On Sunday, February 26, Rich & Debbie Fass opened the doors to Stone Barn Restorations.  What treasures lurked behind the doors?  Yikes!  Packards - Cadillacs - even an Imperial and Cord to catch the eye.

But we were not there to marvel or window shop.  This was a morning focused on the art of CCCA Judging.  Our seminar was called to order by John Kefalonitis, a CCCA Head Judge and Metro member.  While Assistant Head Judge (and wife) BarbaraAnna tended to the details of running the event, John provided guidelines for judging at the upcoming Metro Grand Classic (April 22).  For some, the seminar was a refresher.  For others, it was an introduction to judging.  Yet, the seminar and audience questions brought everyone to a common understanding.  John explained the team set-up, where each member of the team evaluates the entire car, rather than an assigned area of the car.  The role of the Team leader was explained - The team leader guides the process and most importantly acts as the sole contact with the owner if a question is raised by a member of the judging team.

Sample judging forms were distributed and each judging category was reviewed.  "But what if I find...." and "How much do I deduct for..." and "Regarding authenticity, how do you handle...." were common questions, all fielded by our resident expert, John.  Our presentation concluded with viewing a video prepared by the CCCA, explaining basic judging guidelines and etiquette.

Seminars are great, but putting the words in to practice is where it pays off - so everybody out to the shop and pick a car!!  What?  Lunch?  Ok, eat first, judge later.  Some Metro habits will never die.

After a yummy sandwich and a lot of car chatter, a number of the folks grabbed their judging sheets and a pen and headed off to the shop.  Luckily, John was nearby and fielded a myriad of questions from the participants practicing their new-found knowledge.