By Jennifer Heebner, Editor in Chief
AGTA announced big news on Monday, and many think it’s about time! In honor of a beloved dealer peer who died unexpectedly in 2019, the AGTA has brought to life the Dick Greenwood Memorial Scholarship in Gems Science. Greenwood ran A. F. Greenwood & Co., a wholesale gemstone business started by his father.
Fourth-year Geosciences majors at the University of Arizona (UA) are eligible to apply for it. AGTA’s newly established 501(c)(3) Foundation—live in 2025—will accept private tax-deductible donations as well as contributed funds from AGTA’s trade shows to fund this initiative and others moving forward. The first scholarship will be awarded for the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 semesters, and AGTA will pay the student’s tuition directly to the UA. The scholarship will exist in perpetuity.
Bringing this idea to life has been a labor of love for dear friends of Greenwood and AGTA Board President Kimberly Collins of Kimberly Collins Colored Gems. Collins told the media on Monday that she was “thrilled” to make it a reality and that to see it brought to life was one of her final goals as AGTA Board President. [Bruce Bridges of Bridges Tsavorite will become president at the 2025 AGTA GemFair Tucson.]
AGTA CEO John W. Ford, Sr., praises Collins for her steadfast efforts. “Others talked about it for years, but Kim got it done!” he says.
Friends of Greenwood still mourn him but are delighted to see a scholarship named in his honor. All recount his involvement in myriad industry associations—he served as President of the AGTA Board of Directors twice, among other involvement—caring a great deal about nomenclature, arbitrating disputes, young people new to the industry, and Camp Greenwood Tucson.
“Camp Greenwood was something he would do in Tucson,” recollects Fran Mastoloni, Mastoloni Pearls. “He would let any young or new person in the business follow him around the show to see what he was buying and to learn about gemstones.”
Greenwood’s widow Trudi fondly recalls Camp Greenwood as being more of a social club in the desert.
“Dick didn’t exhibit for the longest time but just went around and talked to everyone—like the mayor of Tucson!” she laughs. “We even had T-shirts made up for him and his closest friends.”
Everyone in Greenwood’s inner circle supported the idea of having a scholarship established in his honor.
“Dick was one of the nicest, most approachable people you’d ever want to meet,” says Owen Bordelon, a retired gem dealer and one of the founders of AGTA. “I was on the AGTA board for 17 years, and if you had a problem, you would call Dick. Everyone referred to him as the calm voice of reason.”
But it wasn’t just his demeanor that people admired, it was his gem knowledge, too.
“He was a true leader and the only thing that exceeded his knowledge of gems was the size of his heart,” says Jeffrey Bilgore of the eponymous gemstone and jewelry firm.
Longtime friends Laurie and Simon Watt of Mayer & Watt agree.
“He was a generous soul and gave things away if you needed something,” maintains Laurie. “He had a New York edge but a heart of gold.”
Dick and Trudi Greenwood
Others called Greenwood the walking “embodiment of the principles of AGTA,” according to friend and retired gem dealer Todd Wolleman.
“Take the best of AGTA and what it stands for and Dick lived it every day,” adds Bilgore.
In fact, Bilgore and Simon Watt were among the first to suggest the creation of a scholarship in their friend’s name. “We suggested a scholarship because Dick was always about paying it forward and giving back,” says Bilgore.
Friend and former business partner Doug Parker says the scholarship nods to the time and talent that Greenwood gave freely to others.
“The scholarship speaks to his contributions to AGTA and the entire industry, is extremely well-deserved, and very overdue.”
Trudi Greenwood is pleased to see the legacy of her late husband unfold with a scholarship.
“He was all for guiding people and teaching about the industry, so this would have made him happy,” she says. “He was a natural in business, and his ethics were strong. People called him ‘Mr. President’ long after his last AGTA board term ended. He had a big place in industry, so this scholarship just feels right.”
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