Held our 43rd annual conference in Sacramento, CA in July and welcomed over 1,000 attendees for 3 days where they could choose from 30 educational sessions.

Introduced the Restaurant Pop-Up Menu by partnering with various restaurants around Sacramento. 

Hosted a First Time Attendee and Scholarship Recipient Reception. 

Created a sponsor passport to encourage attendees to visit all our incredible sponsor booths. 

Awarded conference scholarships to 23 people, valued at $50,000. 

Moved our Call for Presentations into Event Power, where we host Conference registration, which allows for a streamlined planning process. 

Added additional networking sessions to allow for more attendee collaboration and sharing of ideas. 

Added a Volunteer Coordinator role. 

Engrained DEI resources into conference with BIPOC entertainment guide. 

Managed the 2025 Judging & Competition with 1,588 submissions from 228 companies. Awarded 407 awards to 141 companies (120 1st place, 138 2nd place, 149 3rd place). 

Created a gallery of award winners within the Award Force platform to further promote our winners. 

Continued to update our Standard Operating Procedures for on-site during the competition. 

Coordinated with various guilds for increased entry consolidation and delivery (including Vermont Cheese Council and CMAB in 2025). 

Partnered with a new company, Virtual Inc., to strengthen our Certification Program. 

Completed a thorough 3rd-party audit of our certification programs. 

Created a comprehensive Management Systems Manual for certification program administration and procedures. 

Operationalized Certification Celebration Month for ease of annual execution. 

Welcomed 145 new members to the American Cheese Society. 

Presented a webinar on membership engagement to our Guild Leaders’ Network. 

Added a PartnerShip discount for our members to utilize with FedEx and freight shipping. 

Hosted 15 webinars across topics like avian flu, audits, cleaning and sanitation, cheese trade policy, coagulation, and more 

Increased Instagram followers by 8.8% gaining a total of 2.3K followers for the year.   

Increased Instagram reach by 21% with a total of 53.1K views for the year 

Increased Facebook Link Clicks by 29.8% year over year.  

Published an updated Best Practices Guide for Safe Cheesemaking. 

Updated the Lexicon & Glossary. 

Created a website with real-time resources for HPAI crisis to help ensure members were supported. 

Continued to build relationship with FDA so ACS is recognized as a valued SME. 

Brought back the ACS Partner Pavilion in collaboration with the Specialty Food Association at the Summer Fancy Food Show. 

Hosted an ACS Member Meet Up at IDDBA in June. 

Created a standing Scholarship Committee (vs. Scholarship Selection Panel). 

Strengthened our succession planning across committees and the Board. 

Introduced Cassy Hemmen as Membership Specialist and Marisa Pinette as Digital Marketing Specialist.