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President

Laurence E. Hyman

(Lubin-Bergman Org., Inc.)

Vice President

Howard Frum

(Howard Frum Jewelers)

Scholarship

Veronica Cardenas

(Cardenas Asset Mgmt.)

Past President

Alvin L. Bell Jr.

(Freeman Jewelers)

Secretary

Robert Sepiashvili

(SEP Jewelry Tools)

Treasurer

Praveen Dukkipati

(Atlantic Diamond Co.)

Website Administrator

Ross Merritt

(Windy City Jewelry & Loan)

Membership Director

Don Strzepek

(Tucker Co.)

Board of Directors

Allen Lipscher

(Global Diamonds)

M. Waseem

(A & B Watch Repair)

Myriam Tashey

(Professional Gem Sciences)

Vincent A. Innocenti, Sr.

(The Berco Company)

Frank Ingram

(Ingram Jewelers)

Tom Foody

(Oro International, Inc.)

Gary Dolinko

(Mid-States Refining)

Dear Fellow and Prospective Members of Dear Fellow and Prospective Members of Dear Fellow and Prospective Members of Dear Fellow and Prospective Members of the CJA:the CJA:the CJA:the CJA:

For any of you that may have been out of town for the last

year, you have missed an eventful and historic year for the

CJA.

An important step for our organization has been the

development of our new Chicago Jewelers Association Crime Alert Network

(CAN), and we are glad to announce that it is now established. It is a

“Neighborhood Crime Watch” system for the jewelry community. When a member

of our community experiences a crime, suspicious incident, or missing

merchandise, the member can put out an alert by contacting one of the three

designated leaders who will then contact the entire membership. Contact will be

made by either e-mail or fax. Please be sure to provide e-mail addresses and fax

numbers to us so that we may include you in the notification and distribution.

This sharing of information will help prevent further losses and make it more likely

that the criminals will be apprehended or that they will not be able to take

advantage of an unsuspecting and unwarned jeweler.

The inauguration of the CJA Crime Alert Network took place on April 20th, 2009 at

our event at the INSTORE Show. We were fortunate to have John Kennedy,

President of the Jewelers Security Alliance as our keynote speaker.

The establishment of the Crime Alert Network was made possible by a grant from

our sponsor Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company and the Jewelers Security

Alliance.

Please, be sure to call, email, or fax ANY information you might have. It’s all a

matter of pooling resources.

CJACJACJA NEWSNEWSNEWS Published by the Chicago Jewelers AssociationPublished by the Chicago Jewelers AssociationPublished by the Chicago Jewelers Association

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BURGLARS CUT HOLE IN ROOF AND CUT BURGLARS CUT HOLE IN ROOF AND CUT BURGLARS CUT HOLE IN ROOF AND CUT BURGLARS CUT HOLE IN ROOF AND CUT ALARM WIRESALARM WIRESALARM WIRESALARM WIRES Seymour, TNSeymour, TNSeymour, TNSeymour, TN –––– April 4, 2009April 4, 2009April 4, 2009April 4, 2009 Burglars cut the wires to the alarm and cut a hole in

the roof to gain access to a retail jewelry store. The sus-pects then cut into the safe, taking the entire contents. This is another case in a pattern of similar jewelry store and pawn shop burglaries in Tennessee, including a burglary of a retail jewelry store in Knoxville on Decem-ber 6, 2008. In that case the burglars also cut a hole in the roof, and disabled the alarm system, a surveil-lance system and the cellular backup system.

Area Crime To Be Aware Of

A release from the Jewelers Security Alliance

GRAB AND RUN ROUNDGRAB AND RUN ROUNDGRAB AND RUN ROUNDGRAB AND RUN ROUND----UPUPUPUP Schaumburg, ILSchaumburg, ILSchaumburg, ILSchaumburg, IL –––– April 10, 2009 April 10, 2009 April 10, 2009 April 10, 2009 –––– At 1:00 p.m. a black male and a black female entered a mall retail jewelry store arm in arm and asked to see a 3 carat diamond ring. When the sales associate took it out of the show-case, the male grabbed the ring. The associate grabbed it back and yelled “grab and run.” The male suspect grabbed it back again and ran from the store. The female suspect froze, was surrounded and taken into custody. The male is described as 6’, dark com-plexion, thin, facial hair on sides and chin, wearing blue jeans, black and dark green jacket and black and green cap.

SIX SOUTH AMERICAN GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN SALESPERSON ROBBERYSIX SOUTH AMERICAN GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN SALESPERSON ROBBERYSIX SOUTH AMERICAN GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN SALESPERSON ROBBERYSIX SOUTH AMERICAN GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN SALESPERSON ROBBERY Westerville, OHWesterville, OHWesterville, OHWesterville, OH –––– April 3, 2009April 3, 2009April 3, 2009April 3, 2009 After visiting a jewelry show at the Ohio Exhibition Center, a salesperson stopped his car in a restaurant park-ing lot to adjust his GPS device. A car blocked in the salesperson’s car and three male suspects smashed the windows of his vehicle and took two jewelry cases. Police located the abandoned suspect vehicle, which they determined had been rented in Chicago. Excellent police work and cooperation by a variety of law enforcement agencies, including the Westerville PD, FBI, NYPD, Passaic County Sheriff’s Dept., Wayne Township PD and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office resulted in the arrest of six gang members on April 6th and the recov-ery of the stolen jewelry. Five suspects were arrested at their motel room in Wayne, NJ, and a sixth suspect was caught after a chase in a wooded area near the motel.

Has your eHas your eHas your eHas your e----mail address, mailing address, mail address, mailing address, mail address, mailing address, mail address, mailing address,

fax or phone number changed?fax or phone number changed?fax or phone number changed?fax or phone number changed? Call (312) 641-5201 orororor

e-mail changes to admin@chicagoja.org Your help in keeping our records

up to date is appreciated!

CRIME ALERT

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Howard Frum

Jewelers

5 S. Wabash, #814,

Chicago, IL

“WANNA

BUY A

WATCH?”

“WANNA SELL

A WATCH?”

(312) 332-5999

www.howardfrum.com

(Continued from page 2)(Continued from page 2)(Continued from page 2)(Continued from page 2) Green Bay, WI Green Bay, WI Green Bay, WI Green Bay, WI –––– May 3, 2009May 3, 2009May 3, 2009May 3, 2009 – A white male entered a chain retail jewelry store and asked to see gold chains. The sales associate showed the sus-pect three gold chains from the showcase. When the associate turned away briefly, the suspect grabbed the chains and ran out of the store. The suspect is described as 25-30 years old, 5’10”, 175-185 lbs., short light brown hair, and was dressed in a green sweatshirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

Knoxville, TN Knoxville, TN Knoxville, TN Knoxville, TN ---- April 28, 2009April 28, 2009April 28, 2009April 28, 2009 – A black male suspect entered a chain re-tail jewelry store and was directed towards the men’s bracelets. The sus-pect also asked for a brand of watches the store did not carry. Then the suspect asked to see a three-stone ring. After conversation with two dif-ferent sales associates, he was shown a 2cttw engagement ring. The suspect asked about credit and layaway, and following an explanation from the sales associate, the suspect said thank you and ran out of the store with the ring. He is described as 25-30 years old, 5’8”, slim build, tattoo of a snake on his left hand, and a tattoo of someone’s name on the left side of his neck starting with the letter “X.”

Update on our matching scholarship!

CJA SCHOLARSHIP

NEWS

Recently, at the INSTORE show, the Chicago Jewelers Association held a fundraising drawing for an HP Netbook. All the money raised from this drawing went towards a matching grants for our scholarship program. It was a challenge from 5 of our members who agreed to match every dollar for dollar raised . The participating companies were Howard Frum Jewel-ers, Hakimian Gems, A&B Watch Repair, SEP Tools, and Freeman Jew-elers. $310 was raised at the show, and therefore, with the matches, re-sulted in a total contribution to the scholarship fund of $1860. Thank you so much to all who donated, and to the participating companies who matched the money raised. We are always looking to add to the scholarship fund, so if you would like to send a donation (which is tax deductible) to CJA, P.O. Box 501, Chi-cago, IL 60680. We are currently taking applications for members who would like to join our scholarship committee This post works in conjunction with our schol-arship coordinator, Veronica Cardenas, and will help screen possible ap-plicants for our scholarship. If interested, please call 312-641-5201, or email admin@chicagoja.org.

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As seen in the USPS District Newsletter for May

IN THE NEWS

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Pictures from our historic event and unveiling!

INSTORE AND THE CJA

.

CJA President Laurence Hyman addresses the standing room only crowd

Laurence Hyman presenting keynote speaker John Kennedy from Jewelers Security Alliance with a token of thanks

Gloria Tyson, Postmaster, Chicago District Dennis Nicoski, Regional Sales Manager, USPS

WANT ADS We will be adding a want ads section to our website, www.chicagoja.org. This is a place in which members can post classified ads for job positions they are looking to fill, and is free to members. Please email any postings you might want to place!

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HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING FOR SHIPPING???FOR SHIPPING???FOR SHIPPING???FOR SHIPPING???

WANT TO KNOW HOW TO REALIZE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS OVER YOUR CURRENT CONTRACT?

Please contact us for a free consultation and shipping analysis

Tim Hall

Business Development Specialist (312) 983-8378

GOING

DIGITAL

The newsletter is going digital! Starting with our next issue, we will begin our green efforts, and emailing out the newsletter to those members whose email addresses we have on file. If you would like to begin re-ceiving this newsletter via email, and do not have an address on file with us, please email admin@chicagoja with your email ad-dress, and we will add you to our list. After next issue, we will then go strictly digi-tal. This means that you will no longer get a hard copy emailed to your place of busi-ness. So, please be sure to notify our of-fices with your email address! We will also have an archive of newsletters on the website for viewing, in case you hap-pen to miss an issue.

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Are you a member of the Chicago Jewelers Association and have yet to set up your Endicia account to take advantage of our discounted shipping with the United States Postal Service? Are you consid-ering joining the Chicago Jewelers Association because you heard about our historic deal on dis-counted shipping with the United States Postal Service?

Setting up an account is fast & easy! In a few minutes, you can start printing discounted postage right from the comfort of your own office. If you are already a CJA member, please visit www. endi-cia.com/pcja for signup. For non-members, please visit www.chicagoja.org/postal_discount.html. You can sign up for your CJA membership by visiting our website, www.chicagoja.org, clicking the JOIN link at he top of the page, and following the steps there. If you are having problems with your Endicia setup, please call Endicia at 1-800-576-3279, ext. 130. Never in the history of the United States Postal Service has there been a discount like this offered! Be sure to take advantage of it. The cost-benefit analysis is a no-brainer, and as many companies know, every penny counts.

Want to get it? Here’s how.

THE POSTAL DISCOUNT

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Special Arrangement Offers CJA Mem-bers Postal Service Shipping Discounts CJA members can now save money on expedited shipping, through a special arrangement with the U.S. Postal Ser-vice. The arrangement, announced at the IN-STORE Show in April, extends Com-mercial Plus pricing, a discount for high-volume mailers, to the association and its membership. Under Commercial

Plus, mailers can save 14.7 percent, on average, on Express Mail shipping, and 7 percent on Priority Mail shipping. Express Mail is delivered overnight to most metropolitan areas, and includes free insurance and tracking. Priority Mail is delivered within 2 to 3 business days. Express Mail and Priority Mail packaging is available free of charge, and mailers can schedule a free package pickup through www.usps.com. Plus, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency, protects the safety and security of all packages in the postal mail system. To take advantage of these special rates: Join the CJA. Commercial Plus pricing is available only through CJA membership. Establish an online postage account with Endicia.com The CJA has worked very closely with the Chicago District Postal Service to establish this ar-rangement, and create a positive working relationship. Chicago District Manager/Postmaster Gloria Tyson has assured the CJA that her entire team is committed to making this a win-win deal for both the Postal Service and the CJA. For more information about Commercial Plus pricing, or any other Postal Service concerns, contact Tim Hall at (312) 983-8378.

A Message On The

Discount Program

From The USPS

ATTENTION!

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Several years of improving claims experience have prompted Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. to pay out the largest dividend in the company's 90-year history, as the company expands its niche market share. To be successful, Jewelers Mutual puts a special focus on policyholders' security needs, said Ron Harder, the com-pany's president and chief executive officer. For businesses policyholders, claims experience has been good the past couple of years, with frequency down but severity up slightly, Harder said. For personal jewelry customers, claims experience has been good overall, he said. The company is involved in all aspects of security, Harder said. In addition, Jewelers Mutual is involved in Underwrit-ers Laboratories' work with testing of safes and alarms. "In our 90 years of history, we've only had nine years of an underwriting loss, and we're proud of that," he said. Commercial policyholders who are insured with Jewelers Mutual are to receive $5.1 million in dividends by Aug. 31, subject to regulatory approval, the company said in a statement. During the past 15 years, Jewelers Mutual has returned about $20 million in dividends to policyholders, with the company's last dividend being $3.8 million in 2008. "We have 120,000 individuals for whom we insure their personal jewelry," Harder said. "In addition, we have be-tween 10,000 and 11,000 jewelry firms that we insure. But 78% of the company's premium comes from the firms, with the remainder from the individual insureds." The improving claims experience began tour or five years ago, when Jewelers Mutual did some lobbying with other industry groups to focus some of the FBI's activity on jewelry crime, he said. As a result, the jewelry industry received some designated funding from the FBI to look at jewelry crimes, which is beginning to have an impact, he said. "The average major loss in a robbery to a jewelry store is about $150,000," Harder said. "The average bank loss in a robbery is about $2,300, and as soon as you have a bank loss, the FBI is involved. The jewelry industry has these large losses, and there was no attention paid to the impact on the industry. We finally convinced both Con-gress and the FBI that they needed to pay some attention to this industry." Since the lobbying effort was begun, task forces were assembled in major cities, including local forces and the FBI, Harder said. As a result of the efforts of these groups, law-enforcement teams have been able to track and arrest maw more criminals who have been preying on the industry, he said. We at the CJA thank JM for all of their work in helping businesses who are the victims of industry related crime, We at the CJA thank JM for all of their work in helping businesses who are the victims of industry related crime, We at the CJA thank JM for all of their work in helping businesses who are the victims of industry related crime, We at the CJA thank JM for all of their work in helping businesses who are the victims of industry related crime, and endeavor to assist them in their efforts.and endeavor to assist them in their efforts.and endeavor to assist them in their efforts.and endeavor to assist them in their efforts.

News from Jewelers

Mutual Insurance Co.

NEWSBRIEF

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Chicago Jewelers Association P.O. Box 501 Chicago, IL 60690-0501

Membership Options:Membership Options:Membership Options:Membership Options:

____ One Year ($100$100$100$100) ___ Two Years ($150$150$150$150)

Please send completed form, along with check to : Chicago Jewelers’ Association Chicago Jewelers’ Association Chicago Jewelers’ Association Chicago Jewelers’ Association

P.O. Box 501P.O. Box 501P.O. Box 501P.O. Box 501 Chicago, IL 60690Chicago, IL 60690Chicago, IL 60690Chicago, IL 60690----0501050105010501

Phone: (312) 641Phone: (312) 641Phone: (312) 641Phone: (312) 641----5201/ Fax: (312) 8345201/ Fax: (312) 8345201/ Fax: (312) 8345201/ Fax: (312) 834----0387038703870387 Your Contact Information:Your Contact Information:Your Contact Information:Your Contact Information: Contact Name: Contact Name: Contact Name: Contact Name: _______________________ Business Name: Business Name: Business Name: Business Name: _____________________________________ Phone/Phone/Phone/Phone/: ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) _____________________/ / / / EEEE----MailMailMailMail: __________________________________________

Benefits for Your Business: Benefits for Your Business: Benefits for Your Business: Benefits for Your Business: Security Information, Personal & Business Growth, Networking Events, Seminars and Online Forums Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The Join The CJACJACJACJACJACJACJACJACJACJACJACJA

Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!Today!

Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great Don’t miss out on this great opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these opportunity at these low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.low introductory rates.