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AFDCS Signs Up Member Number 30,000 At Show

Edward Pieper of the St. Louis area is the 30,000th person to join the American First Day Cover Society. He was signed up at St. Louis Stamp Expo on Saturday, March 22, by Foster Miller at the AFDCS table at the show. (Photo: Pieper, left, Miller, right)

Pieper now has a credit with the AFDCS of 30,000 pennies — $300. He can spend it on
the AFDCS.org website, buying FDCs, catalogues and handbooks; renewing or upgrading his membership; paying for successful AFDCS auction bids; and more. Miller, as the person who recruited member #30,000, also was awarded a $300 credit, which he will be donating to the AFDCS Endowment Fund.

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

The AFDCS, founded in 1955, 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 57, Somerset, WI 54025-0057.

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AFDCS Adds Assistant Editors for First Days, Other Media

The American First Day Cover Society, the world’s largest not-for-profit organization dedicated to first day cover collecting, has retained Jason Youngblood and Kristopher Wile (L-R in the photo) as assistant editors. Their primary responsibilities will be editing and laying out articles and producing graphics for First Days, the official journal of the AFDCS. However, they will also be involved in producing material for the society’s website, its YouTube Channel, and overseeing the publication of new handbooks and catalogues.

In addition, they will work on maintaining the AFDCS’ new data management system, which is tightly tied in with the website.

“Here in the third decade of the 21st century, we have the tools to do so much more than we have up to this point,” said AFDCS president Lloyd A. de Vries. “I think hiring these two young men will not only benefit the members of the AFDCS, but philately in general.”

Both men are familiar with philately and first day covers, thanks to their fathers, but were hired on their own merits.

“These were the second- and third-best applications we received,” said de Vries. “New First Days editor Anthony Bard’s was the best.”

Wile has more than 15 years of experience in the entertainment industry with a focus on film production and post-production. While at the University of North Carolina, he was an editor for the prestigious student literary magazine Cellar Door. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. His father Eric is on the AFDCS Board of Directors.

Youngblood runs his own video production company in Austin, Texas, where he lives with his wife and son. He also directs, edits and composes music and has worked with hundreds of music artists and for festivals such as Austin City Limits, SXSW (“South By Southwest”) and Boilerroom. He handles layout and design for several philatelic publications, often working with his father Wayne.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization, established in 1955. In addition to First Days, the AFDCS also publishes handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as the exhibiting of FDCs.

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.

The American Philatelic Society, the largest stamp collecting organization in the U.S., and the American Philatelic Research Library have retained a professional recruitment company to find its next executive director. Current executive director Scott English gave notice last fall that he would like to leave sometime this summer (2025).

The Moran Company, according to its website, specializes “in the recruitment of Executive Directors/CEOs, Fundraising/Development Directors, Hospital Foundation Directors and other senior leadership staff — who get results.

“We only serve the nonprofit community.”

The summary for the position cites four areas of primary duties and responsibilities: Organizational Leadership, Community Leadership, Financial Sustainability and Board Governance, that is, interaction with and monitoring of the members of the APS Board of Directors and the American Philatelic Research Library trustees.

There is much more detail on these four areas in the announcement of the search on the APS website. The announcement anticipates a salary of $175,000-200,000.

All applicants are directed to contact The Moran Company, not the APS. That link also provides background information on the APS and APRL.

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Nominations Open for FDC Writing Award
For Works Published In 2024

Nominations will be accepted through May 30, 2025, for the Philip H. Ward Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature, presented annually by the American First Day Cover Society. All works published in 2024 are eligible.

All articles and published in First Days, the AFDCS journal, are automatically considered. Other articles and works may be submitted to the Ward Award Committee chair, Mark Goodson, 315 East Dewey Street, Ellettsville, IN 47429-1901, bgdsn@comcast.net, either as clippings or .pdf scans of the material as published.

The award is presented each year at Americover, the annual convention of the AFDCS, which will be held August 14-17, as part of Great American Stamp Show 2025 in Schaumburg, Illinois. A complete list of past winners can be found at www.afdcs.net/Ward-Literature-Award

Past works honored by the AFDCS reflect a wide variety of sources, including journals of other organizations and books.

The award is named in honor of Philip H. Ward (1890-1963), the distinguished Philadelphia stamp collector, dealer and journalist who was a pioneer in the field of first day covers. The award was instituted by the AFDCS in 1964.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization, established in 1955. In addition to First Days, the AFDCS also publishes handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as the exhibiting of FDCs.

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.

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The Collectors Club in New York has named the newest honoree of its Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Philately. He is Dr. Yamil H. Kouri Jr. of Sarasota, Fla. The award was announced at the club’s annual meeting in New York on Jan. 8, 2024.

This richly deserved honor reflects Kouri’s long list of accomplishments in philatelic exhibiting, writing and organizing, as well as his tireless work in recent years to broaden the appeal and reach of the hobby by leading the organization of Boston 2026 World Expo, next year’s once-a-decade international stamp show.

Kouri was a 2020 signatory of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists and winner of the American Philatelic Society’s Luff Award, among numerous other awards. He is a numbered member of the Real Academia Hispánica de Filatelia, the highest honor in Spanish philately.

Born in Cuba, Kouri began collecting stamps during his childhood in Mexico and Puerto Rico, naturally focusing on the Spanish Caribbean area, particularly the history of its maritime mails. He has published over 200 articles in some 20 different philatelic journals, and his first book, The Postal History of Spanish New Orleans, appeared in 2004; it has since been followed by half a dozen other books and 10 specialist monographs, most recently Mails of the 1861-1867 European Intervention in Mexico (with Steve Walske), published in 2022. Kouri was also the editor of The Cuban Philatelist and other journals.

An active philatelic exhibitor since his teenage years, Kouri has garnered Large Gold and Gold medals at numerous international shows with a handful of different exhibits, culminating in the A.P.S. Champion of Champions award in 2019 for “The First Postal Issues of the Spanish Antilles (1855-1865).” Kouri is also an internationally accredited postal history judge and has presented at dozens of shows and conferences around the world.

His leadership positions have included vice-president of the A.P.S., chairman of the board of the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History, and vice president of the Federación Interamericana de Filatelia (FIAF).

In his spare time, he keeps busy as an oncologist and hematologist in Sarasota, Fla. where he moved with his wife, Suzanne in 2022 after living in the Boston area for three decades. Their five children now range in age from 24 to 35.

Kouri expressed his gratitude for the recognition bestowed on him by the award and touched on the real rewards philately has brought him.

“The friendships I have in the hobby have enriched my life incredibly,” Kouri said. “I am incredibly grateful.”

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APS Announces New Director of Education

The APS is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Director of Education, Dr. Tomalei Vess of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

“We are excited to welcome Tomalei to the team,” said APS Executive Director Scott English. “She brings her extensive experience and passion to help us expand our programs to educate and recruit collectors at all levels. We look forward to her leadership in shaping the future of education and engaging our philatelic community.”

Vess, who holds a PhD in biology from Duke University, has experience in both K-12 and university education, as well as museum education. That experience, in addition to her background in sales and entrepreneurship, will be crucial as she takes over the helm in Education.

In 2025, the department’s focus will be on the creation and launch of Stamp SCHOOL, a community engagement and learning platform established in memory of Stephen “Steve” Campbell. Vess will also be working to expand APS youth programs, develop new philatelic resources, and conduct outreach to stamp collectors of every level.

Joining Vess in establishing these programs is Sarah Aldrich, who was recently appointed as both the APS learning coordinator and one of the APRL’s digital projects assistants.

“Sarah and I are excited to learn from and collaborate with our membership, and beyond,” Vess said. “We are ready to create a vibrant space for philatelic education and engagement to sustain and grow the hobby.”

To contact the Education department, email education@stamps.org, or reach Vess directly at tvess@stamps.org.

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The American First Day Cover Society, the only not-for-profit organization in the world dedicated to the stamp collecting specialty of first day covers, has named Anthony Bard of the United Kingdom as editor of its award-winning journal, First Days.

Tony is also the editor of The London Philatelist, the journal of the Royal Philatelic Society London, as well as the Scandinavian Collectors Club’s The Posthorn, Korean Philately and The Mayflower for the American Stamp Club of Great Britain. Like First Days, The Posthorn won large gold medals in 2024 Literature competitions.

“I confess to being an incurable philatelist,” he says. “I began as a stamp collector, became (and remained) a postal historian and was even briefly a producer of limited edition Great Britain first day covers.” He has been a fellow of the RPSL since 1990.

Before becoming a full-time postal historian in 2015, Tony owned food businesses (both human and pet). Even before that, however, he won The Royal’s Tapling Medal (left) for the best London Philatelist article in 2014, and his exhibits of the postal history of Jammu and Kashmir have won international gold medals. More recently, he has shown single-frame exhibits of Korean War postal history.

Tony lives in West Sussex, England, with his wife and two dogs. You can reach him at editor.firstdays@gmail or editor@afdcs.org.

First Days is published six times a year. The AFDCS also publishes handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets, as well as exhibiting FDCs. It offers awards for outstanding first day cover exhibits and annual contests for both serious FDC literature and the best FDC cachets of the past year. It is also a co-host of the annual Great American Stamp Show, which this year is August 14-17 in Schaumburg, Ill.

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, Wis., 54025-0057.

AFDCS Members Reelect Four to The Board

Members of the American First Day Cover Society have reelected four people to the organization’s board of directors: Michael Lake, Cynthia Scott, Ralph Nafziger and Lorraine Bailey. There were five candidates running for the four three-year terms:

Michael Lake (199)
Cynthia Scott (193)
Ralph Nafziger (190)
Lorraine Bailey (152)
Walter Douglas George (141)

In addition, Chris Calle, Michael Moticia, Michael Rosenthal, and Don Trieschmann each received one write-in vote. Moticia is already serving on the board, after election in 2022. More than 230 ballots were cast, an increase from last year.

This was the first AFDCS election for George, a former supermarket industry executive, and a member of the Convention Planning Committee.

Lake, also of Massachusetts, is also AFDCS Education Committee chair. Scott, from Indiana, is currently Chair of the board and has previously served the society in many other posts. Nafziger lives in Oregon and is also executive vice president. Bailey, a former AFDCS Sales chair from Virginia, is currently on the Honors & Awards Committee and was granted an Honorary Life Membership in 2008 for her long service to the AFDCS.

Four seats on the AFDCS Board of Directors are elected each year for three-year terms, beginning Jan. 1. In addition to the 12 elected directors, the president, the editor of the official journal First Days, and the general counsel serve on the board ex officio, if not elected to the board in their own right. The board meets in person at least once a year and as needed via the internet.

AFDCS directors are not compensated for serving on the board nor reimbursed for their travel expenses.

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