Howard Stotler was one of the most outstanding member of the Chicago futures community for many years. His firm was part of the group of old family firms that dominated the industry in the middle part of the century. He was a member of the FIA board of directors for many years and was perhaps best known for chairing the Boca program time and time again. Perhaps his most noteworthy achievement came when he was chairman of the FIA for two terms in the early 1980s. That was the period when the Hunt brothers attempted to manipulate silver prices and the FIA devoted considerable energy to building the industry’s image in Washington and opposing federal margin controls. Stotler was a central force in this effort and personally met with President Jimmy Carter and Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to explain the industry’s view on the attempted manipulation and the appropriate federal response. He died on Aug. 25, 2008 at the age of 94.
