At its annual Cigar Trophy awards gala today, Cigar Journal magazine presented J.C. Newman Cigar Company’s third-generation owners, Eric and Bobby Newman, with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The event was held in Germany at InterTabac, the international cigar trade show. Their father, Stanford J. Newman, received this award in 2006.
“We are stunned and humbled to receive this great honor,” said Eric and Bobby Newman. “This award is especially meaningful to us because our father received this recognition.”
Eric and Bobby joined their family business in the early 1970s. Together, they have worked for J.C. Newman for a combined 100 years. As President, Eric oversees manufacturing while Bobby, as Executive Vice President, is responsible for sales and marketing. The two Newmans have led their company through decades of growth and challenges.
“From the decline of the cigar industry in the 1970s, to buying out our relatives in the 1980s, to the cigar boom of the 1990s, to the smoking bans and increased taxation in the 2000s, to excessive government regulation in the 2010s, to the pandemic and cigar boom of the 2020s, we have seen it all,” said the Newmans.
The Newmans are the second family to have received the Lifetime Achievement Award for two generations. The first was Newman’s longtime partners, the Arturo Fuente family.
“As honored as we are to receive this award, we want everyone to know that we are not retiring,” said the Newmans. “Our grandfather worked until the day he died. Our father worked until the day he died. God willing, we will do so as well!”
Eric Newman is the past chairman of the Cigar Association of America and both he and Bobby serve on its Board of Directors. Bobby is past director Cigar Rights of America. Eric is a past member of the Premium Cigar Association’s Advisory Board.
Past Lifetime Achievement Awardees
2005 – Carlos Fuente, Sr. and Avo Uvezian
2006 – Stanford J. Newman
2007 – Dr. Ernst Schnieder
2008 – José O. Padron
2009 – Rolando Reyes, Sr. and Heinrich Villiger
2010 – Benjamin F. Menendez
2011 – Carlos Toraño, Sr.
2012 – Nestor Plasencia, Sr.
2013 – Hendrik Kelner
2014 – Alberto Torrent
2015 – Jose Pepín Garcia
2016 – Manuel Quesada
2017 – Ernesto Perez Carillo
2018 – Carlos Fuente, Jr.
2019 – Rocky Patel
2020 – Robert G. Levin
2021 – Julia Eiroa
2022 – A.J. Fernandez
2023 – Eric and Bobby Newman
No comments:
Post a Comment