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AGS Presents Shipley Award To Bill Farmer; Names Other Award Winners April 29, 2015 (0 comments)
New Orleans, LA—Bill Farmer, CGA, co-owner of Farmer’s Jewelry, is the recipient of the American Gem Society’s annual Robert M. Shipley award. AGS members presented him with the award April 25 during the organization’s annual Conclave, held this year in New Orleans. Farmer received the award based on his expertise and commitment to his community and the jewelry industry, and because of his outstanding service to the American Gem Society.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bill for many years, and I am so happy for him,” said Ruth Batson, CEO of the American Gem Society and AGS Laboratories. “He has demonstrated his dedication to the ethical standards of the American Gem Society through his professional career and his volunteer service.”
Farmer is a hard-working and devoted advocate of the American Gem Society, having served as AGS president from 2002-2004. During his many years of leadership at AGS, he also was actively involved in the Young Titleholders committee and served as chair of the Conclave committee. After his term as president, he served additional terms on the American Gem Society board as chair of the membership committee.
Farmer was inducted into National Jeweler’s Hall of Fame in 1993. He has served for eight years on Jewelers of America’s board of directors and was elected chairman in July 2014. He also served two terms as president of the Kentucky Jewelers Association.
Also during Conclave, AGS presented several more awards. Denise Chislett, CG, of Underwood’s Jewelers in Fayetteville, AR, was the recipient of the first annual Young Titleholders Award, given at the Titleholder’s lunch April 24. The award is presented to a young titleholder who has contributed greatly to the committee and the society as a whole. Lisa Bridge, CG, and Anna Samsonova, CGA, co-chairs of the Young Titleholder’s Steering Committee presented the award to Chislett. “Denise has set the bar quite high for future contenders. The group has been successful in large part because of her,” said Bridge.
During the Shipley luncheon, the Society awarded the Sallie Morton award to Doug Hucker, CG, CEO of AGTA. The award is given in recognition of individuals who have gone over and above in their service to the AGS Guilds each year. Sallie Morton, ECG, was very instrumental in developing and promoting the AGS National Guilds.
“2014 was the year of guilds and color,” said Laura Stanley, CGA, chair of the AGS Guilds. “Doug Hucker was tireless and generous with his time in helping to support many of our fledgling guilds, as well as visiting several established cities. We feel like his support has kept our momentum going into 2015 and into the future.”
Stanley also presented the Guild of the Year award to the Arizona guild. “All of our guilds keep raising the bar on interesting and relevant programs,” she said. “This year, our amazing Phoenix guild has brought in star quality like Doug Hucker, Campbell Bridges, and Judy Evans. Their crowning achievement is a calendar featuring gems from Arizona! President Catherine Fitzgibbon really outdid herself!”
Finally, AGS president Louis Smith presented the first ever John J. Kennedy award. This award was named after John Kennedy as a tribute to his leadership in the Jewelry Security Alliance, and for his advocacy and service to the security of the jewelry industry. The award is given to a law enforcement professional that has gone above and beyond to help members of the jewelry industry protect their stores and their teams from theft and other criminal activity. This year’s recipient was FBI Special Agent Daniel McCaffrey.
“Special Agent McCaffrey has been tireless in his efforts to protect our industry,” said Smith. “He has spoken at Guild meetings, spent time with jewelers, and worked on his off-time to help protect jewelers. He is most deserving of this award.”
Of the award being named after John J. Kennedy, Smith noted, “It’s fitting that we named the award after Mr. Kennedy. He is the utmost authority on security in our industry and highly regarded among his peers.”