I rec. a letter from Hershey about judging. Dead line to register extended and a registration form inclosed. I had planed to judge,and want to,but if I get held up on the show field like last year it will be to late for the judges b/fast. What happens then?? Did you get a letter?? 12 years with Hershey, first letter for me.

Dick, the letter is new this year. We are just short on judges. We BELIEVE the traffic problems are resolved.

Hershey Region might be interested to know that several people we know quit judging 'cos getting to the event for seven a.m. breakfast in the dark is too much trouble. In the rain, as it does often, seeing is hard and many figure just go later and drive a car in to the show field in daylight. This could be changed to eight a.m as at other events and would perhaps get them more judges that stay overnight after the meet anyway.
Two cents - - -

Have some questions for those people that have a car on the show field at Hershey and Judge.

- When do you put your show car on the field? Before 7am then you go to the Judge's Breakfast or after the Breakfast?
If before 7am, do you have time to return to the vehicle before the judging begins to give it a once over, open the hood, etc.?

- Must all Judges be at the Breakfast at 7am until 10am or is it more laid back and Judges can come/go anytime during the 7-10am timeframe?

Just wondering how all this works when one has a car in the event and judges.
This is especially important to those of us who do not have a spouse or friend with us at an event since we cannot be in two places at the same time.

BTW, if one's plans change, can a person attend the Judging classes at Hershey at the last minute? (ie just show up)
Thanks for your input.

You must be there by 7 a.m. unless you have something in the nature of an emergency that you can not get there. It sounds like this is your first time to judge at Hershey. The breafast is where last minute changes and instructions are given out, in addition to recognition awards. So it is very important to be there by 7 a.m. Trust me, there is nothing laid back about Hershey.



That should not be a problem. I am sure that they print extra instruction sheets and bring extra sign-up cards to make sure you get your credit for being there.

I would get the car on the field before the judges breakfast. It can be done, but it makes for a full day. This year, I am leaving the show car at home and I will just be judging.

I have this feeling that Hershey starts the breakfast at 7 a.m. to be able to be done with everything by a reasonable hour. Keep in mind, many do more than one job and if a judge is showing a vehicle, or vehicles, they need time to get cleaned up for the dinner and get their vehicle(s) off of the show field and back home or back into the trailer.

I personally would love it if it started at 8 rather than 7. We stay at a campground over closer to Elizabethtown and there are three of use to get out the door to be at the breakfast since our friend Rodger stays with us. And Bill and I travel with two older ferrets that are now both on medications that must be given prior to leaving. The chinchilla is only nine months old so I can prepare his cage the night before with lots of food and an extra water bottle.

Marshall VanWinkle is the KING of showing/judging/teaching a CJE class in my book. For many years he also had to care for his wife who was not in good health. He stands as a wonderful example of what can be done if you set your mind to it....and get up early enough.

Susan & Matthew thank your feedback to my questions.

I have been judging and showing cars for a number of years at manufacturer specific events.
No question that both showing and judging makes for a LONG day.
Add to that a 2-3 hour commute both to and from the event and it gets even longer.

Compared to events I have been involved with, the three hour judges breakfast at Fall Hershey is fairly long.
I suspect that the recognition awards take up a fairly large portion of the Breakfast compared to the last minute changes.

Most events I attend have judges meetings that run from as little as 15-20 minutes to as long as 60-90 minutes (a total of three meetings lasting this long). The big difference between these events and Hershey is the number of judges involved. The number of Judges at Hershey is probably in the 100s while the events I judge at are done with, at most, 50-60 judges (usually less). The much larger number of judges, eating breakfast, recognitions, etc. easily adds to the Hershey meeting time.

Anyway, thanks again...

Charlie, the breakfast meeting is not three hours long. It does vary depending on how much information they have to tell us and how many people get recognition awards but it sure isn't three hours long.

Hope you have a great time at Hershey.

Thanks for setting me straight regarding the length of the Judges Breakfast.

regarding the time for judges breakfast at Hershey, don't forget how large an area it covers and depending on where you are and where your car is it could take a while to hike between judge's breakfast and get back to your trailer/car. I believe that is just one of the reason that Hershey starts earlier. PLUS another reason is, cars are to be on the show field by 10AM so there is more time for the judging due to the number of cars so the show "starts" and hour earlier like the breakfast is an hour eariler. That's probably the main reason for 7am.

Dave is basically right. All our meets normally start with breakfast at 8, however, Hershey is the one exception simply because of the enormity of it. 1300 cars to judge takes awhile and also takes a lot of time for admin to do their work for the awards ceremony that evening. Most judges and members alike do not realize that after they finish judging there is more work to be done. Also, the team needs time to correct mistakes, go back out and find any missing judging sheets, cars, handle problems, etc. The extra hour is critical to getting done at a reasonable time

For years the late Jean Allinder traveled to shows with Bill and I to continue to work in Administration after her husband Charlie passed away. The "Admin. folks" work long after the judges have finished. One year at Hershey they were in the ticket booths by the stadium and it was pretty tight quarters in there and it was pretty warm if I remember correctly.

My personal hat is off to all those hard working folks.