American Gem Society Honors Titleholders at Annual Luncheon

Seattle—The American Gem Society held its Titleholders Luncheon last Tuesday during its annual Conclave event in Seattle, honoring a few individuals for their service to the industry.

Meredith Schlessinger took home the Young Titleholder of the Year Award.

“Since she joined the Young Titleholders, Meredith brought with her enthusiasm, energy, and great ideas. She is perhaps more passionate than any of us when it comes to building a warm and welcoming community,” said Marc Nanasi, chair of the Young Titleholders Steering Committee.

Nanasi also honored AGS Secretary Lisa Bridge with a special plaque for her continued support of the Young Titleholders.

“Lisa helped take our community from an idea to a thriving and growing part of AGS,” Nanasi said.

The Guild of the Year Award was presented to the Michigan Guild, highlighting Guild President Susan Barnett’s commitment to growing the organization and boosting AGS membership.

The Sallie Morton Award, named after the first female AGS president, was awarded to Philip Bosen for his service to the AGS Guilds over the past year.

“Mr. Bosen was charged with Guild communications, creating many meeting notices, and establishing an online ticketing sales tool for the meetings. Without any guidance, he created a process to systematically produce our meeting notices for over 52 Guilds,” noted presenter Marc Altman, chair of the International Guilds Council.

The John J. Kennedy Award, named after the current president of the Jewelers Security Alliance, was presented to Supervisory Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Steve Gonzalez in honor of his commitment to the safety of the industry.

Altman noted, “Special Agent Gonzalez voluntarily stepped into the role of ensuring the FBI’s partnership with AGS, and through his extensive network, the Guilds are assured outstanding meetings on security for years to come, as well as meetings at FBI facilities.”

Meanwhile, at its annual membership breakfast Wednesday, AGS confirmed its board of directors for the year ahead.

Niveet Nagpal of Omi Gems and Caryl Capeci of Chow Tai Fook, North America, will serve as the newly-elected directors-at-large.

AGS President John Carter took a moment to thank outgoing members Beryl Raff of Helzberg Diamonds and Yancy Weinrich of JCK Events for their service to the committee.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated post-publication to correct the spelling of Mr. Nanasi’s name. It is Marc, not Mark.