By Alyssa Stahr
American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association Elects New President
President of the American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association since its inception, Lou Ritter retired from his post at the end of 2014 to focus on other industry-related pursuits. The AEMSA board elected Jeff Hammel as its new president, who assumed the role on Jan. 1. Hammel has an MBA from Indiana University and his CPA in the state of Ohio. Hammel has worked for 20 years in the healthcare industry, and he serves as the chief financial officer with a biotechnology company. Hammel previously spent a year on the AEMSA board as treasurer, and his wife, Schell, owns and operates eight locations of the Vapor Bar. Hammel recently spoke with VAPE about his new role with AEMSA.
VAPE: Can you tell us when you knew Lou was retiring as president, and how you taking on the role happened?
H
ammel: Lou made the entire membership of AEMSA aware of his desire to retire from the presidency of AEMSA in November of 2014. Lou had dedicated his life to AEMSA and the vaping industry over the past few years, and his other pursuits had been left unattended. In addition, Lou had taken on the president’s role for the E-Research Foundation, the non-profit organization Lou worked to found to create a mechanism for the electronic cigarette industry to be able to collectively fund ongoing medical/scientific research. Lou simply wanted to be able to spread his time more evenly over his pursuits, while remaining involved with AEMSA. I had served as treasurer for AEMSA during 2014 and had not intended to seek the position of president. Once Lou announced his intentions, I felt that I could be an effective leader for the organization and was subsequently nominated for the position. AEMSA holds board elections every year. The elections were held in December 2014. Each AEMSA member has one vote. Lou is very supportive and active and has been instrumental in maintaining continuity.
VAPE: Tell us about serving on the board last year. How
did your first involvement with the board happen and unfold into being treasurer?
Hammel:
My wife had tried to stop smoking many times in many ways. She was introduced to refillable electronic cigarettes and, with the right battery and liquid selection, she put down her cigarettes one day and has never smoked one again. Those who know her understand that she is a passionate person and became very passionate about the industry. She introduced family and friends, and they were successful in switching to electronic cigarettes. After a ton of research, she opened a brick and mortar business in 2011 and has been increasingly involved in all facets of the industry since that time. In late 2013, she heard that AEMSA would be holding annual board elections
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and the treasurer position would be open. With my financial background, she asked if I would consider it. Because of the huge positive change that electronic cigarettes had brought to her life and that of our family, I was more than happy to be a part of it. I was elected and took the role in January 2014. The entire board of AEMSA welcomed me openly and helped me become a fully functional cog in the AEMSA wheel.
VAPE: What were some of your goals as treasurer, and were they met?
Hammel: As treasurer, my goal was to become a fully
participative member of the AEMSA Board. The functional components of the treasurer position involved typical financial activities that were a key part of my professional background and I worked to add enhanced processes and controls to what AEMSA had already developed.
VAPE: Now that you’re president, what are some hotbed
issues that you want to address while you’re in office, and how do you plan on tackling those issues?
Hammel:
The AEMSA board and members are a top notch group of people and business leaders in the industry who share a common vision to provide the highest quality products to a rapidly growing number of consumers. It is important to the members to use the highest quality materials to produce liquids in a manufacturing environment that is safe and controlled. It is important to me for consumers to understand that not all e-liquids are created equally. We all should know the key questions to ask about e-liquids so that we can feel that we know what we are using.