Call for an Extraordinary General Meeting for the Gemmological Association of Great Britain

I find this all very disturbing and am very concerned that one of the most effective CEO's I know of in the industry is being treated in such a manner.

Please let the staff of Gem-A to carry on the good work, they started under the leadership of the current CEO

Refusal by the Gem-A Board to sign Conflict of Interest forms (sort of says it all) and requesting staff members to have no contact with the James (CEO) is more than just troubling -- They couldn't find a harder worker, let alone one with his knowledge of both gemology and the trade

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I am very concerned about this situation. I think the current CEO and staff are doing an exemplary job that has resulted in increased visibility for Gem-A that has also led to increased participation in Gem-A events, and increased stature within the broader gemological community, and increased membership. Like it or not, without the income from an increasing membership base, no one can meet the increasing needs of, and changes in, the international gemological field. As any organization grows, its members will have different levels of experience and knowledge, and it's difficult to meet the needs of everyone, but I think Gem-A has been doing a great job of meeting the needs of its various constituents, through a variety of conferences/meetings/ articles and so on. And equally important, hearing from the CEO and other staff at major conferences, addressing issues now faced that were unheard of several decades ago, all result in the elevated stature of Gem-A around the world, which then increases interest in becoming a member. And increased membership results in increased income, which results in the ability to undertake research about gems, instrumentation, and while some prefer to ignore it, to that "new" area dealing with "human rights"...an area I can assure you has become a major concern of gem/jewelry buyers, without which there is no need for any gemological organization because without gem/jewelry buyers the need for any gemological knowledge and education would disappear! The Gem-A has, since its inception, been focused on education, gemological research, and establishing quality standards (the latter two more central when Gem-A had its own laboratory). But even without its own lab, the Gem-A has found a new voice, one that is respected and sought on major gemological issues. All of these areas of gemological involvement have been revived by the recent leadership of the Gem-A. If we do not support the current leadership, I fear the Gem-A will lose its pre

Please let me know the proposed time and place for the "Extraordinary General Meeting"

Distressed to hear of problems at Gem A. I do hope this can be resolved.

I support an EGM.

Transparency and trust is essential to any major organisation

I decided to pay this outrageous membership fee of $ 300 once more; but I WILL NOT DO IT NEXT YEAR. I do not want to be in the same league with those people who bought their F.G.A. without having passed proper tests like we did. I received yesterday GEMS & JEWELELRY and does not like gemmological magazine but report about attending various tea parties around the world (7 conferences in 6 months !?)

I decided to pay this outrageous membership fee of $ 300 once more; but I WILL NOT DO IT NEXT YEAR. I do not want to be in the same league with those people who bought their F.G.A. without having passed proper tests like we did. I received yesterday GEMS & JEWELELRY and does not like gemmological magazine but report about attending various tea parties around the world (7 conferences in 6 months!?)

Let us get this settled.

It seems that an EGM is the only way to shed light into recent and quite cumbersome activities. I strongly vote for as much transparency as possible.

You have me concerned as well.

Serious concerns have been raised which should be addressed in a transparent and accountable manner.

Caroline Tran-Vinh, France, Paris This is bad news and I am very worried. In the last two years I noticed a few things which bothered me and wanted to write to Gem-A in order to have more explanations (a new Communication Manager was presented to me by James Riley last year in Tucson then this person disappeared, brochures were to be sent to me in order to promote the 2014 Conference but I never received them, I made a few requests which never got answers, I noticed unprofessional behaviour from a member of the staff which did not give a good image of Gem-A and last but not least, I was worried to see so many Gem-A staff on the shows where, contrary to what was said in the Journal, there was no public (for example Freiburg im Breisgau). I wondered if I was going to pay my membership next year but decided I had to go on supporting Gem-A. So I hope that we'll be informed as much and as soon as possible.

This discord is very worrying. We have a world renowned organisation that needs to be squeaky clean to keep confidence with its staff, students and status world wide. EGM please and quickly to resolve issues.

I am extremely concerned to read this update and agree wholeheartedly with the call for an EGM

Member No. 812853