At our last Guild meeting the group agreed that we would offer four (4) partial scholarships worth $500 towards attending the American Cheese Society Conference in Montreal this year, August 3 – 6. These scholarships will be given to Guild members who can attend the conference and who will then report on their experience at a future Guild meeting. At least one of the scholarship attendees will also be asked to blog about their conference experience on the Guild web site.

The 2011 Maine Cheese Guild ACS Scholarships were awarded to:

Amy Clark — Crookedface Creamery
Caitlin Hunter — Appleton Creamery
Deb Hahn — Hahn’s End
Eric Rector — Monroe Cheese Studio

Congratulations to you all!

Other Guild members who received votes for the scholarship were:

Arlene Brokaw
Carrie Whitcomb
Heidi Klingelhofer
Jamien Sheilds
Kevin (Pineland Farm)
Cathe Morrill
Jean Koons
Jessie Dowling
Mary Belding

Thank you to all those who voted.

The American Cheese Society conference is a terrific annual event that gathers the best and most interesting people in the artisan cheese world together all at once to connect, learn about what we’re all doing, and then be able to participate in the largest cheese competition in North America. The Guild is also sponsoring the first competition entry for any Guild member who wants to participate in that worthwhile event. Attendees will then, during the Festival of Cheeses on the final day of the conference, be able to try each of the 1000+ entries! Overall this is a TERRIFIC educational opportunity for any cheesemaker, whether they are nominated for a scholarship or not.