American Gem Trade Association

June 13, 2007

 
Douglas K. Hucker Resigns as AGTA CEO/Executive Director

Dallas, TX - June 13, 2007 - The Board of Directors of the American Gem Trade Association announced today that they have accepted the resignation of Douglas K. Hucker as CEO of the Association.  Mr. Hucker will continue to work for the Association in an advisory capacity for the next six months.

Douglas K. Hucker was a former Board member and has served as the Association's Chief Executive Officer for the past ten years.  The Board of Directors expressed their profound appreciation for Mr. Hucker's service over the past decade and for the role he has played in growing the stature and influence of the AGTA and in helping elected Board members firmly establish the AGTA as the most respected voice of the colored gemstone and cultured pearl industry.

AGTA President Rick Krementz said, "Our Association and our industry has benefited immeasurably by Doug's service in many capacities.  He will continue to be part of our family and our community." Hucker will be honored with the AGTA Lifetime Membership Award at the 2008 AGTA GemFair Tucson Dinner Dance and Awards Gala.

"There has, perhaps, never been a period of time in our industry where there is such excitement and enthusiasm about colored gemstones and cultured pearls," says Hucker.  "While I truly look forward to pursuing many opportunities on the 'outside,' I feel I will always be a part of the AGTA, and it a part of me. I am enormously proud of the work our many Board members and staff have accomplished during my tenure, chief among them being the continued growth of the AGTA GemFair Tucson as the most important marketplace for gemstones in the world, the opening of our AGTA Gemological Testing Center and the recent launch of AGTA's new brand as 'The Authority in Color.'"

Ed Griffin, AGTA Chief Operating Officer, will be the primary contact person for AGTA until a new CEO is announced.

The American Gem Trade Association is a not-for-profit Association serving the natural colored gemstone and cultured pearl industry since 1981.  The AGTA serves the industry as "The Authority In Color" and has its headquarter office in Dallas, Texas and the world-renowned Gemological Testing Center in New York, New York.