JA Moves Its National Convention Online

New York—Jewelers of America has moved its second annual national convention online.

The JA Virtual National Convention is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26 through Thursday, May 28, the trade organization announced Tuesday.

The online-only event will include many of the same presentations already planned for the in-person event, which was supposed to take place in New York in July but ultimately was canceled due to uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

JA will welcome back to the (virtual) stage political forecaster Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report.

Cook, who delivered his political prognostications at the inaugural JA National Convention last year, will again share his non-partisan and expert take on what may be one of the most critical and contentious election seasons ever.

Other session topics include: omnichannel marketing, social media, security, investment trends, and retail evolution.

“COVID-19 has completely shifted the way our industry is having to operate,” JA President CEO David J. Bonaparte said in a release announcing the virtual event.

“The decision to transition our National Convention to virtual was not an easy one to make. However, the education we had planned is extremely important for our members and we felt it was best to push the convention up to May with the hopes that business will be in full swing as soon as possible and retailers can focus entirely on their clients and stores.”

Cook’s session is one of eight planned for the three-day convention.

It will be free for all JA members to attend. Non-members can take advantage of JA’s limited-time free membership offer to gain access to the virtual event.

A full schedule and registration details will be announced shortly.

To learn more about the Jewelers of America Virtual National Convention, visit Jewelers.org. 

National Jeweler is a for-profit subsidiary of Jewelers of America, which purchased the publication in 2015. The two organizations act independently of each other.