Congratulations to our Winners!
The ACS Management team recently conducted three drawings for a complimentary registration for ACS Conference 2020:
Blazing the Trail for Cheese. Our randomly selected winners were:
- Patrick Lee - 2019 Cheese Crawl map return drawing
- Venissimo Cheese - 2020 membership early renewal drawing
- Joe Miller - 2019 Networking Salon Passport program drawing
- Candice Allen - 2019 conference attendee survey participation drawing
Winners, additional details will be sent to you via e-mail, so please be on the lookout. We look forward to welcoming you all to Portland!
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ACS Certification News
ACS Certifications Applications Open
Please review the application process before
applying.
Thank You to Our Amazing Certification Volunteers!
The ACS Management Team is so grateful to the people that participated in the Item Writing Workshop this past month: N
athan Aldridge,
Rebekah Baker, Molly Brown, Nicole Easterday, P
aul McNeely, Cristi Menard, Janee Muha, Liz Nerud, Bill Rufenacht, Trevor Thomas, and Joey Wells.
Putting together this year's certification exams would not be possible without their invaluable help and expertise.
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ACS Membership Corner
ACS Conference 2020 registration opens March 2!
As a reminder, only contacts marked as a Primary Contact or Member will be able to take advantage of discounted registration rates.
Please take a moment and
log into the Member Portal* to review and adjust who at your organization is marked as a Member
. Need more employees to be eligible for member registration rates? U
pgrade to a higher membership level anytime.*
*Organizational members, only your organization's Primary Contact is able to log in and make changes to your record.
Membership Benefits - Did You Know?
Review all ACS membership benefits and levels
here. Questions? Contact ACS Membership & Communications Manager,
Kristina Bobrowski.
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Legal View: Employee Attendance
If there is one workplace issue that bedevils virtually every employer in the country on a daily basis it is the dilemma of employee attendance - perhaps more appropriately, the lack of attendance. In fact, worker absences result in the loss of over $225 billion in lost productivity to our economy annually.
Attorney Rich Alaniz reviews this subject for business owners.
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
Organizational Culture
"Culture does not simply encompass the things an organization believes, but the things it values." - Sai Global
According to the Business Dictionary, organizational culture includes an organization's expectations, experiences, philosophy, as well as the values that guide member behavior, and is expressed in member self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. Culture is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid.
The American Cheese Society (ACS) has a newfound opportunity as we begin the process of hiring a replacement Executive Director to implement new and different perspective into ACS. This fresh start has endless opportunities to take ACS to a whole new level. For example, expanding membership, increasing visibility of ACS, and maximizing the resources that are already in place. ACS has core values in place and those values are to educate and provide networking opportunities for the members. Together, let's continue to have the passion and drive to move ACS into a new era.
Sincerely,
Marianne Smukowski,
President
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Search for New ACS Executive Director
ACS is continuing to work with Susan Brown of the Center for Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership (CNVL) to conduct the search for the next ACS Executive Director. The search is being led by an Executive Search Committee comprised of current and past ACS leaders and stakeholders. Applications for the position are now being accepted. The job description and information for interested applicants are available on the
CNVL website.
ACS will complete its current Strategic Plan 2020 in the first three quarters of this year, and the new Executive Director will lead the development and implementation of ACS's next Strategic Plan intended to take the organization through its 40th anniversary in 2023.
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Make an Impact on Your Industry Leadership
Don't Forget to Submit your ACS Board of Directors Nominations!
 The
ACS Nominating Committee is still seeking nominations of cheese industry professionals to serve on the ACS Board of Directors for two positions in 2020: one for a Producer member and one for a Trade Affiliate member.
Learn more about
desired attributes of candidates and the
nomination process. If you or someone you know is a strong candidate, please
submit your nomination online by February 28.
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Be an ACS Official Conference Cheesemonger
APPLICATIONS CLOSE FEBRUARY 28!
Calling all passionate, enthusiastic cheese professionals: Would you like an opportunity to showcase your skills to 1,300+ industry members at this summer's
ACS Conference
in Portland, OR?
Join us behind-the-scenes as a 2020 Official Conference Cheesemonger (OCC)!
These skilled cheesemongers will be a crucial part of the elite
Conference Leadership Training Program, working with a Back of House team to streamline conference food receiving, inventory, preparation, and safety for all conference events including food tasting sessions, meals, ACS Judging & Competition, and the newly expanded Cheese Sale.
OCCs will:
- gain key leadership and event management skills
- collaborate with colleagues and industry leaders
- build professional development
- support the industry
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Important ACS Conference 2020 Information
In just over five months from now we'll be
Blazing the Trail for Cheese in Portland, OR! But, there are
plenty of conference endeavors going on before then to be aware of:
Sponsorships
Align your brand with the best in the industry and gain exclusive access to the world's most recognized and respected cheese professionals and enthusiasts by sponsoring ACS Conference. A diverse selection of
sponsorships are available for all budgets, with opportunities
to match your attendee, marketing, and activation goals.
Registration
Mark your calendars - registration will open Monday, March 2! Member and non-member rates are now listed on the ACS website. In order to take advantage of member rates you'll need to have an active 2020 ACS membership before registering so log in and renew today!
Programming and Schedule
If you missed it in last month's CheeseBytes, don't forget to check out our modified
conference schedule
for this year. More details on sessions and speakers will be coming soon.
Conference Scholarships
Have you been wanting to attend conference but haven't because of costs? Apply for an
ACS Conference Scholarship in 2020! Applications will be open through March 31 and are available in five buckets:
- Retailer
- Cheesemaker
- Student
- Chef
- Comté Association Conference Fund for those accepted to take the ACS Certified Cheese Professional® exam the same year
Stay tuned to each month's CheeseBytes and other ACS communications for more conference-related information as it's announced.
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ACS Member Feature
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Michael holding his 2020 Good Food Award which Old Brooklyn Mustard, Pepped Up, won.
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Old Brooklyn Cheese Company - Cleveland, OH
Michael Januska, founder of Old Brooklyn Cheese Company in Cleveland Ohio, made the jump to the cheese industry in the same way as many of his peers, in pursuit of a new passion discovered while on a different career path. He worked for over 16 years as a chef in London, traveling all over Europe meeting people and immersing himself in food knowledge. "That's where cheese started falling in place for me," he says.
He eventually moved back to his hometown of Cleveland and starting making cheese. "Americans were making awesome cheese all over the country, but nobody was in Cleveland." It was a gap he wanted to fill and in 2016, he opened Old Brooklyn Cheese Company.
Read more of Old Brooklyn Cheese Company's story
here.
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Comté Scholarship Winner Announced
 Lee Anderson, Cheese Specialist at Hy-Vee, Inc. in Omaha, NE, has been selected as the seventh Comté Scholarship for ACS CCPs™ scholarship recipient. Lee will have the opportunity to go on 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, he will receive a $500 cash stipend.
When he learned he had won, Lee exclaimed, "This is amazing! I really didn't expect this to happen. I am honored to be chosen. There are so many great cheese folks out there. This is an incredible opportunity to see where Comté comes from!"
Applicants were asked to write an essay answering the question "when assisting a customer or buying Comté PDO for a store, please explain what the most important points are and why in your opinion. Supposing you had to purchase two or three different Comtés for resale, how would you go about selecting them?" Lee's winning essay was judged on his knowledge and creativity and can be
read here.
Congratulations to Lee!
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