Patrick Morgan of St. Charles, Mo., is the new chair of the Membership Department of the American First Day Cover Society and a member of its Executive Committee. He succeeds Foster E. Miller, III, who had held the position since 2008.

Morgan, with an MBA from Washington University, worked for IBM for 25 years, where he managed infrastructure architecture for services customers before retiring, and served for four years on the board of the St. Louis affiliate of the Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization. He is presently in his first term on the AFDCS Board of Directors.

Pat collects FDCs topically — by subject — and is also a member of the American Topical Association, as well as the American Philatelic Society, Poster Stamp Collectors Club, and the Greater Mound City Stamp Club, of which he is Treasurer. He also collects postal cards with Fleetwood cachets and Artmaster airmail FDCs, and has written articles for First Days and Topical Time.

“Pat was highly recommend by everyone to whom I talked,” said AFDCS president Lloyd A. de Vries. “He started looking at our membership programs even before he was confirmed by the Board.”

Miller remains chair of the AFDCS Sales Department and represents the organization at many shows each year. He is also on the Board.

“We could not have made it through the past few years without Foster reconstructing and then maintaining our membership records,” said de Vries. “Now, however, I want to lighten his load and also put more emphasis on recruitment and retention of members.”

The AFDCS is the largest not-for-profit first day cover society in the world, with members in more than a dozen countries. It publishes an award-winning journal, First Days, six times a year, as well as handbooks, catalogues and You-Tube videos, and is a co-sponsor of the annual Great American Stamp Show. It holds an annual cachetmaking contest and two mail auctions a year, and encourages philatelic exhibiting and writing about FDCs.

Morgan can be reached directly at membership@afdcs.org. For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 57, Somerset, WI 54025-0057

Below is an excerpt from American Philatelic Society executive director Scott English’s column in the December 2024 issue of the APS journal, The American Philatelist and distributed as an email to members.

Is he going to return to mainstream real-world politics? “Right now, my focus is on assisting the Search Committee and the APS Board in launching the search for the next Executive Director and working with our staff to do everything we can to help the next Executive Director succeed,” he told The Virtual Stamp Club in email. “I will eventually have to consider my next position and share that news with our fellow members when the time is right.

“No matter where I go, I will always remain a member of the APS and APRL and will enjoy visiting clubs and shows as a friend and collector for years to come.”

More comments from others are included in the text below.

After nearly 10 years with the American Philatelic Society and the American Philatelic Research Library, I’ve made the difficult decision to move on to the next chapter in life. As many of you may know, I concluded in 2023 that it was time to move on, but after discussions with the APS Board, I agreed to stay on to complete some much-needed work through 2026. I appreciate the Board’s faith in me to stay for two more years. As we complete those projects in the months ahead, it is time for me to step aside for new leadership prepared to lead the organization, growing our community of collectors for the next decade.

It’s not the end, but the beginning of the end of my time with the APS. I plan to stay with the APS while the Board searches for the next Executive Director. This can be a challenging process that should be carefully conducted, so it could take a year to successfully transition from one Executive Director to another. In the meantime, I will work with the APS Board and our team in Bellefonte to ensure this can be concluded with a smooth handoff.

Over the months ahead, I’ll connect with and share with the APS members about my time as the Executive Director. For now, I want to share a few thoughts with you.

With Gratitude
The APS is for members by members. From my first day on the job, I’ve met enthusiastic collectors who believe in this great hobby and the APS. The selflessness of your time to contribute your thoughts, actions, and passion is beyond words. The stamp-collecting community is warm and welcoming. Every interaction has been a learning experience, and I’m grateful for your kindness and hospitality.

Wherever you serve the hobby, please know you’re making a difference in the lives of others. Members have shared thousands of stories with me over the years, and the thing they remember most is who helped them along the way and why they gave their time in return.

With Pride
In my time here, we’ve celebrated some great wins:

• Construction of a state-of-the-art research library
• Recovering and sale of Position 76 of the McCoy Block of the Inverted Jenny
• Thrived during the pandemic, adapting to the changing circumstances
• Retiring the $5.4 million mortgage debt on the Match Factory
• Replacing the Tiffany Dinner with the Stamp Soiree, which annually raises more than $100,000 for important APS and APRL missions
• Recovering from the COVID-era tenant loss, going from 40 percent occupancy at the end of 2021 to more than 90 percent this year
• Partnering with the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society to form the Great American Stamp Show, North America’s largest annual stamp show
• Launching Stamp Chats and StampEd, which are accessible online resources for collectors to learn about stamps and their hobby

These are just a few examples of how we’ve transformed the APS and the hobby. Each one took the hard work of many people in the hobby, including you. Thank you for your support, enthusiasm, and faith.

“My background of teaching and public education gave me the big picture understanding that the APS had to change with the times in order to be relevant in future decades,” APS president Cheryl R. Ganz told The VSC. “Scott has been a transformative executive director for nearly a decade.

“Scott has led us into the twenty-first century with a positive vision for the future.”

With Optimism
The APS and APRL are in better financial shape than in decades. We are debt-free and generate income from our third-party tenants to support the library. Our investments are paying great dividends, and we are building our cash reserves to prepare for future needs.

Thanks to the kindness of Al and Dottie Kugel, we’ve secured more than $2.2 million to date for a website replacement and replacing the roof on a portion of the Match Factory. There will be more news on the Kugel Estate sale in the coming months, and we’ll share those updates with you. I’ve been working with Dottie to find the proper way to honor Al, and we will do so before I leave.

Thanks to Karen Campbell, who pledged $100,000 to start the Stephen Campbell Home of Online Learning (Stamp SCHOOL). Her pledge launched a campaign to raise $250,000 to build an education program for collectors of all levels. I pledge to complete this campaign in the months ahead to offer members a full menu of options worldwide.

Thanks to Bob Mason, whose estate helped us complete the mortgage debt payments in 2020, we launched the current digital library project, now known as the Robert A. Mason Digital Library (RAMDL). We’ve hired a grant writer to help boost the mission even more, allowing us to improve the user experience, increase the number of objects available to search, and begin to develop preservation policies for orphaned digital projects. We’ll have more exciting news to share soon on additional content housed in the RAMDL.

Thanks to the APS and APRL boards for providing vigilant and thoughtful leadership over the years. Members only occasionally see the work involved in developing our strategies, managing the finances, and looking toward the future. Still, our boards have worked effectively to resolve some of our time’s greatest challenges and opportunities. They are all volunteers who give their time, so the reward for hard work is often more hard work.

Thanks to the dedicated APS and APRL staff and volunteers. Our staff and volunteers in Bellefonte work enthusiastically daily to serve the members and our community. They are more than just staff; they’ve become like family to me. My routine joke is, “If something goes well, good job! If something goes wrong, it’s my fault.” I would like to single out Leonard and Darlene Bloom, our extraordinary volunteers, who show up every day to manage donations, sell through the Stamp and Cover shop, and help in more ways than I can count.

Thanks to my wife, Kendra. She’s supported the long hours, the travel, and the time spent with me at stamp shows and stamp clubs around the country. While I would meet with members, she picked up an interest in collecting stamps, covers, and postcards, recruiting new members for the APS, and meeting and talking with collectors at any hour of the day or night. I could not have possibly done any of this without her support. We’ve made friendships that will last beyond my time as Executive Director.

This is not goodbye since I will still be around, at least through the Great American Stamp Show. In the meantime, I will continue to work on your behalf and for the hobby I’ve come to love. Thank you for all you do for the APS, APRL, and the hobby!

[press release]
Gibson Named AFDCS Executive Secretary

Debra “Deb” Gibson has been named executive secretary of the American First Day Cover Society, the largest not-for-profit organization for FDC collecting in the world.

The AFDCS Central Office is now in Somerset, Wis., 30 miles from Minneapolis. The mailing address is PO Box 57, Somerset, WI 54025-0057. The office telephone number, however, remains (540) 940-1629 and the email address still is afdcs@afdcs.org.

Gibson spent more than 29 years in the U.S. Air Force, initially on assignment as a Romanian linguist for the National Security Agency. She spent most of her career in intelligence, with postings all over the country. Deb met her husband, gold-medal FDC exhibitor Rick Gibson, during a joint exercise in England.

She has volunteered for the American Red Cross and the Herwitz Breast Cancer Fund in Frederick, Md. She received a B.S. from St. Cloud University and a M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from American Military University.

Deb goes to many stamp collecting shows each year with Rick, even though she is not a collector. Many of the photographs from past AFDCS conventions were taken by her.

“I have enjoyed getting to know collectors,” she says. “This brings me into the hobby just a little more!”

As executive secretary, Gibson also will be a member of the Executive Committee. She joins the AFDCS leadership at an exciting time. Not only is the AFDCS a co-sponsor of the annual Great American Stamp Show and publisher of the award-winning journal First Days, it has also just inaugurated a new member information system that is fully integrated with its new website. Most member access to the site’s features are now automated.

The AFDCS also publishes handbooks, catalogs and multimedia programs and sponsors an annual cachetmaking contest and philatelic exhibit awards. Its next convention will be at GASS 2025 on August 17-20 in Schaumburg, Ill., but will sponsor its own show, Americover 2026, the following year.

For more information on the society, visit www.afdcs.net or write to the AFDCS at Box 57, Somerset.

Most AFDCS members should have received an email message with this information and more. If not, it may have ended up in a spam folder or the member’s email address is not known by the AFDCS. You can click on the illustrations here for bigger versions of them.

For the many months, the AFDCS has been working on the transition to a new membership management database. This platform, comically named “Wild Apricot,” provides the society with a tool for managing all aspects of member records including renewals, donations and other aspects of membership. The platform also includes tools for building and maintaining a website.

ABOUT THE WEB ADDRESS – The new website is located at www.afdcs.net. This domain has been used during the development process of the new site. In a few weeks, the previous domain (afdcs.org) will be redirected to the new site. By the end of November, both domains (afdcs.net and afdcs.org) will both lead to the new website

IMPORTANT: You will need an email address to access the site beyond the surface areas and the AFDCS needs to know your email address. If you did not get this morning’s mass email about these updates, it may mean the AFDCS does not have an address for you.

The first time you log in to the new website — even if you were registered on the old site — you will need to register again. On the new website, click on the blue user icon in the upper right to open the login screen (see screenshot to the right). Then click on “Forgot Password” (even if you remember it).

The email you enter must match what we have on file for you. Please also verify the spelling of your email address before submitting the request. If you do not have an email on file with the AFDCS please send an email to the office (afdcs@afdcs.org) with your desired email address.

[click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
APS Honors Stotts, Reinhard, Trettin with Luff Award

The American Philatelic Society honored Jay Stotts, Steve Reinhard and Ken Trettin with its 2024 Luff Award [left to right in the photo]. Since 1940, the Luff Award has been the most prestigious award that the American Philatelic Society can bestow upon living philatelists. The Luff Award was established in memory of John N. Luff, APS president from 1907 to 1909, who was considered the most prominent American philatelist of his era.

The APS Luff Awards are available annually for:

• Distinguished Philatelic Research
• Exceptional Contributions to Philately
• Outstanding Service to the American Philatelic Society

Recipients sign the Luff Award Scroll and are presented with engraved rings. The 2024 Luff Award winners will join a distinguished company of 157 prominent philatelists.

For Distinguished Philatelic Research, Kenneth H. Trettin:
Kenneth H. “Ken” Trettin is one of the hobby’s quiet giants.
Trettin is a 50-year-plus APS member and has been a member for more than 40 years in several other groups, such as the American Revenue Association, Collectors Club of New York, U.S. Stamp Society, U.S. Philatelic Classics Society. He has served on several boards of directors, exhibits revenues and was an early exponent of special studies and display class exhibits.

Trettin is an accredited chief philatelic exhibit judge, but has especially offered his expertise and knowledge in the area of literature, for which he is a philatelic literature judge.

“Since 1965, Ken has been one of the low-key giants in organized philately, and especially, philatelic literature,” wrote Hal Vogel, a 2022 Luff Award winner who nominated Trettin. “He is not only a prolific prepress advisor and varied author, but he has also been the longtime scholarly editor of several publications, including The American Revenuer and the American Philatelic Congress Book.

Trettin’s prepress work includes everything from offering directions, editing, and layout to writing articles and copyreading. (He’s written more than 150 articles, many without bylines.) He pioneered the use of desktop publishing for philatelic literature and became a mentor to many other editors who needed guidance in the area when it was new.

“One cannot be in his presence long without recognizing how his soft, professional personality has enabled him to be both a wise, accomplished author and a research-writing mentor to many,” wrote Vogel.

Among the books and journals he has had a hand in are The American Revenuer journal (1976-2011); The Congress Book (2006-2019); several publications for the American Revenue Association, including Catalog of US Revenue Stamped Documents – Civil War Era; Second Federal Issue 1801-1802; Third Federal Issue 1814-1817; Colonial New Sweden and its Postal Communications, 1638-1655 (2023, by John Barwis; and North Atlantic Non-Contract Steamship Mail (2022), by Barwis and Dick Winter.

Trettin has contributed significantly to several generations of APS literature evaluations and has served on numerous literature evaluation competitions and committees.

Trettin’s past awards include the Charles J Peterson Philatelic Literature Lifetime Achievement Award (2015); the Chicago Philatelic Society Newbury Award for significant contributions to Chicago area philately (2010); the USPCS Distinguished Philatelist Award (2001); the Diane D Boehret Award (1999) from the American Philatelic Congress; and induction into the Writer’s Unit #30 Hall of Fame (1999).

And, to remind us that philately has its place and can easily intersect with other pastimes, Cheryl Ganz offered this final note about Trettin: “Ken Trettin is well known as a revenue collector, great editor, and outstanding literature judge. He is smart and fun. But there is another side to Ken’s vast expertise. He brews his own beer and smokes his own sausages. Ken and his wife, Eileen, have hosted many beer tasting evening events at stamp shows. They often drive to stamp shows in their convertible, carrying their mascot Kermit along to be photographed at the sites on the back roads.”

For Exceptional Contributions to Philately: Jay Stotts
Jay Stotts, like many of us, has been a collector since childhood. His involvement in the hobby has escalated since his marriage, because his wife, Denise, was equally interested in the hobby. As a young married couple, they were both involved and encouraged each other’s interests. He joined the APS in 1978.

Stotts joined the Garfield-Perry Stamp Club of Cleveland after they changed their bylaws in the mid-1980s to allow women as members, and after getting involved, served the club in many capacities, including as a board member (1986-92) and as March Party chairman in 1992. In 1992, Jay and Denise were award the Garfield-Perry LaGanke Award for service to the society.

Stotts’ interest in the United States Fourth Bureau Issue led him to join the Bureau Issues Association (BIA). He contributed a 13-part series of articles for its journal, The Specialist, for which he was awarded the society’s 1989 Walter Hopkinson Award for Literature.

Stotts was appointed to the BIA Board in 1991, a position he has held continuously with the exception of his tenures as president of the society. He was appointed to the presidency of the BIA in 1992 and served in that capacity through 1997. After the society changed its name to the United States Stamp Society (USSS), he was appointed as the society’s president and served in that capacity from 2000 through 2002, when he was again appointed to the board, a position which he still holds. He planned and coordinated a series of 20 seminars on the history of U.S. 20th century philately for the PACIFIC ’97 international stamp show.

Stotts has been an avid exhibitor since 1980 and an accredited APS judge since 1989. He served on the national Committee on Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges (CANEJ) of the APS for eight years (1990-98) and he was a contributor to the seventh edition of the Manual for Philatelic Judging and Exhibiting. His Fourth Bureau Issue material has earned five national grand awards and the 1995 BIA Walter Hopkinson Award for Exhibiting. He was recognized for excellence in philatelic judging in 2019 when he was awarded the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors’ Bernard Hennig Award.

After their relocation to Houston, the Stotts became active in both the Houston Philatelic Society and the Greater Houston Stamp Show Committee. Jay has served as the society’s secretary and as the newsletter editor for more than 25 years. He was awarded the Distinguished Philatelic Texan Award of the Texas Philatelic Association in 1999 for his contributions to philately and he was awarded the Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Recognition Award by the APS in 2009.

With the approach of the 100th anniversary of the issue of the Fourth Bureau Issue in 2022, he and the Fourth Bureau Issues Committee of the USSS began work on a published legacy resource for the issue. Jay served as editor and the society published the 500-page book, The United States Fourth Bureau Issue 1922-1938, which earned grand awards for the literature competitions at both Chicagopex 2022 and the Great American Stamp Show 2023. The book sold out in 15 months.

In addition to the positions he fills with the USSS and the Houston club, he currently serves as the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors’ director of its Exhibit Critique Service. Jay and Denise continue to support each other’s efforts in philately and understand that this is a hobby where the more you put into it, the more enjoyment and enduring friendships you reap from it.

For Outstanding Service To The APS: Stephen Reinhard
Four years ago, Newsday, the Long Island, NY, newspaper, presented an article about philately that started, “What keeps somebody glued to a hobby for 70 years?”

Stephen Reinhard, who then at 78 had just hit his 70-year mark in the hobby, answered easily, in both print and an accompanying video published by the prime newspaper where he lives.

“I’ve learned so much about history and geography, from where countries are located to what their capitals are,” said Reinhard in print and in an accompanying video. “I don’t have a talent for those subjects. I spend hours a day in my stamp room at home. I got interested when I was 8 years old, and it’s never stopped.”

Like many of our honorees, Reinhard’s contributions to the hobby are too many to include here, but we’ll give you a taste.

In general, as summarized by a 2017 article in Linn’s Stamp News, “Reinhard is a longtime researcher and writer, an award-winning international exhibitor, and a philatelic judge. He has fulfilled numerous leadership roles in the stamp hobby while sharing his enthusiasm for his aerophilately specialty and promoting philatelic exhibiting as a foundation of the stamp hobby.”

Reinhard has more than a dozen years of service on the APS board of directors, including serving as president from 2013 to 2016.
Reinhard became an accredited national philatelic judge in 1989 and started judging internationally in the early 2000s. He’s judged at about 120 national and international exhibitions. He’s also served on national and international accreditation committees.

As with all other areas of his involvement, Reinhard has completed several roles for other organizations, particularly the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP), Collectors Club of New York and the American Air Mail Society.

For the FIP, Reinhard has served several times as U.S. commissioner and a judge to international shows. He has served as several positions for both the Collectors Club of New York (president, 2002-2004) and the Philatelic Foundation. He has served in several roles for the Air Mail Society (director for 35 years, president 1988-89). In other areas he served on the National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists (2013-2017) and was the creator and show chair of Aerophilately 2022.

Reinhard’s award-winning exhibits include “United States Pioneer Airmail, 1910-1916,” “United Kingdom Coronation Aerial Post, 1911” and “Swiss Pioneer Airmail, 1913.”

Reinhard served as managing editor for three volumes of The American Air Mail Catalogue (sixth edition) and written such articles for The Airpost Journal and other publications as “Chautauqua Lake Airmail – 1913-14,” “Miscalculated-Printed Matter to Mexico” and “Mexico Airmail to the U.S. was not Always the Fastest Way.”

Reinhard has garnered many of the hobby’s most prestigious honors, which include election to the Aerophilatelic Hall of Fame (2000); becoming a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London (2001); FIP medal for service (2012); honorary life membership to the American Air Mail Society (2015, one of only seven in the society’s 100-year history); and the Collectors Club of New York’s Lichtenstein Medal (2017).

“Steve has given his time and talents to philately his entire adult life,” said the nominating petition from Cheryl Ganz. “I have worked with Steve on boards and committees for 40 years …He puts the good of the hobby first, and is a respected voice. Steve devotes his time and energy to philately out of his passion for this great hobby. He is a gentleman. He is very deserving of APS’s highest honor, having served in many roles for decades.”

[press release]

AFDCS Declares National Cachetmakers Day
Saturday August 17, 2024 to Coincide with GASS Cachetmakers Bourse

American First Day Cover Society president Lloyd A. de Vries has issued a Presidential Proclamation, designating Saturday, August 17, as National Cachetmakers Day. It coincides with the cachetmakers bourse at Great American Stamp Show 2024 in Hartford, Conn., and a special postmark will be available at the show. [shown on right]

“Every day is ‘national something day’ — usually several somethings —and apparently anyone can proclaim such a designation,” explains de Vries. “I am the AFDCS president, so that makes this a Presidential Proclamation.”

First day covers are like a birth certificate for a stamp, with the postmark for the first day that the stamp or postal stationery was available for sale. In many countries, the postal agency produces these “FDCs” but in the U.S., collectors are encouraged to do so themselves.

Cachets are the designs on the envelopes or cards used for first day covers. The cachets add to the theme or subject of the stamp or postal issue, either with clever artwork, interesting information or in some cases, neither. Cachets started appearing on envelopes as advertising around the time of the U.S. Civil War, and the first intended specifically for first day covers was created in 1923.

“We’re having fun,” says de Vries, a cachetmaker himself. “I’m sure not doing it for the money.”

The AFDCS is the largest not-for-profit first day cover society in the world, with members in more than a dozen countries. It publishes an award-winning journal, First Days, six times a year, as well as handbooks, catalogues and You-Tube videos; holds fundraising auctions; is a co-sponsor of the annual Great American Stamp Show, conducts an annual cachetmaking contest; and encourages philatelic exhibiting and writing about FDCs.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027.

[press release]
AFDCS Counting Down to Member Milestone
Awarding 30,000 Pennies to Lucky New Member And Proposer

The American First Day Cover Society will give a lucky new member and whoever proposes that member each a $300 credit — the equivalent of 30,000 pennies — to welcome member #30,000.

The winners can spend their prizes on the AFDCS.org website, buying FDCs, catalogues and handbooks; joining, renewing or upgrading their memberships; paying for successful AFDCS auction bids; and more. The complete rules are on our website. (No, you cannot join, quit, and join again to try to hit #30,000! And your dog is not eligible.)

The AFDCS today does not have 30,000 members: It is closer to 1,200. Some numbers may have been skipped; some people may have received more than one number over the years; and, of course, some former members no longer collect.

Member #1 was Richard S. Bohn, who was one of the philatelic leaders who came up with the idea of a national society for first day cover collectors. Unfortunately, he passed away within a year after the founding in 1955. The earliest still active membership number is 10, Gerald Strauss [left], the first editor of First Days.

The AFDCS is the largest not-for-profit first day cover society in the world, with members in more than a dozen countries. It publishes an award-winning journal, First Days, six times a year, as well as handbooks, catalogues and You-Tube videos; holds fundraising auctions; is a co-sponsor of the annual Great American Stamp Show, conducts an annual cachetmaking contest; and encourages philatelic exhibiting and writing about FDCs.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027.