Glynn Loope Leaving Cigar Rights of America Later This Year

Glynn Loope, the longtime executive director and face of Cigar Rights of America (CRA), will step down on Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the 2020 elections.

“CRA is more than a job, it is a mission,” said Loope in a press release. “For almost a dozen years, we have built a national network together that can take this work into the next decade and beyond. This has been accomplished with a dedicated staff and hundreds of volunteers, for which I am thankful and express my sincere appreciation. I remain committed to supporting and advocating for the premium cigar industry, given that the threats confronting it are the new normal.”

After a career in government relations work, including working the Cigar Association of Virginia from 2006-2008, Loope joined CRA as its first executive director in December 2008, shortly after the founding of CRA, an organization started by Jeff Borysiewicz of Corona Cigar Co. and Keith Park of Prometheus. The pair were quickly joined by a who’s who list of premium cigar manufacturers. CRA was born out of the premium cigar industry’s struggles in fighting both the government and machine-made cigar manufacturers over an increase in federal excise taxes but its mission has grown much larger.

Unlike the other two cigar trade groups—the Cigar Association of America and the Premium Cigar Association—CRA has promoted itself as a consumer-oriented group, now with tens of thousands of members according to the organization.

CRA, along with the other two trade organizations, is a plaintiff in the main lawsuit against the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of cigars, a lawsuit that has successfully seen various regulations delayed and overturning of a requirement for warning labels on cigar boxes and ads. The organization says that it lobbied in 350 Congressional offices and 16 different states last year.

“I am extraordinarily grateful to Glynn for his tireless leadership and dedication to CRA,” said Robert Levin, chairman of CRA’s Board of Directors and president of Holt’s Cigar and Ashton Distributors. “No one is a more passionate advocate for the right to enjoy a premium cigar than Glynn. The entire CRA community thanks Glynn for his years of service and his many contributions to the organization and the premium cigar industry.”

The organization says that it will work with Loope over the next six months to find his replacement.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.