The presentation took place at Conclave in Nashville.
(Press Release) NASHVILLE, TN – The American Gem Society presented a number of prestigious awards at its annual Conclave in Nashville, TN, April 23-25. All of the awards honor excellence, professionalism and a commitment to ethics and consumer protection.
At the Titleholders Luncheon held on April 24, Denise Richards, CGA, outgoing Chair of the Young Titleholders Steering Committee, presented Sarah Nanasi Russell, CG, with the Young Titleholder of the Year Award, saying that Russell “was instrumental in making all of our goals successful this past year.”
Also at the Titleholders Luncheon, Marc Altman, CGA, chair of the International Guilds Council, presented three awards. The Guild of the Year Award went to the Seattle Guild. Altman noted that the Guild had done “a terrific job in serving its members, with many engaging meetings, along with solid leadership.” Kara Huddleston, CGA, and president of the Cincinnati Guild, the previous year’s recipient, presented the award to Anna Samsonova and Gina Hawkins, CG.
The Sallie Morton Award was presented to Jennifer Shaheen. This award recognizes the contribution of individuals who have gone over and above in their service to the AGS Guilds each year. Sallie Morton, ECG, was instrumental in developing and promoting the AGS National Guilds and this esteemed honor is appropriately named after her. Morton passed away last year, making the award bittersweet. In presenting the award, Altman commended Shaheen for the professional help she gave to the Guilds, traveling around the country as a speaker.
Finally, Altman presented the John J. Kennedy award to David Sexton of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group. “Mr. Sexton is deeply entrenched in the security of our industry. He has given countless presentations on loss prevention at trade shows, Conclave, conferences and meetings across America, as well as supervised bulletins that not only went out to clients of Jewelers Mutual, but the broader industry.”