With a couple of spots to fill after both Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson resigned their posts as Poker Players Alliance board members in the wake of Black Friday, the grassroots organization turned to one of their own and promoted from within last week when they made Rich “TheEngineer” Muny the new Vice President of Player Relations.

Muny, who was already a PPA board member and also headed up the Kentucky arm of the PPA as a State Director, will now act as in intermediary of sorts between the PPA and the poker community as a whole, working with the poker blogs, forums, and media to get the PPA message out and answer any questions players may have.

In a statement posted on the 2+2 poker forum, John Pappas wrote:

Washington, DC (June 2, 2011) – The Poker Players Alliance, the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, announced today that Rich Muny will serve as Vice President of Player Relations for the Board of Directors of the PPA.

“Through the years Rich has worked with the PPA, his passion for the game of poker and staunch devotion to protecting poker players’ rights has proven unparalleled,” said former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA. “Given the growing concerns within the poker community over their inability to play online poker in the U.S., now more than ever, American players need to know their voice is being heard and I believe Rich offers the level of expertise needed to reinforce their calls to action.”

A member of the PPA Board of Directors since 2007, Rich also served the alliance as the PPA Kentucky State Director, tirelessly advocating for poker players’ rights. In his new role, Rich will serve as the liaison between the PPA and the poker blogs, forums, social networking sites as well as some traditional poker media outlets.

Prior to his work with the PPA, Rich made a living at the tables as a professional poker player. Incited by the 2006 passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), Rich made the decision to devote his time to advocate for poker players’ rights and has been working diligently with the PPA ever since.

Before becoming a professional poker player, Rich honed his project management and problem solving skills working as a mechanical engineer for GE Aviation, a skillset that has served him well both in his poker game and in his role with the PPA. His thorough understanding of the game of poker and passion for upholding its future in the U.S., has spurred him to help motivate and organize like-minded poker enthusiasts to campaign for poker rights. He regularly communicates directly with the player base on several online forums under his online handle “TheEngineer” and via phone calls and emails.

“The strength of the PPA greatly depends on the voice of its membership and Rich has proven to be an outstanding representative of poker players, not only in his home state of Kentucky, but from across the country,” said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA. “As an avid poker player himself, Rich is truly ingrained in the issues and understands the frustration players feel around the current legislative challenges to online poker in the U.S. I can’t imagine anyone more suited to directly communicate with our membership and I look forward to working with him to ensure this country establishes a licensed and regulated environment so players can enjoy this great game in any format they choose.”

Muny’s new role in the PPA has been a long time coming, as the organization’s biggest weakness has always been in conveying a clear message regarding their goals and ongoing lobbying efforts; hopefully Muny will be able to keep the poker world informed on the PPA’s day-to-day operations as well as answer any questions from the community.