Hemp Industries Association names new president, executives

A reshuffling at the Hemp Industries Association has Colorado hemp activist Rick Trojan as the group’s new president.

The business advocacy organization also named Mike Lewis, a hemp farmer and educator in Lexington, Kentucky, as the group’s new vice president.

Trojan replaces former president Joy Beckerman, who left the position last month.

HIA said Wednesday it is still searching for a new executive director to replace Colleen Keahey Lanier, who stepped down in December.

HIA also named the following new appointments:

• Annie Rouse as interim secretary
• Frank Robison as interim treasurer

Trojan says the group aims to have a new executive director named by the end of the month. The group received more than 100 applications, he said.

“Now we have the tough job of narrowing it down,” he said in a statement.