William Sites, CGA wins 2010 Robert M. Shipley Award

AGS presents Sites with its highest honor at Conclave

(LAS VEGAS) – William Sites, CGA, owner and president of Sites Jewelers in Clarksville, Tennessee is the 2010 recipient of the American Gem Society’s Robert M. Shipley award. AGS members presented Sites with the award at their annual Conclave in Boston, Massachusetts on April 24.

Sites received the award based on his expertise and commitment to his community, personal business, the jewelry industry, and the American Gem Society, and because of his outstanding service to the AGS and his participation in local civic groups, service organizations, and industry charity boards.

William Sites, owner of Sites Jewelers and Ward-Potts, Inc. in Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee respectively, receives the American Gem Society’s 2010 Robert M. Shipley Award at the AGS Conclave in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Through his professional, community and industry work, Bill has demonstrated his professionalism and dedication to the ethical standards of the American Gem Society,” said Ruth Batson, executive director & CEO of AGS. “He’s a great asset to the American Gem Society, and a tireless advocate for not only jewelry industry organizations, but for those in his community as well.”

“I am deeply humbled and honored to be the recipient of the Robert M. Shipley award,” said Sites. “Robert M. Shipley is the embodiment of all I’ve tried to be in my own life and work. To join the ranks of the other esteemed professionals who have received this award is an honor beyond words.”

Sites, or as he’s known to his friends, “Bill,” is a Certified Gemologist Appraiser since 1983. He sat on the AGS Board of Directors in the ‘90s, then rejoined the AGS Board in 2000, serving as President of the Board from 2004 – 2006.   During his presidency, AGS bylaws were updated, the Fellows Awards were introduced, and the Diamond Quality® Certificate was introduced as the one true diamond certificate available only through AGS members.

Sites Jewelers has two locations – Clarksville, Tennessee, and Ward-Potts in Nashville, Tennessee.  Bill’s wife, Cyndi, a Registered Jeweler, and his son, Bill Jr., a Certified Gemologist, are both active in the two stores and enjoy working together to grow the business.

Sites currently serves on the board of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee and the AGS Laboratories Board of Managers.  He was also inducted into the National Jeweler Retail Hall of Fame in 2006.  Sites has been involved in the Clarksville community all of his adult life.  He has held the position of Chamber of Commerce President, Rotary President, Clarksville Hospital Board President, and the Nashville City Club Vice President. Sites was also the President of the Association of the United States Army in Ft. Campbell, KY.

The American Gem Society, founded in 1934 by Robert M. Shipley, is a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to proven ethics, knowledge, and consumer protection within the jewelry industry. It is an international professional organization awarding credentials for its members, who are held to the highest ethical and professional standards in the industry and must pass annual recertification examinations to maintain their titles. Less than five percent of jewelers in the country have met the exacting requirements necessary for membership.

For more information regarding the American Gem Society, please call 866-805-6500, or visit their website, www.AmericanGemSociety.org.