Scholarship Available to ACS CCPs
™
The eighth annual Comté Scholarship for ACS Certified Cheese Professionals
®
gives CCPs™ the chance to win 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 Comté region and its culture. In addition, the winner will receive a $500 cash stipend, that can be put toward ACS test taking fees and expenses.
To apply, ACS CCPs
™ must submit
an entry form
, including a short essay portion,
by December 2, 2019
.
2019 CCP Recertification Period Still Open
If you passed the ACS CCP™ exam in 2013 (Madison, WI) or 2016 (Des Moines, IA) you must
recertify
by November 30, 2019. ACS CCPs™ who are required to renew were recently sent an e-mail with more information. If you believe you should have received this email and did not, please reach out to Josh Hendrickson, ACS Certification Manager, at
jhendrickson@cheesesociety.org.
ACS CCPs™ are required to renew their certification every 3 years by demonstrating continued professional development in the cheese industry.
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ACS Membership Corner
Membership Renewals for 2020 Going On Now!
Log into the
ACS Member Portal to renew today. Members who renew by December 31, 2019 are entered for a chance to win a complimentary registration for conference 2020 in Portland!
Membership Benefits - Did You Know?
 Did you know that as an ACS Member you receive a 25% Discount on the Dairy Practices Council Guidelines? Guidelines for everything from sampling to dairy laboratory testing to waste management are available.
Review all ACS membership benefits and levels here.
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Congratulations to Candace Allen with Beehive Cheese!
Candace was the winner of a complimentary registration for Portland 2020: Blazing the Trail for Cheese! She was randomly selected from a pool of 228 potential respondents who completed our 2019 Richmond, VA post-conference survey. Additional details will be sent to Candace via e-mail, so please be on the lookout for this great news to arrive in your inbox soon. We look forward to welcoming you to Portland Candace!
Want to see yourself in Portland next summer with a complimentary registration? There's still time for you to snag an entry in our membership renewal drawing!
Renew your ACS membership before December 31, 2019 for your chance -
click to renew now!
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Legal View: Responding to Union Organizing
What does the recent political focus on tilting the playing field even more in favor of unions mean for non-union employers and how should they respond?
Attorney Rich Alaniz reviews this issue in your workplace and steps to take.
Note: the views, opinions, information, and concepts shared in this piece are not necessarily the endorsed views, opinions, content, and concepts of ACS.
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Letter from the President
The Importance of ACS Member Volunteerism
Why I volunteer:
I first became involved with ACS through Dr. Bill Wendorff, when he asked if I would be willing to judge cheese for the competition, and I thought "Sure, why not?" There was both a Technical and an Aesthetic Judge, which I found to be an interesting way to judge cheese and dairy products. Since that point 10 years ago, I have continued with ACS and around the country judging competitions.
When I graduated from UW Madison with a degree in Food Science, I had no idea what my actual path after graduation would be. Through the USDA-Dairy Division, I found that I had a passion for Food Safety and assisting small dairy manufacturers with their food safety plan. Helping the plants figure out what is needed and working closely with the cheesemakers and owners gives me a sense of fulfillment. I have also gained a lot of comrades and friends while doing that. We have mutual respect for each other, and that is of utmost importance to me.
Seven years ago, I was asked to be a volunteer with the ACS Regulatory & Academic Committee. The committee works to shed light on issues, policies, regulations, and research that impact ACS members, and the science and research behind them. The committee strives to review the facts and make sound recommendations to the Board of Directors on
ACS positions and actions. As a member of the committee, I was involved in developing and writing the Best Practices manual. While it was a big undertaking for our group, the information that it provides has become an invaluable tool to ACS members.
I am also part of the ACS Nominating Committee, an important volunteer group that is mandated by the ACS bylaws. Each year, the Nominating Committee reviews the current Board to assess upcoming openings and reviews, interviews, and proposes a slate of candidates to the
Board of Directors for approval in alignment within ACS bylaws.
ACS members all have a common goal - to manufacture safe and wholesome dairy products. Based on my experience, I knew I would be able to assist members to meet that goal. With that in mind, I decided to volunteer to become part of the Executive Committee. I started out as Secretary, then Vice President and currently serve as President of ACS. It has been an honor to be part of such an amazing group of people.
ACS members are very passionate about what they do, share common goals, and have a connection with other members that is unique. I would encourage everyone to
volunteer and assist in keeping ACS in the forefront of the dairy industry.
Sincerely,
Marianne Smukowski,
President
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Letter from the Executive Director
Passion. Community. Connection.
Each year after the ACS Conference, our ACS staff take a deep breath and reflect on a job well-done. Then, in our drive for continual improvement, we hold our annual staff post-conference post-mortem. It can be very easy to forget our successes and focus on the things that did NOT go so well. It seems human nature to focus on the negatives, and hubris to focus on the positives. This year, we started out by asking each staff member to share the story of their favorite moment in Richmond. Despite having survived a dozen back-to-back 14-hour days, nobody said "when it was over." In fact, everyone came back to stories that tie to three common themes: Passion, Community, and Connection. It turns out that what makes the event special for us to put on is what makes the event special for you to attend!
Here are some of the things we loved, and every single one revolves around the passion of our members and the strong connections of the ACS community:
- Jess Perrie running laps around the Grand Ballroom to raise money for the ACE Foundation
- Cleaning up after Meet the Cheesemaker and realizing how the donations would make a difference to fight hunger in the Richmond community
- Seeing the scholarship recipients who were so grateful to connect, network, and have fun together at their first ACS Conference
- Watching the rock-star volunteers behind the scenes coalesce into a team to create memorable events for attendees
- The honesty and vulnerability of John and Kendall Antonelli's Cheese Cubed presentation in which they shared openly with their community of peers
- Receptions that offered opportunities to meet and connect with first-time attendees and long-time members
- The passion of members participating in Open Networking sessions and leaving with plans in hand to address weighty issues like tariff increases and climate change
- Seeing the pride and feeling the excitement of winning cheesemakers as they approached the stage at the Awards Ceremony
Yes, we then went on to assess areas for improvement identified in our Attendee Post-Conference Survey, but we were able to approach that in the context of all the feels. We'll work to enhance technology to expedite things at the registration desk; increase local outreach to recruit volunteers; and tweak scheduling so attendees can maximize the educational value of conference. And, while I regret that we can't control the quality of the venue's caterer each year, we have high hopes that the coffee in Portland will be good next summer!
ACS offers much more than just an Annual Conference, and to take advantage of Passion, Community, and Connection year-round, I hope you'll
renew your 2020 Membership today!
Sincerely,
Nora Weiser, Executive Director
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ACS Member Feature
River Whey Creamery - Schertz, Texas
Members like River Whey Creamery in Schertz, Texas, have used ACS resources to help their creamery reach the next level.
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Founder and owner of River Whey Creamery, Susan Rigg. |
"The amount of effort ACS puts into education is priceless for a smaller cheesemaker like me" says founder and owner of River Whey Creamery, Susan Rigg. Susan and River Whey Creamery have been members of ACS since 2015 and ACS resources have been crucial tools in their growth.
After working in big box retail for so long, Susan wanted a new plan for the second half of her career. "I was surprised to discover how much I loved cooking but knew I didn't want to open a restaurant." Cheese-based travel to the Cellars at Jasper Hill in Vermont, and Gorwydd Caerphilly and Quicke's Cheddar in the UK was also paramount in her journey. Combining her newfound enthusiasm for cheese, her love for science-based projects, and the cheesemaking blood running through her veins (she is a first generation American with roots in Wales and England) she launched River Whey Creamery.
Read more of their story
here.
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Don't forget to renew your ACS membership for 2020 - log in and renew today!
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FREE: National Dairy Food Safety Coalition Food Safety Hotline
Take advantage of the
National Dairy Food Safety Coalition's
Phone and Email Hotlines. This program is meant to provide artisan dairy producers with a direct, free connection for food safety plan advice, follow up from the Coaching Workshops, and Food Safety Plan review.
Dr. Sam Alcaine, Assistant Professor of Dairy Fermentations at Cornell University, tells ACS that while the information on the website and support from the hotline builds on the food safety plan coaching workshops that have been held at previous ACS conferences and areas around the country, it is open to any artisan who has a question regarding their food safety plan.
Typical inquiries received by the team range from assistance in building templates for environmental monitoring programs, reviewing process flow diagrams, advice on testing methods, as well as general questions about the coaching workshop itself.
CALL: 315-787-2600
Call and leave a message, or send an e-mail - the hotline team typically responds within a few days. If the question requires a more in-depth follow up or deals with something specific to your local regulations, they will work to connect you with coaches in your region.
T
his program is made possible through the support of the National Dairy Council and compliments the Artisan Dairy Food Safety Coaching Workshops which are supported through a USDA grant obtained in a collaboration between Cornell University, North Carolina State University, University of Connecticut, and the Innovation Center for US Dairy.
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