Sponsorship - If you would like to have your name listed in the conference registration piece, we need your sponsorship contract no later than Tuesday, March 31!
- View Current Sponsors
- View the brochure
Newsletter Ads - If you missed the recent deadline to put your ad in the 2nd Quarter Newsletter, we have good news for you: we've extended it! March 16 is the new deadline. Email acs@hqtrs.com for details.
Member News - Have you any news you want to share with other ACS members? Please send contributions for the Members News section of the ACS newsletter in no more than 100 words to Liz Campbell at campbellliz@rogers.com and if appropriate, include a photograph in the form of a JPEG. Your newsworthy items are due by March 16.
Thanks for tuning in for the March issue of the Cheese Wire! The upcoming months will be full of conference, competition and membership news. During this busy time, the Cheese Wire will be the best place for you to find these announcements and stay ahead of important deadlines.
Despite all of the upcoming ACS news, we always welcome your news! If you have information to add (member news, an event or you want other members to know about or an upcoming article you are in, etc), let us know. Send your input to acs@hqtrs.com for inclusion in the Cheese Wire. In the meantime, stay tuned and check out some March news below.
Scholarship News
Cheesemakers - The American Cheese Society will award full and partial scholarships to the 26th Annual ACS Conference in Austin, TX; August 5-8 at the Hilton Austin. This scholarship is for ACS Cheesemaker members who would like to attend our annual conference. Full scholarship winners will receive four nights hotel and $500 toward travel. Partial scholarships include a complimentary registration to the ACS conference. Read more and apply here.
Retailers - The John Crompton Memorial Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the Second Annual John Crompton Memorial Scholarship(s) earmarked for retail industry attendees of the American Cheese Society Conference. These scholarship opportunities were created in honor of our friend and colleague, John Crompton, who passed away in August 2006. All who knew John Crompton are aware of his passion, dedication and commitment to the industry. John was a 25 year employee of Seacrest Foods and a specialty food industry veteran. He loved the business, the people, and the products; he had made them his life. John's boisterous personality and his instinct for the business left a deep impression on all those who knew him. For more information (including application requirements) click here.
Cheese in the Heart of Texas An Update from Your Co-Chairs
It's true.....After completing the site visit last week in Austin, we are more excited than ever to be holding our upcoming conference "Cheese in the Heart of Texas" at the Austin Hilton from August 5th - 8th. The hotel is a wonderful facility and the management team there is so accommodating for all our requests which require back of the house access, actually designating a specific kitchen area to ACS for the whole week, we couldn't ask for more!
The Hilton is located conveniently in the downtown area off of 6th street, where music can be heard from the multitude of cafes, restaurants and bars that run the length of that avenue. This is why Austin is known as the live music capital of the world! There are many culinary options for dining out, but the local fare of tex mex is terrific! The program that has been developed is dynamic with some new concepts this year. Among them is the merchandising competition which will offer our retail members the opportunity to shine and exhibit their skills.....information on this will be forthcoming. Of course, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for helping to make this the best conference ever....and for those of you that have not committed to such an honor, to let you know there are still some great ways to get involved in the 2009 conference. We look forward to seeing you there.
Cathy Strange and Jodie Wische
Co-Chairs 2009 ACS Conference
Wire, Cheese?
Providence artist, C.W. Roelle, took artisanal cheese and made it into a whole new art.
Using wire, this self-proclaimed cheese-ologist extraordinaire sculpted "cheese portraits" of some of our favorite and tastiest cheese types - 200 unique wire sculptures, in fact!
Read more about these uniquely handmade sculptures here.
Member & Industry News
An American Cheesemaker in Paris David Gremmels, ACS President and Rogue Creamery Co-Owner/Cheesemaker, is spreading the gospel of American artisanal cheeses across the pond! Last week, while travelling in France, David was interviewed on behalf of the American Cheese Society. During the interview, he educated the French radio listeners on the American farmstead and artisanal cheese movement and the availability of raw milk cheeses in the US. You can listen to the 30 minute French interview here (MP3).
Weathering the Storm - Cheese in an Economic Downturn Everyone's talking about the economy. From Washington D.C. to the cheese counter, it has been the main topic of conversation. Gourmet Retailer covered the issue in a recent article. In Cheese Series I: Hard Cheese: Cutting it in Tough Times, they suggest ideas on how to streamline your cheese department to survive. Read the article.
Crave Brothers Expand Operation Congratulations are in order to longtime ACS members, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese. Wisconsin newspapers were abuzz with the news about the expansion of their operation. The Waterloo, WI company plans to double in size and add new cheesemaking equipment to meet their ever-growing demand. Visit www.cravecheese.com to learn more about their news or read the article at wiscnews.com.
America's Favorite Comfort Food:
Thinking Outside of the Blue Box
The Boston Globe recently had an article about the journey of macaroni and cheese from the in-your-kitchen comfort food to high-end restaurant meal. Without a doubt, America's growth and interest in artisanal cheese has played a pivotal role in this journey.
Read the article or visit our online directory to search for cheesemakers & retailers in your area and make your own specialty mac and cheese.
whole new art. 
The Boston Globe recently had an article about the journey of macaroni and cheese from the in-your-kitchen comfort food to high-end restaurant meal. Without a doubt, America's growth and interest in artisanal cheese has played a pivotal role in this journey.