In This Issue...
Register On-Site for ACS Cheese Camp
ACS Cheesemakers Do It Best
Watch the 2015 Awards Ceremony Live Stream!
Official Cheese Camp Bar & Open Mic Night
Cheese Camp: "Community"
ACS CCP News
Up Your Cheese Camp App-Titude!
Submit Your Questions to Us
Thank You: 2015 Sponsors

Register On Site for

ACS Cheese Camp

 

It's not too late to attend ACS Cheese Camp in Providence!
Visit the 3rd floor of the Rhode Island Convention Center, 1 Sabin St., to sign up for "camp" starting at 1:00 PM today.
  
Registration Rates:
  • $695 member
  • $894 non-member
We hope to see you soon!
  

ACS Cheesemakers

Do It Best

 

The first five chapters of the ACS Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers have been posted to the ACS Cheese Camp Mobile App (in the Document Center) and to the "Member Resources" section of the ACS website, ready for your comments. The Guide will be a living document and a work in progress to be updated, improved, and amended with the input of ACS members. As a unique community, we have the opportunity, and the obligation, to protect what we do and how we do it. When you take the time to read the Best Practices Guide and share your insights and expertise, you enhance not only the Guide, but also the standing of the industry.
 
In Providence, make a pledge to submit your comments on the Guide -- when you do, you'll get an "ACS Cheesemakers Do It Best" button to show your commitment! 

 

Plan Your Viewing Parties: Watch the 2015 Awards Ceremony LIVE!

 

If you can't make it to Providence for ACS Cheese Camp, you don't have to miss our 2015 Awards Ceremony. Those who can't experience the excitement in-person can still cheer on as the 2015 winning cheesemakers are announced via live, streaming video!

 

Visit the link below starting at 4:30 PM Eastern Time on Friday, July 31 to tune in:

 

www.cheesesociety.org/cheese-stream/

 

Trinity Brewhouse is the Official Cheese Camp Bar: Don't Miss Open Mic Night

 

To accommodate a record number of campers at Cheese Camp, ACS has designated Trinity Brewhouse as our Official Cheese Camp Bar. Show your badge to gain access to ACS's outdoor tented patio, save 20% on the food portion of your bill, and enjoy $4 pints of ACS Cheese Camp Pale Ale -- all Conference-long.

 

On Friday, July 31, stop by after the Awards Ceremony to celebrate this year's winners and take part in Open Mic Night -- it's the ACS Cheese Camp "talent show" -- with master of ceremonies Craig Gile of Cabot Creamery. Show up, and showcase your talents!

 

  ACS Cheese Camp 2015: "Community"

 

A community is an important entity, particularly in today's ever-more-interconnected yet in-reality-less-personally-invested world. Where the world is vast, a community is a microcosm of strength and support in the midst of that generic vastness. But "community," like so many other meaningful terms, can become nothing more than a buzzword when overused or used in the cause of personal advancement. The very nature of community is not personal, it is for each member to be a small but valued part of a greater whole.

 

Each summer, the ACS Conference strives to provide that communal space for our members to connect. This year's ACS Cheese Camp raises the bar in fostering community -- through education, business, and camaraderie, this week's "camp" will be the "site" where competition fades in favor of collaboration; where sharing trumps secrecy; where the betterment of one supports the betterment of all. ACS Cheese Camp is about you, as a member of ACS, taking it all in -- and giving back.

 

Think about why you belong to ACS, or for that matter, why anyone self-selects to be part of any community. In large part, it is because we know our whole is stronger than the sum of our parts. I hope that is why you will take the time and incur the expense to make your way to Providence this week to be with your friends, peers, colleagues, and, yes, competitors. And, selfishly, I hope you'll come to the Rhode Island Convention Center and sign up for camp simply because I look forward to seeing all of you and celebrating our amazing cheese community!

 

Nora Weiser

Executive Director
  

ACS CCP News

 

Important Reminder for Exam Takers

The 2015 ACS CCP� Exam will take place today, July 29, at 1:00 PM at the Rhode Island Convention Center. If you are bringing your own computer to take the exam in Providence, remember that you must download the software and the exam before arriving. Please refer to the email you should have received from ExamSoft with download instructions.

 

ACS CCP� Recertification Guidelines

New recertification guidelines are posted on the ACS website. The requirements for recertification are simple, and the $75 fee is waived if the ACS CCP has attended the full ACS Conference in any subsequent years since receiving his or her certification. ACS CCPs who received their certification in 2012 are required to recertify this year. Applications will be available on the ACS website soon.

 

ACS to Offer Two Exam Seatings in 2016

The first exam seating in 2016 is scheduled for Saturday, January 16, prior to the Specialty Food Association's Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, CA. There are 50 seats available, and applications will be accepted starting in September 2015. The second exam is scheduled for Wednesday, July 27, 2016, prior to the start of the ACS Conference in Des Moines, Iowa. Applications for this exam seating will be accepted between January 1 and March 31, 2016.

 

 

Up Your Cheese Camp App-Titude!

 

Stay connected with the NEW ACS Conference Mobile App to get the most out of your #ACSCheeseCamp experience.
  • Create a personalized schedule of your favorite sessions and events.
  • Take live polls and submit your session evaluations directly via the app.
  • Find conference maps and floorplans, speaker profiles, and lists of attendees, judges, and ACS CCPs.
  • Message with fellow campers via the "Chat" feature.
  • ...and much more!

 

 

Search for "ACS Cheese Camp" in your app store or scan this QR code to download the app to your mobile device.

  

Submit Your Questions for Two ACS General Sessions

 

Use the ACS Cheese Camp Mobile App to submit questions in advance for two general sessions to be held in Providence this week: the FDA Update and the Town Hall Meeting. Whether you're joining the cheese community in Providence or not, we'll be able to share your questions with the presenters. 

 

Simply download the app, look for the FDA Update and/or the Town Hall Meeting under "Sessions and Events," and select "Take a Survey" to submit your questions for either of these events.

 

FDA Update
Dr. Susan Mayne, Director, FDA CFSAN
Ted Elkin, Deputy Director for Regulatory Affairs, FDA CFSAN
Friday, July 31
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
  
Town Hall Meeting
Peggy Smith, Cowgirl Creamery
John Antonelli, Antonelli's Cheese Shop
Sasha Davies, Cyril's at Clay Pigeon Winery
Friday, July 31
12:00 PM - 1:45 PM
  
  
Please note that while ACS will make every effort to ensure that your questions are addressed, session timing may not allow for all questions to be asked.
  

ACS thanks more than 100 industry sponsors for making ACS Cheese Camp 2015 possible. Please be sure to extend your thanks to these companies during the ACS Conference, and throughout the year.

 

 

 

Connect to ACS

Stay connected to ACS no matter where you are! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@CheeseSociety, #ACSCheeseCamp), or LinkedIn. Get the latest updates from the cheese community, connect with fellow cheesemakers, retailers and enthusiasts, and tell us what's happening in your world.