Carolyn Pope of Crews Jewelry in Grandview, Mo., has been elected chairman of the board of directors of Jewelers of America (JA). Pope is the first woman ever to hold this position.

Pope has been on the board of directors of the Missouri Jewelers and Watchmakers Association since 1988 and served as that affiliate’s president in 1994. She is co-chairman of the third biannual JA Regional Conference, which will be held in February 2002 in Overland Park, Kan. She is a member of the Women’s Jewelry Association, on the board of directors of the Jewelry Information Center, and serves on the honorary board of directors of the Jewelers Charity Fund for Children. She has served on the JA board since 1994, including turns as secretary and vice chairman. Pope also is a past president of her community’s Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as its treasurer.

Also at the board of directors meeting, Alan Zimmer of Reeds Jewelers in Wilmington, N.C., was named chair-elect; John Cohen of Carlyle & Co. Jewelers in Greensboro, N.C., and Clayton Bromberg of Underwood Jewelers Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla., were appointed vice chairs; John Green of Lux, Bond & Green in West Hartford, Conn., was elected treasurer; and Susan Jacques of Borsheim Jewelry Co. in Omaha, Neb., was elected secretary.

JA welcomed four new board members: Robert J. DiNicola, Zale Corp., Irving, Texas; Georgie Gleim, Gleim the Jeweler, Palo Alto, Calif.; Michael Parker, Michael’s Fine Jewelry Ltd., Aiea, Hawaii; and Alan Rodriguez, House of Stones, New Philadelphia, Ohio. Five members were re-elected to three-year terms: Terry Burman, Sterling, Akron, Ohio; Joseph Hagan, Jewelry Creations, Dover, N.H.; William Merkley, Merkley-Kendrick Jewelers, Louisville, Ky.; Raimie H. Weber, George Fillmore Goldsmiths & Jewelers, Canton, Conn.; and Richard White, Ed White Jewelers, Cullman, Ala.

Completing their terms on the JA Board are Al Solomon of Solomons Jewelers in Plainview, N.Y.; Lex Harrison of Harrison’s Jewelers in Pocatello, Idaho; and outgoing chairman Ed Bridge of Ben Bridge Jeweler in Seattle, Wash.