AGS GEARS UP FOR CONCLAVE

The American Gem Society has finalized plans for its 1999 Conclave, set for April 7-11 in New Orleans.

Robb Report magazine has signed on as the first overall Conclave sponsor. The publication will sponsor a breakfast for all Conclave attendees on Friday, April 9 and will sponsor the opening speaker, Dr. Richard Ruhe.

Ruhe, a motivational speaker from the Ken Blanchard Companies, will discuss customer service, branding, and quality management. His clients include Hewlett-Packard, Estee Lauder, the Gap, and MCI. He is the author of Total Quality Leadership.

In addition, the Diamond Promotion Service will host a special reception on Thursday, April 8. Prior to the reception, DPS executive director S. Lynn Diamond will present a new advertising and promotional program to help maximize diamond sales in the new millennium. DPS will introduce its new Opportunity 2000 program at Conclave.

RICHARD HORNE ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF CJA

Richard Horne, president of Shreve & Co., San Francisco, has been elected president of the California Jewelers Association (CJA) for 1999.

Horne served as cochairman of the 1996 and 1997 Pacific Jewelry Shows. He has been in the jewelry industry since 1964 and has been president of Sheve & Co. since 1993.

Marion Halfacre of Traditional Jewelers in Newport Beach is CJA president-elect. Peter Hess of Snyder & Snyder in San Juan Capistrano is first vice president. Keith Norris of K. Norris Jewelers, Riverside, is second vice president. Allen Kessler of Kessler’s Jewelers in Burbank is treasurer.

BOSTON JEWELERS CLUB ELECTS NEW SLATE

The Boston Jewelers Club recently elected officers at its 110th annual meeting.

Curtis A. Ley, president of B.A. Ballou, a Rhode Island manufacturer of findings and finished jewelry, was elected president. A former vice president of Tiffany & Co., he is vice chairman of Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, a current director and past chairman of the Jewelers Board of Trade, and a member of the 24 Karat Club of New York.

Fredric J. Hammerle of Stern Metals Inc., a former MJSA president, was elected vice president. Robert W. Paul, former president of the Jewelers Board of Trade, was re-elected secretary-treasurer.

NEW OFFICERS FOR OHIO JEWELERS

The Ohio Jewelers Association recently elected a new slate of officers for 1999.

Jack Siebert of Jack Seibert Goldsmiths, Columbus, is the president. Alan Rodriguez of Rodriguez’s House of Stones, New Philadelphia, is vice president. James Schwartz of Schwartz Jewelers, Cincinnati, is secretary. Daniel Pugh of Pugh’s Diamond Jewelers, Zanesville, is treasurer.

Other board members are Robert Ball, Henry B. Ball Co., Canton; Robert Komara, Komara Jewelers Inc., Canfield; Dennis Vondrell, Von’s Jewelry Inc., Lima; Robert Smith, E.M. Smith Jewelers, Chillicothe; Robert Argo, Argo and Lehne Jewelers, Columbus; Michael K. Myers, Myers & Pugh Jewelers, Newark; Tim Smith, Smith and Co. Jewelers, Boardman; Glenn Kelsey, Kelsey Jewelers, Cincinnati; Tom Laudick, Leo Alfred Jewelers, Dublin; Lee Krombholz, Krombholz Jewelers, Cincinnati; Larry Hall, Baker and Baker Jewelers, Marietta; and Stuart Palestrant, Wendel’s Jewelers, Lancaster.

TWO AGS WEEKS SLATED THIS YEAR

The American Gem Society will hold AGS Week, its annual consumer-education campaign, in both the spring and the fall this year. The dates are April 18-26 and Sept. 26-Oct. 2.

AGS member stores will invite consumers to explore a gem through a binocular microscope. Retailers will answer customers’ questions and provide information on fine jewelry. AGS will provide members with a media package to aid in promotion.

In past years, more than 1,000 AGS members have participated in the program.

SIX RETAILERS JOIN JA 100 CLUB

Jewelers of America has inducted six retailers into the JA 100 Club, an honor bestowed on member businesses that have been operating for at least a century.

The inductees are: Hug Jewelers, Cincinnati, founded 1886; Joe Rosenberg Jewelers, Lexington, Ky., founded 1896; Johnson Jewelers, Puyallup, Wash., founded 1898; Kinne’s Jewelers, Gainesville, Texas, founded 1889; Nicolson & Ryan, Augusta, Maine, founded 1885; and The Richter & Phillips Co., Cincinnati, founded 1896.

With the addition of these six inductees, the total number of JA 100 Club members is now 64.

JA APPOINTS EDUCATION STAFFER

David Peters has been named manager of education development at Jewelers of America. His duties will include designing new educational programs for JA members and working to make educational resources readily accessible to retail jewelers.

Peters, a Graduate Gemologist, also holds a master of science degree in education from Pepperdine University. He has more than 16 years’ experience in the retail jewelry industry. Prior to joining JA, he was an instructor at the Gemological Institute of America. He has conducted seminars and educational programs at major industry events.