JBT Announces its New Board

New York—The Jewelers Board of Trade elected new officers and directors at its annual company meeting and most recent board meeting, both held earlier this year.

The organization elected Michael L. Kaplan of Rocket Jewelry Box Inc. out of Elmsford, New York, as chairman; Ann S. Arnold of Buyers International Group, LLC out of Napa, California, as first vice-chairman; and Richard Katz of Richline Group, Inc. out of New York City as second vice-chairman.

Richard Weisenfeld was again elected to the role of president as well as to the role of treasurer, while Brenda M. Pimentel was elected secretary.

The aforementioned individuals will serve in these roles for a one-year term.

Additionally, newly elected to the board for a two-year term is Matthijs Braakman, group publisher and CEO at SmartWork Media, the publisher of InStore Magazine.

Braakman has 20 years of experience in the fine jewelry industry and 18 years of business-to-business publishing experience.

At its recent meetings, the JBT also re-elected several members for another two-year period, including Kaplan and Katz.

The other re-elected board members are: Tim Coggins of Bank RI in Providence, Rhode Island; Jeffery Corey of H.E. Murdock Company Inc. in Waterville, Maine; Brian D. Fleming of Carla Corporation in E. Providence, Rhode Island; Michael Pelto of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group out of Neenah, Wisconsin; and Pinny Rubin of Quality Gold Inc., out of Fairfield, Ohio.

Members continuing to serve their current terms, including Arnold, are: Ira Bergman of The Gordan Company, Inc. in Pompano Beach, Florida; David Bonney of Lux Bond & Green, Inc. out of West Hartford, Connecticut; Edward N. DeCristofaro of LDC, Inc. in E. Providence, Rhode Island; Roderick Lichtenfels of W.R. Cobby Company in E. Providence, Rhode Island; Keven Peck of Color Merchants, Inc. in New York, New York; Nilesh Sheth of Forever Collections, Inc. in Los Angeles, California; and Todd Wolleman of Leo Wolleman, Inc. in Mount Vernon, New York.

Phyllis Bergman of Phyllis Bergman Co. in New York and Richard Greenwood of A.F. Greenwood Co. Inc. in New York also continue to serve their existing terms as advisory board members.

For more information, contact Brenda Pimentel at 401-467-0055, ext. 3512 or bpimentel@jewelersboard.com.

The JBT is a resource for jewelry industry-related data, credit reporting, debt collections and marketing services. It provides members services to help them make better and more knowledgeable decisions regarding credit, and business and marketing strategy.