By Linda Ellis Harmeling

This is the time of year – leading up to our League of Honor Dinner – when I often stop to reflect on the importance of GIA’s nonprofit mission to serve the industry and the public’s trust with our important research and education programs. More importantly, I remind myself of how much I appreciate the generous support of the many organizations and individuals who have donated millions of dollars to allow GIA to continue to provide excellence.

Many of you may not realize that GIA’s tuition expenses do not cover the real cost of teaching our education programs or how costly it is for our researchers to track and identify the latest synthetic and treatment processes applied to diamonds and colored stones.

I can confidently say, however, that our Million Dollar Roundtable and League of Honor members know we rely upon charitable donations to continue to enhance our research and education programs. They have demonstrated their trust in GIA’s ability to protect, serve, train and enlighten by supporting the Institute’s financial campaigns. This is a very prestigious group of people and we are proud to honor them at our annual dinner.

Many of our generous donors have also embraced the concept of our Endowment campaign, launched four years ago, that will enable us to continue to provide important gemological information and education. They know a gift to GIA is a permanent investment in the future success of the industry and their business.

As we approach the final phase of this campaign, all signs indicate we have the industry’s support. You are eager to help us reach our goal and I thank you.