NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CBA

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Following a CBA Board of Directors meeting earlier this month, Curtis Riskey has been appointed Executive Director for CBA, the Association for the Christian retail industry, effective immediately. Riskey has been serving as CBA interim executive director since November 1, 2009, and has served with CBA since October 2007 in the role of strategic solutions executive. The CBA Board will be using an executive director management model going forward and has ceased its search for a new president/CEO.

"The leadership Curtis has exhibited during his interim period has exemplified his knowledge of the many facets of Christian retail, his acumen for connecting with a variety of industry leaders to work together on common goals, and his dedication to the success of this industry even amid current global economic challenges," says CBA Board Chair-elect George Thomsen. "As a Board, we look forward to the many exciting changes Curtis will help effect to the benefit of CBA's members, both retailer and supplier, and to the industry as a whole. To us, it's important that Curtis not only has a heart for retailers, but is a retailer himself," Thomsen added.

Riskey's retail experience spans 20 years-10 of which were spent in the appliance industry, most recently with Maytag Appliances, where he learned, developed, and implemented channel management strategies. Ten years ago, he left Maytag to open a Christian retail store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. BASIC Books and Café was built and started in December 2000, and continues to serve the Fox River Valley community.

Riskey holds a business degree from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. He served on the board of directors for the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce; and co-founded Excellence in Leadership, serving as its president. Currently, he's working toward his IOM (Institute for Organizational Management) certification through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.