Scott Regina of Emerson’s Cigars, New PCA President

Virginia Tidewater-area tobacconist Scott Regina, CEO of Emerson’s Cigars, with five retail locations, is the model of a busy guy. But his life got even busier on 11 July 2023 at the Premium Cigar Association trade show when Regina assumed the PCA presidency.

Regina takes the helm of the organization at a time of rapid change, but PCA’s mission statement remains the same: “PCA exists to grow the business of specialty tobacco retailing.” It’s a straightforward mission statement that Regina believes in deeply. The PCA board produced that mission statement in specific reaction to the developments of recent years: “The industry had seen a lot of unique challenges that pulled us in a lot of different directions,” says Regina, “and in some ways it fractured the industry. So we finally said to ourselves that we can’t be the association for everyone, and we need to really look back at what our roots are and focus on what we’re good at.” Of course, what PCA excels at is helping retailers get better at running their businesses. “That is PCA’s contribution to the industry,” says Regina. “If there’s better retailers, then the manufacturers sell more product and everyone involved becomes more successful.”

The 46-year-old Regina grew up in eastern Pennsylvania and graduated from Lehigh University. He was working on an MBA at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire—and within a couple classes of finishing—when a unique business opportunity came knocking on his door. Regina’s then-future father-in-law, Dwight “Chad” Chadbourn (his middle name is Emerson), who had started Emerson’s in 1975 after having been a Virginia Tinder Box and Hallmark retailer, was getting out of his Tinder Box agreement and starting a business under his own name. Regina’s tech savvy and business know-how were needed in getting Emerson’s established. It was during this period that Regina, already a cigar smoker, became a fully committed tobacco businessman. “I started to work with Emerson’s in 2006,” says Regina, “and then in 2008 my wife and I purchased the business from Chad.”

Today Emerson’s has around 30 employees between its five southeastern Virginia locations, as well as an e-commerce presence and a small wholesale business. Regina’s wife and business partner, Tara Chadbourn, is a practicing attorney, and they are raising a 7-year-old son—so we see the very picture of an active, engaged professional couple operating in their prime. And we know the old saying about enlisting the aid of busy people when you really need to get something done.

Tobacco retail has changed a lot in recent years, with some of that change driven by the exigencies of a pandemic, and a lot of change driven by technology as well. Whereas once not so long ago there was a fairly bright line drawn between brick-and-mortar merchants and online businesses, nowadays the two realms are merging. COVID forced many tobacconists to get into mail-order retailing for the first time. Regina says his own stores have begun to use the Emerson’s website (emersonscigars.com) to keep customers apprised of inventory in something close to real time. “If you search for an item on our site, you can check its availability at each of our locations. We are always looking for ways that our website can incorporate what we have going on in the stores, making our web presence really an extension of the stores.”

We all know that for a number of years the industry’s attention has been riveted on the machinations of the FDA, with one consequence that state and local activism perhaps took more of a back seat. But now this is changing as well. “I think we are going to see a shift back into the state and local level,” says Regina. “PCA is obviously going to continue to be very attentive to what is going on at the federal level, but now we really need to bolster our activities and our networking in the states. We have a great team, with Glynn Loope, our State Advocacy Director, and Joshua Habursky, our Deputy Executive Director, who is handling federal and state matters, and Ryan Parada, who is doing international. I think all of us agree we’re seeing more of the battle now shifting to the states. We’re starting to actually introduce legislation instead of just constantly being on the defensive…with tax caps, for instance, and legalizing more cigar-friendly businesses such as cigar bars.”

Regina reports that the 2023 trade show was a resounding success—well-attended by both retailers and exhibitors—and he says the revenue the show produced is helping PCA claw back a lot of the debt incurred in its successful fight against FDA deeming regulations. Now the organization is responding to member feedback in moving next year’s trade show up in the calendar, to March. Regina says, “For many reasons, going to a March show has been a challenge, from the cost of going to venues, the availability of venues, even the date windows for venues, but our trade show team and Scott Pearce have done a great job of figuring it all out. So it’s Las Vegas next March, and I can tell you already that booth sales have been strong.”

Regina looks forward to surmounting the challenges his term as PCA president is sure to present, and he is confident the board members have established a firm basis upon which to build. He says former president Greg Zimmerman “did a remarkable job of steadying the ship. He is very calm and very organized, very well thought-out. Going forward we will focus on what we do well, and we’re going to be smart about how we raise money for the association, and how we spend money. I’m not looking to make any huge directional changes. PCA has been here for a long time, we’re going to continue to be here for a long time. We have a great volunteer board, which continues to get stronger every year. After having been a part of this board for 10-plus years, I see that we have a solid foundation, and I just want to build on the great work that our past presidents and board members have done the past few years.” 

– Story by William C. Nelson. Photography by Jacob Krekura.

This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 3, 2023. To receive a copy of this magazine you must be a current member of PCA. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.