russell beland, formerly of springfield, virginia now of fairfax, virginia was the first loser to reach 1,500 inks, a record he set in june 2011. he passed 1,000 in 2006, and earned the opportunity to judge a week of the contest. he has temporarily retired from the invitational on several occasions, one of which prompted a contest to suggest an invitational prize sufficient to lure him back. (one entry: "a night on the town with mrs. beland.")