2010 Letter From Executive Director

Dear CJA Member,

As the new Executive Director of the Connecticut Jewelers Association it is my pleasure to write to welcome you to the CJA website.

As many of you know, the Board of Directors of the CJA made a major decision about the future of the organization upon the retirement of the former Executive Director Ed Isenberg. Ed served the CJA with honor for over 40 years and leaves behind a lasting legacy. He became synonymous with the CJA and he will be missed.

Shortly after Ed's retirement, the CJA Board made the decision to have the Connecticut Retail Merchant's Association act as the new management team for the CJA. In doing so the CJA Board secured some benefits for CJA members. Among them would be that the CRMA would act as the legislative representative of the CJA and all members of the CJA would automatically become members of the CMRA. We hope that in the coming months members will see the benefits of this new arrangement.

In addition to the alliance with CRMA, CJA members also face a new change with respect to your relationship with the Jewelers of America. Many of you may be aware that last year, JA announced that it would no longer have alliances with State Jewelers Associations like CJA. This change will go into effect this year, but in the meantime, the CJA Board will spend that time working with us to ensure that the program and services that you have come to expect will continue and that a comprehensive plan moving forward will be put in place.

While all of these changes may present themselves in varying ways to you, it is nothing compared to effects of the economy on your business. It is because of that challenge that CJA leadership has stressed to us that we work as hard as we can to find ways to help members with their bottom line by using your group purchasing power to develop specific programs tailored to your needs.

Thank you again for using the site. Your participation is the CJA is critical to its success. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Tim Phelan
Executive Director

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