WJA Honors Industry Leaders at 2015 Awards for Excellence Gala
Scholarship and grant winners also recognized for their achievements
|
New York, NY -- The 2015 Women's Jewelry Association Awards for Excellence Gala, which was held on July 27 in New York City, hosted over 700 attendees, and inducted three industry leaders into its WJA Hall of Fame. WJA also announced the 2015 winners of its Awards for Excellence in 10 categories.
The event also raised $60,000 for the WJA Foundation's Scholarship and Grant program. To highlight the importance of the dinner for the latter purpose, the group also invited scholarship winners and winners of the WJA-Carelle Grant in honor of Brooke Tivol McGrath, to attend the event. Several grant and scholarship winners addressed the crowd, extolling the value of the awards in furthering their studies and careers.
WJA bestowed its Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award to Pam Mortensen, SVP & general merchandise manager, jewelry, watches and fashion accessories at JCPenney. The Ben Kaiser Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded to a deserving man, was given to C. Clayton Bromberg, president, Underwood Jewelers, Jacksonville, Florida. The Corporate Award was given to Gumuchian, and accepted by owner Anita Gumuchian and her two daughters and partners, Myriam and Patricia Gumuchian.
WJA's Awards for Excellence were bestowed upon the following: Monica Stephenson of iDazzle for Editorial Media; Pamela Froman of Pamela Froman Fine Jewelry for Design; Deborah Nicodemus of Moda Operandi for Non-Traditional Retail; Veronica Guarino of Louis Anthony Jewelers for Retail - Fewer Than 15 Doors; Laurie Watt of Mayer & Watt for Manufacturer/Dealer/Supplier; Eve Rogers of Graff for Retail - Greater Than 15 Doors; Rebecca Moskal of Communique for Marketing & Communications; Amy Levine of Gurhan for Sales and Merchandising; Becka Johnson Kibby of the Edge Retail Academy for Special Services; and Jeanine Drtina of Cartier for Watches.
In speaking about the importance of her 2013 WJA-Carelle Grant, winner Lisa Kim spoke about the effect on the growth of her business, Lisa Kim Fine Jewelry in Los Angeles. She used her grant to build a new website and hire an experienced photographer to help her create a brand identity. Kim also spoke about how the grant gave her the press and networking opportunities she needed to advance her business.
Jenifer Bellefleur, winner of WJA's first Female Veteran Scholarship, sponsored by Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, spoke about her background and experience, first as an explosive ordinance disposal technician in the United States Army, then her eventual journey to becoming a designer and bench jeweler. Bellefleur will use her scholarship to attend the Gemological Institute of America's Graduate Jeweler program, to further improve her skills.
An auction and raffle were held during the dinner to raise funds for next year's WJA scholarships and grants, and guests were also given the opportunity to donate funds via envelopes on each of the gala's tables. "Through your generous support, the WJA community is able to make a difference for women in every stage of their careers," WJA Executive Director Bernadette Mack told attendees. "The funds we distribute annually will help a member in Texas buy a new piece of jewelry making equipment, help a woman launch a new jewelry line in Chicago, aid a student at the University of Georgia, and help a military veteran pay for courses. These are just a few of the remarkable ways you are supporting this vibrant and future thinking community."
##
WJA HALL OF FAME HONOREES
Lifetime Achievement Award Pam Mortensen SVP & General Merchandise Manager, Jewelry, Watches and Fashion Accessories JCPenney
Ben Kaiser Lifetime Achievement Award C. Clayton Bromberg President, Underwood Jewelers, Jacksonville, Florida
Corporate Award Gumuchian - Anita, Myriam, and Patricia Gumuchian
NOMINEES - WINNERS STARRED
Category I - Design Emily Armenta - Emily Armenta Pamela Froman - Pamela Froman Fine Jewelry* Suzanne Kalandjian - Suzanne Kalan Monica Rich Kosann - Monica Rich Kosann
Category II - Manufacturer/Dealer/Supplier Karishma Javeri - SDC Designs, LLC Sylvie Levine - Sylvie Collection Zina Sherman - Zina Sterling Laurie Watt - Mayer & Watt*
Category IIIa - Retail - 15 doors or more Lisa Bridge - Ben Bridge Jewelers Eve Rogers - Graff*
Category IIIb - Retail - Fewer than 15 doors Ellen Hertz - Max's Veronica Guarino - Louis Anthony Jewelers* Tara Silberberg - The Clay Pot Melissa Quick - Steve Quick Jeweler
Category IIIc - Non-Traditional Retail Alexis Clarbour - Portero Amy Jain/Daniella Yacobovsky - BaubleBar Beth Gerstein - Brilliant Earth Deborah Nicodemus - Moda Operandi* Ruth Thuston - Circa
Category IV - Sales & Merchandising Amy Levine - Gurhan* Tina Bruno - Stephen Webster Jennifer Shanker - MUSE Showroom
Category V - Marketing & Communications Kirsten Darrow - Fred Meyer Donna Jolly - American Gem Society Rebecca Moskal - Communique* Colby Shergalis - Forevermark
Category VI - Editorial Media Sarah Lisitski-Gerrish - Redbook Magazine Eileen McClelland - Instore Magazine Danielle Miele - Gem Gossip Monica Stephenson - iDazzle*
Category VII - Special Services Donna Borrelli - JCK Cindy Chandler - Smart Jewelry Show Becka Johnson Kibby - The Edge Retail Academy* Heather Smith Nunez - Cartier
Category VIII - Watches Audrey Bogdonoff - Gucci Agnes Campanile - Swatch Group/ Omega Jeanine Drtina - Cartier* Michelle Peranteau - Baume & Mercier
|
| WJA 2015 Hall of Fame honorees (l.to.r.): Ben Kaiser Lifetime Achievement Award winner C. Clayton Bromberg, president, Underwood Jewelers, Jacksonville, FL; WJA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Pam Mortensen, SVP & general merchandise manager, jewelry, watches and fashion accessories, JCPenney; Corporate Award winners Anita, Myriam, and Patricia Gumuchian of Gumuchian. |
|
| WJA 2015 Awards for Excellence winners (l.to.r.) WJA Awards and Ballots Chair Craig Selimotic Danforth; Editorial Media winner Monica Stephenson of iDazzle; Design winner Pamela Froman of Pamela Froman Fine Jewelry; Non-Traditional Retail winner Deborah Nicodemus of Moda Operandi; Retail - Fewer than 15 doors winner Veronica Guarino of Louis Anthony Jewelers; Manufacturer/Dealer/Supplier winner Laurie Watt of Mayer & Watt; Retail - Greater than 15 doors winner Eve Rogers of Graff; Marketing & Communications winner Rebecca Moskal of Communique; and WJA President Andrea Hansen. Missing from photo: Sales & Merchandising winner Amy Levine of Gurhan; Special Services winner Becka Johnson Kibby of the Edge Retail Academy; Watches winner Jeanine Drtina of Cartier. |
|
| WJA 2015 Scholarship and Grant winners (l.to.r.): WJA Foundation Scholarship Chair Lisa Slovis Mandel; WJA-Carelle 2013 Grant winner Lisa Kim; Myra Goldstein WJA Scholarship Award winner Susan Thornton; June Herman WJA Scholarship Award winner Melissa Cousins; Marilyn DaSilva WJA Scholarship Award winner Hannah Hash; WJA Scholarship Award winners Qiuting Wang and Carla Caravante; WJA-Carelle 2015 Grant winner Tina Chan; and WJA Female Veteran Scholarship winner Jennifer Bellefleur. Missing from photo: WJA Scholarship winners Kim Hung Chea, Emily Culver, Haiyin Liang, Chujun Li, and Miranda Harter. |
|
About the Women's Jewelry Association
WJA's mission is to help women in the jewelry and watch industries advance and develop professionally through networking, education, leadership development, and the provision of member services. For more information, visit www.womensjewelryassociation.com
|
CONTACT FOR DETAILS & IMAGES:
Lauren Thompson WJA Public Relations Chair (646) 658-5817 lthompson@jewelers.org
|
|