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AGA: There Will Be No 2021 Bonanno Award
The association’s annual Tucson conference, meanwhile, will go virtual.
San Diego—The Accredited Gemologists Association will postpone the next Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology.
The AGA’s board of directors has decided to forego the presentation of the 2021 Bonanno Award “in consideration of the status of nominees in the international gemological community and the prestige associated with (it),” the association said in a press release about the news.
The award ceremony usually is held during the annual AGA Tucson conference coinciding with the gem shows, but COVID-19’s continued spread around the country “prohibits an event of the customary standard in 2021.”
Instead, the AGA membership will vote for finalists in October 2021 from the list of nominees submitted earlier this year, and the presentation of the next recipient is slated for the February 2022 AGA conference.
As such, there will be no call for nominees next year.
The normal award process will resume after the February 2022 presentation.
The AGA Tucson conference, meanwhile, will be held in a virtual format this February, the association confirmed.
No details about that digital event are yet available.
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