conference scheduled meal time.
- For volunteers assisting with the Judging & Competition during an 8+ hour shift, one complimentary ticket to the Awards Ceremony & Reception on Thurs, July 31
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Comté Scholarship for ACS Certified Cheese Professionals™ to be Announced at ACS 2014
The Comté Cheese Association (CIGC) has announced its third annual scholarship for ACS CCPs™. The scholarship winner will enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to the Comté region of France to learn first-hand about the cheese's history and production, as well as to explore the region and its culture.
Applications will be available at the ACS Conference in Sacramento, during the Comté Cheese Association's Networking Salon on Wednesday, July 30, or download an application here. The deadline for submissions is October 13, 2014.
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Help Us Recycle Packing Materials from ACS 2014!
Each year, ACS receives thousands of pounds of cheese for its Annual Conference & Competition. The boxes and insulated packing materials used to ship this cheese are often in great shape, and can be reused for future shipments.
If these materials would be useful for your business, please contact Jana Hemphill via email at jhemphill@cheesesociety.org to coordinate a pickup time at the Sacramento Convention Center. She will respond via email with more details. Thank you for helping us minimize waste at this year's Conference in Sacramento!
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See you in Sacramento!
By now, most of us are starting to pack for Sacramento, and we are gearing up to join our friends and colleagues for our annual "cheese summer camp." What? You weren't planning to join us next week? With what we have planned, you may want to reconsider...and there's still time! But, more about that later.
We are excited to welcome everyone to ACS's 31st Annual Conference & Competition in the sunny capital of California this coming week. Thanks to our co-chairs, Juliana Uruburu, Jill Giacomini Basch, and Lynn Giacomini Stray, our conference planning committee, board, and the amazing ACS team, we are proud to say we have a program that is among the finest ACS has ever presented. With all that the region offers, we have a real winner on our hands. Thanks also to the generous sponsors who have made this possible.
In addition to all of the great things that usually take place at each year's ACS Conference -- the networking, education, Judging & Competition, ACS CCP Exam, and the congenial atmosphere that re-charges our individual and collective batteries -- this year's program also includes the recently announced visit of a senior delegation from US Food and Drug Administration, who have reached out to forge an ongoing working relationship with ACS which starts by meeting at our Annual Conference.
This is an important development and something that our staff, board, and committees have been working toward since we met last year in Madison. As you may recall from our recent Industry Update, ACS leadership will be meeting with Deputy Commissioner Mike Taylor and his delegation in a roundtable meeting on Tuesday before the Conference, and Mr. Taylor will then present an FDA briefing at Wednesday's Business Meeting & Luncheon. This is an important first step in developing an ongoing collaborative relationship with our regulatory partners, and we enter it in good faith with reasonable expectations as to what can be accomplished in one meeting. Naturally, we would ask that ACS members warmly and professionally welcome our guests in the spirit of partnership. Please do your best to attend this important meeting.
The following day, our cheese community will have the opportunity to discuss and debate what we heard and what the future may hold at the ACS Town Hall Meeting, which will be moderated by Bi-Rite Market's owner, Sam Mogannam and ACS President, Greg O'Neill. This is the seventh year we have held this popular forum and each year it gets more spirited, constructive, and productive. Don't miss it, and please come prepared to participate!
If the above has tempted you, and your schedule can accommodate it, I hope you will attend all or part of the Conference. It's still possible to join us! You can register on site with no price increase, and there are last-minute rooms available at our headquarters hotel, the Hyatt Regency. We expect a full house, so you will see many friends and colleagues in an educational and fun environment. The weather promises to be hot during the day but lovely at night, so pack accordingly!
Travel safely and we look forward to seeing you next week in the Farm to Fork Capital of America!
Sincerely,
Nora Weiser Greg O'Neill
Executive Director President
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FDA to Meet with ACS in Sacramento
Prior to the FDA Briefing on Artisan Cheese during the July 30th Business Meeting & Luncheon in Sacramento, ACS will be meeting with Deputy Commissioner Mike Taylor and other FDA representatives for a discussion on issues facing the industry -- in particular, potential threats to traditional cheesemaking methods. Goals for this meeting include:
- A joint commitment to a series of meetings and a protocol for working together collaboratively.
- Reaching agreement on key topics to be covered in future meetings and other organizations to include.
- Engaging ACS earlier in key processes -- such as peer review of risk assessments prior to draft publication.
- Discussing how ACS can partner to offer pro-active "solutions" from industry to regulators.
ACS will share outcomes from this meeting with our members, and we encourage member engagement by attending the Business Meeting & Luncheon on July 30th and the Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, July 31st.
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Judging & Competition News
 If you are a producer entering the 2014 ACS Judging & Competition, remember that today, July 25, is the LAST day that your entries can be received. If you haven't shipped your entries and plan to hand-deliver them to the Sacramento Convention Center, please remember:
- No entries will be accepted after today! If you are hand-delivering entries, bring them to the Sacramento Convention Center loading dock on K Street by 3:00 PM PT today.
- Remove all identifying product labels and marks from your competition cheeses. Any product with branding, identifying marks, or commercial labeling on the packaging, or the product itself, will receive a 7 point deduction from its Technical Score during judging.
- Send your cheese in its original form. Cheeses may not be plugged or resealed. Cheeses must be entered as whole wheels, loaves, or blocks. Exceptions will be made for larger form cheeses, i.e. Emmental and Cheddar. These cheeses must be presented in the form in which they are available for wholesale distribution.
Thank you! We look forward to seeing your entries in Sacramento.
The ACS Judging & Competition is sponsored by Gourmet Foods International.
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Dine Around with ACS Cheesemakers in Sacramento
Sacramento-area restaurants are "Celebrating the American Cheese Plate" with ACS next week! Restaurants are pairing up with ACS member cheesemakers for a special Sacramento Cheesemaker Dine Around. Each restaurant is creating dishes that showcase cheeses from their partner cheesemaker, with each chef taking a different approach to the partnership -- from small tasting plates to full meals featuring American artisan and specialty cheeses. Some menus and featured items are offered only on the evening of Thursday, July 31, after the ACS Awards Ceremony & Reception. However, other menus or featured items may be offered throughout the week. We encourage interested diners to contact restaurants directly to learn more. Reservations are encouraged. Find participating restaurants:
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Thank You! 2014 Conference Sponsors
Each year, a growing community of industry sponsors and partners makes the ACS Conference & Competition possible. ACS is grateful for the generous support of the following sponsoring companies in 2014. Please be sure to thank these companies in Sacramento, as well as throughout the year:
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