PCA Holds Fall 2026 Board Meeting in Oklahoma City, Charts Bold Path for Association's Future
The Premium Cigar Association gathered its board, executive staff, and leadership in Oklahoma City this week for its Fall 2026 Board of Directors Meeting — and the agenda was anything but routine. With PCA CEO Joshua Habursky and full staff in attendance, the group was hosted by Board President Todd Naifeh and focused squarely on the association's growth trajectory and its priorities heading into 2027 and beyond. The meeting covered territory ranging from state lobbying contracts and a 2027 budget approval to a high-profile staff promotion and plans to add two new positions — all against a backdrop of the strongest financial performance the association has seen in years.
The fall meeting has historically been the moment when the PCA resets its compass, takes stock of the year's wins and losses, and sets its strategic tone for the twelve months ahead. This year, there was considerably more good news than most years have delivered. Propelled by a successful trade show in New Orleans this past April, the association is on pace to end the year with over $6 million in revenue, up from $4.42 million in 2024. That's not a rounding error — it's a nearly 36 percent leap in a single year, a figure that sent a clear signal to both the board and the industry at large that the PCA's strategic overhaul is bearing serious fruit.
From Single Event Host to Full-Year Trade Association
For anyone who has followed the PCA's evolution over the past several years, the financial headline is just the most visible evidence of a much deeper transformation. Over the last two years, the PCA underwent structural changes to focus on recruitment, reach, revenue, and retention, with an explicit goal of operating as a 365-day trade association rather than a single large event host. That philosophical shift — deceptively simple to articulate, difficult to execute — is now showing up on the balance sheet in the most unambiguous way possible.
The numbers have also bought the association something it rarely gets to offer its membership: breathing room. The growth of the trade show has enabled the association to expand its capacity, program offerings, and staffing to meet the needs of membership across the country and internationally, all without having to raise membership dues for another consecutive year. In an industry where retailers operate on thin margins and every dollar counts, that stability is not a small thing. Keeping dues flat while expanding services is the kind of move that builds loyalty and quiets skeptics.
The staff has been reorganized to operate much like a brand sales force — staying close to the pulse of the industry and building programs around member feedback. PCA even participated in the Summer Roadshow alongside major brands Rocky Patel, Altadis, and Oliva to push that objective further. Membership has since crossed the 4,000 storefront mark — a milestone that speaks to the reach the organization now commands across the retail landscape.
Board President Todd Naifeh, whose hometown of Oklahoma City served as this fall's meeting location, offered the most direct summary of the board's mood. "The Board is very pleased with the results, the financial health of the association, and what a small team has been able to accomplish. We have a lot of confidence in the leadership and current team to keep the association on the right trajectory," Naifeh said.
Why Oklahoma City — and What It Signals
The decision to hold the fall meeting outside of Washington, D.C. — where the PCA maintains its office — was not incidental. The PCA Board of Directors meets monthly virtually and twice per year in person, with one meeting traditionally at the trade show and one typically in Washington. In 2026, the PCA moved its board meeting to Oklahoma City to rotate based on the hometown of the Board President in even years. It's a gesture that carries real meaning for an organization that represents retailers across every corner of the country, not just the corridors of the Beltway.
As the association's leadership noted, "Even though our office is in Washington, D.C., the association is committed to being accessible across the country." That commitment played out literally in Oklahoma this week, with the board not only holding its formal sessions in the city but also extending the meeting into social and cultural experiences that wove the gathering into the local cigar community. The meeting included an association fundraiser at Rocky Patel's Burn Lounge and a pre-meeting event at Classic Cigar Lounge in Tulsa featuring the Women of PCA cigar produced by Gran Habano. The Tulsa stop in particular added a layer of significance — connecting one of the industry's fastest-growing advocacy programs with a real-world retail environment at one of the region's well-regarded cigar lounges.
Advocacy Gets Real: Lobbying Contracts in Nevada and Louisiana
Whatever optimism surrounded the revenue numbers, the meeting's most consequential action for the long-term health of the industry may have been the advocacy commitments embedded in the 2027 budget approval. The PCA has always carried the banner for premium cigar retailers in state and federal legislative fights, but this year the commitment was made concrete with new dollars and new contracts.
The meeting assessed the association's capacity for current and future years on topics including live events, marketing, member benefits, advocacy, education, international outreach, and the trade show. In approving the 2027 budget, the association further committed itself to state advocacy by renewing its state grant program and hiring lobbying firms in Nevada and Louisiana to protect tax cap renewals as well as the ability to smoke on the trade show floor at those locations.
That last clause — preserving the right to smoke on the trade show floor — is a technical-sounding provision that carries enormous practical weight. The PCA's annual convention is, at its core, a working trade show where buyers evaluate cigars by smoking them. Without that ability, the entire nature of the event changes. Both Nevada and Louisiana have hosted or been considered for PCA conventions, making the protection of that right in those states a direct business imperative, not just a political talking point.
The tax cap renewal fight is equally significant. Many states have enacted tax caps on premium cigars specifically to prevent the kind of punishing per-stick tax rates that can make a quality hand-rolled cigar prohibitively expensive for consumers and commercially nonviable for retailers. Those caps don't renew themselves — they require sustained lobbying efforts, relationships with state legislators, and the money to pay for professional advocacy. The PCA's decision to retain lobbying firms in both Nevada and Louisiana puts boots on the ground in two states where the legislative calendar demands serious attention.
Lisa Cox Elevated to Managing Director of Trade Show and Operations
Among the internal news the fall meeting delivered, the most personal — and arguably the most telling about the association's internal culture — was the promotion announced by Habursky during the session. Habursky noted, "I like to use the board meeting as an opportunity to announce important news related to the association itself after discussing these matters with the Executive Committee and Full Board directly in person." He then announced that Lisa Cox is being promoted to Managing Director of Trade Show and Operations, reflecting her eight years of dedication to the association, her successful execution of many association events, and her ability to lead projects across departments. Habursky added that "Lisa is a seasoned marquee events and association professional, and we are all very grateful to have her on our team leading the trade show."
Cox responded with characteristic humility and industry-first thinking. "What makes the cigar industry so special is the people in it," Cox said. "I'm honored to continue serving that community as PCA's Managing Director of Events and Operations, alongside our incredibly capable team."
Eight years at a trade association is a career investment. The cigar industry, like many specialty trades, runs on relationships — and someone who has spent nearly a decade managing the logistics of one of the most complex annual events in the premium tobacco world brings institutional knowledge that simply cannot be replicated by a hire off the street. Cox's promotion reflects not just a job title change but a recognition that the trade show is the association's single most important annual undertaking, and it deserves dedicated, experienced leadership at its operational helm.
Two New Staff Roles Coming in 2027
Cox's elevation was accompanied by a forward-looking announcement about the association's staffing plans. The PCA will also be hiring two new staff roles in 2027, both in support functions, so that the association can maintain quality of service with the influx of new members, programs, and priorities. This is the kind of growth challenge any organization wants to have — the problem of needing more people because business is booming. It also reflects the reality that a 4,000-plus storefront membership base generating more than $6 million in annual revenue requires infrastructure proportional to its ambitions.
Later this year and into 2027, the association is also finalizing new small business offerings for members in the areas of financial services — a signal that the PCA is thinking beyond advocacy and events and into the nuts and bolts of what it actually means to run a specialty tobacco retail business in the current economic climate.
The Women of PCA — From Fly-Ins to Flagship Cigars
One of the most compelling subplots running through the PCA's recent period of growth is the ascent of the Women of PCA initiative. What began as an internal working group has evolved into a fully activated arm of the association, with its own annual policy conference on Capitol Hill, product partnerships, and a growing national footprint. The pre-meeting event in Tulsa at Classic Cigar Lounge brought that momentum into sharp relief, centering the Women of PCA's signature cigar — produced by Gran Habano — in a real retail environment as part of a board-level gathering.
Over a dozen members of the Women of PCA group traveled to Washington, D.C., for the second annual policy conference, sponsored by Altadis U.S.A., with the purpose of meeting with lawmakers and telling the story of specialty tobacco retailers to those on Capitol Hill. That kind of structured, sponsored advocacy — women who work in cigar retail walking into congressional offices and making the human case for their livelihoods — is exactly the kind of grassroots muscle that makes a difference when tax legislation is being drafted.
The inclusion of the Women of PCA event in the Oklahoma gathering underscores how integrated the initiative has become with the association's core identity. It's no longer a side project. It's a program with a seat at the table — and a cigar to go along with it.
Gran Habano's RISE: The Cigar Behind the Movement
The Women of PCA cigar that traveled to Tulsa for the pre-meeting event is a blend called RISE, produced by Gran Habano. Gran Habano introduced RISE as a new premium cigar created in support of the Women of the Premium Cigar Association, an organization dedicated to advancing women in the premium cigar industry through education, mentorship, networking, and philanthropic initiatives.
The blend itself is worthy of attention independent of its cause. RISE is a 6 x 54 cigar featuring an Ecuadorian Sun Grown Habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers, designed to deliver a medium-bodied smoking experience. The size — a 6-inch toro with a 54 ring gauge — hits the sweet spot that most American cigar smokers have gravitated toward over the past decade. Wide enough to carry complexity, long enough to develop across multiple flavor stages, and manageable enough for a lounge smoke without committing two hours of your evening.
RISE is produced with a run of 20,000 cigars. Gran Habano has noted that while the initial production is fixed, the cigar is not intended to be a limited-edition release — meaning retailers who sell through their initial orders can reasonably expect ongoing availability rather than the scramble that comes with limited runs. The cigar is now available for retailers to order directly through Gran Habano or the company's sales representatives.
Proceeds from RISE will benefit Women of PCA, supporting the organization's efforts to foster professional development, leadership opportunities, and community engagement for women throughout the premium cigar industry. George Rico, owner of Gran Habano, sits on the Premium Cigar Association's board — a detail that explains the depth of the partnership. This isn't a corporate sponsorship arranged at arm's length. It's a board member putting his company's product and production capacity behind a program he believes in from the inside.
Gran Habano also announced it is releasing all ten of its core lines in boxes they're calling petacas, with MSRPs for each 10-count ranging from $98 to $125 — a practical move designed to give consumers who want more than a single cigar but less than a box of 20 a new entry point. It reflects the kind of retail thinking that a manufacturer with a seat at the PCA board table brings to the conversation.
Habursky's Vision: Keeping the Association on Trajectory
No discussion of the PCA's fall meeting is complete without examining the role of Executive Director and CEO Joshua Habursky, who has steered the association through what amounts to a near-complete operational reinvention. The PCA extended Habursky's contract through 2031, a move that signals the board's confidence in the direction he has charted. He has transformed the organization from what was, in many observers' eyes, a trade show company with association trappings into something with genuine year-round relevance for its members.
Habursky has said, "I am very fortunate to work in the epicenter of the premium cigar industry at the PCA with a phenomenal group of people on staff and on the Board. I am grateful for the confidence of our team to lead the organization as we innovate with a watchful eye towards history and tradition."
Board Vice President Paul Groh noted that Habursky "brings energy and new ideas to the association and has a good sense of the direction that the Board of Directors and membership want to take the organization in the next decade," adding that Habursky is already talking about Centennial plans for the 100th anniversary of the association in 2033. Planning ten years out, in any industry, requires confidence. In the premium cigar world — where FDA regulations, state tax battles, and shifting consumer demographics constantly threaten to rewrite the rules — it requires something closer to conviction.
Concurrent with the fall board meeting preparations, teams within the association have been preparing for the FIU Luxury Marketing course, World Cigar Show, Intertabac, Costa Rican Cigar Festival, PCA Connect Asia, the rollout of a new Cigar Academy course, a small business insurance program, regional state advocacy trainings, a Cigar Caucus gathering, a fall fundraiser, and more. The breadth of that list is staggering for an organization that, not long ago, was primarily known for a single annual convention.
Historical Context: An Association That Has Reinvented Itself Before
The PCA's current trajectory takes on added significance when you consider how many times this organization has had to redefine itself. Founded in 1933 as the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America, the organization was renamed to IPCPR — the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers — in 2007, before becoming the Premium Cigar Association in 2019. Each renaming reflected not just a cosmetic change but a genuine rethinking of mission and identity. The current name, stripped of industry jargon and focused squarely on the product, came at a time when the organization needed to signal seriousness to both its members and its legislative adversaries.
The mission statement the board settled on a few years ago remains the clearest encapsulation of what the PCA is trying to do: PCA exists to grow the business of specialty tobacco retailing. Everything else — the trade show, the advocacy, the Women of PCA, the FIU partnership, the state lobbying contracts — flows from that single declarative sentence. When the association strays from it, members notice. When it delivers on it, as the revenue figures from 2026 suggest it is, the broader industry takes note.
What It All Means for Retailers and Enthusiasts
For the retailer sitting behind the counter of a brick-and-mortar cigar shop in Tulsa, or Reno, or Baton Rouge — watching the PCA fight tax battles in their state legislature, deliver small-business financial tools, and show up at their local lounge for an event featuring a cigar whose proceeds go back into the industry — the abstract idea of a trade association becomes something tangible and valuable. That translation from institutional action to retail reality is exactly what the PCA has been working to achieve, and the Fall 2026 board meeting suggests it's succeeding.
For enthusiasts, the picture is equally encouraging. An association that is financially healthy, politically engaged, and growing its membership is one with the resources to fight the fights that keep the premium cigar market intact. Every lobbying contract signed in Nevada or Louisiana, every state grant renewed, every tax cap protected is, ultimately, a fight for the right of a consumer to walk into a well-stocked humidor and choose from a full range of premium tobacco without paying punitive taxes on the privilege.
At the board meeting, the association discussed additional hires to manage new programs and to better assist existing staff as they maintain peak efficiency through continued expansion. They also discussed auxiliary events and new partnerships to provide more fall programming with both virtual and live opportunities for business-to-business interactions, education, and networking. The infrastructure being built now is the foundation for whatever the next decade brings.
The Fall 2026 PCA Board of Directors Meeting, held in the heart of Oklahoma City with a pre-meeting cigar event in Tulsa, was more than a logistical check-in. It was a statement of institutional confidence — in the direction the PCA is heading, in the people leading it, and in the industry's capacity to grow, advocate, and endure. For an association that has spent decades fighting for the right of Americans to enjoy a premium hand-rolled cigar without government overreach making that pleasure impossible, that confidence is well-earned and clearly backed by the numbers.
