The American Philatelic Society’s 2021 Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Recognition Awards
for National Service have been awarded to:

• Allison Cusick
• Joann Lenz
• Steve Lund
• Don Neal, and
• Felix L. Perez-Folch, Jr.

The Carter Awards for Local Service go to

• Ron Breznay
• Mike Komiensky
• Darlene Waterstreet, and
• Mary Ann Wenzelma

This year’s Outstanding Young Adult Philatelist (Age 25-40) is Casey Jo White (right)and Outstanding Young Philatelist (Under 25) is Ian Hunter (left).

The APS announcement on the Carter Awards, including their accomplishments, can be found here.

Bill Schultz is the recipient of the Kehr Award, presented “for enduring contributions that help guarantee the future of the hobby” over a period of at least five years. Details are here.

The American Philatelic Society has named this year’s inductees into its Hall of Fame, the most prestigious award that the APS can bestow upon philatelists who have passed away. This year, all three are women:

• Elizabeth Pope
• Elizabeth “Betty” Nettles
• Esper Hayes

Only photos of Pope and Hayes were provided by the APS. The APS Hall of Fame was established in 1940. Nominees must have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of national or international philately.Pope and Nettles, perhaps not coincidentally, were both active in the Webster Grove Stamp Club in the St. Louis area. Hayes founded the Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections, whose acronym, again perhaps not coincidentally, is ESPER.

The APS announcement including their accomplishments can be found here.

L-R, Lesher, Ertzberger, Frohlich

The American Philatelic Society has named this year’s winners of its Luff Award, the most prestigious award that the APS can bestow upon living philatelists.

• For Distinguished Philatelic Research – Dr. Ronald Lesher
• For Exceptional Contributions to Philately – Darrell Ertzberger
• For Outstanding Service to the American Philatelic Society – Alfredo Frohlich

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 announcement including their accomplishments can be found here.

Lesher spoke with The Virtual Stamp Club in 2013 about one of the more unusual aspects of his revenue stamp collection, Oleomargarine stamps! You can hear that feature here.

Martin Kent Miller has been named editor of The Philatelic Exhibitor, the journal of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE). He succeeds Randy L. Neil, a co-founder of the organization, who decided to retire. Neil will continue to write a column for the publication.

Miller’s 30-year career in the communications field, includes writing, editing and graphic design. He is the president of the Philatelic Press, a company that serves the communications needs of philatelists and philatelic organizations. He also edits The United States Specialist, the journal of the United States Stamp Society; First Days, the journal of the American First Day Cover Society; and The Pennsylvania Postal Historian, the journal of the Pennsylvania Postal History Society. He previously edited The American Philatelist, the journal of the American Philatelic Society. Miller has been a stamp collector since he was eight years old.

Last year, Miller edited Topical Adventures – A Guide to Topical and Thematic Stamp Collecting for the American Topical Association (ATA). He also designed a new logo and website for ATA.

“We sincerely thank Randy for many years of fine work for AAPE,” said Mike Ley, president. “We look forward to working with Martin as we meet the needs of both novice and experienced exhibitors.”

Founded in 1986, the AAPE offers publications, exhibiting awards and critique and mentoring services for philatelic exhibitors.

For more information on the AAPE, visit its website AAPE.org.

The 92nd AFDCS Fundraising Auction is now underway. The auction features 1,120 lots donated by our generous members.

This auction starts off with a rare set of 1930 Zeppelin first day covers with cachets by Roessler, postmarked on the back along delivery route with first on 4/19/1930 at Washington, DC, and serviced by none other than Egon Bernet! How often does a set in such a pristine condition come available?

Those who have an interest in autographed material will find several notable items:

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

Stanton W. Salisbury, Chief of Chaplains, U.S. Navy

C. Everett Koop, U.S. Surgeon General

Robin Cook MD, medical novelist and author of ‘COMA’ and ‘PANDEMIC’

Richard Couch, Stealth Bomber Test Pilot

Paul Hubartt, Cachet Designer for Fluegel Covers

A large number of Walter G. Crosby 1940’s are featured, some lots as mini collections, including several not-so-common #10 cachets:

A variety of Cachetmakers are represented, notably:

This auction continues from the last, offering an assortment of Doris Gold items , including printed and hand-painted FDCs, original artwork, and working materials for production of printed cachets. All exhibitors should pay close attention to these lots!

Duck Hunting stamp FDCs are represented proudly with a good assortment:

Pickers will enjoy group lots on a variety of topics including hand-painted cachets, Circus, collection of JFK Aerogram FDCs, a Fleetwood presentation card album, FDR 1946 Fleetwood/Knapp combo, Obama Inauguration multiple stamp combination, Certified Delivery and Special Delivery covers, and much more:

Whatever you collect you’re sure to find something of interest.

Auction runs through June 20th. Convenient online credit card and PayPal payment available for winning bidders.

See all the lots here: https://www.afdcs.org/Auction92/92index.html

Thank you for supporting the American First Day Cover Society!

[press release]
ATA to Offer Two Courses

The American Topical Association is offering two courses via Zoom during the month of May.

Wondering How to Mount and Display Your Collection? Make Your Own Album Pages! is three sessions at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on May 4, 6 and 11. It will show how to design pages on a computer and print them or take them to be printed.

The course will be taught by Martin Kent Miller, owner of The Philatelic Press, a design and marketing firm geared to the needs of philatelists. Martin has worked as a graphic designer for 30 years and enjoys making album pages. Also teaching will be Jeff Hayward, ATA first vice president, who works in the computer field and assists ATA with its technology. He is an avid collector who designs album pages for his many topics.

Cost is $25 for ATA members, $40 for non-members. Registration is open on the ATA website at www.americantopical.org.

Thematic Exhibiting: Steps to Success is a five-part course is designed to give students practical information to use in planning and developing a thematic exhibit. The five-part course will be offered on May 15 (4 p.m. Eastern), May 18 and 20 (6 p.m. Eastern) and May 22 and 29 (4 p.m. Eastern). Cost is $35 for members, $50 for non-members.
ATA president Dawn Hamman will present the first session, an overview of the decisions students need to make in planning; writing the thematic story; and acquiring and describing material. There will be a discussion of resources to use along the way. She is a thematic exhibitor, writer and editor.

The second session, taught by Martin Kent Miller, will cover layout and design, including choosing paper, page design basics, matting, typefaces and size. The owner of The Philatelic Press, a marketing and design firm geared to the needs of philatelists, Miller edits numerous publications, including First Days and The United States Specialist. He designs many publications for ATA, and edited the 2020 book, Topical Adventures – A Guide to Topical and Thematic Stamp Collecting.

The third session will be a case study, in which prominent thematic exhibitor Phillip Stager will go through the steps he took in developing his award-winning exhibit, The Wonderful World of Bamboo. Stager has been exhibitjng since high school and has won many top awards for his thematic exhibits. He is a retired philatelic judge who served as chief judge for the National Topical Stamp Show several times. He wrote the chapter on thematic exhibiting for Topical Adventures – A Guide to Topical and Thematic Stamp Collecting.

Jean Wang will lead the class on May 22: How to Choose a Wide Variety of Philatelic Items for Your Exhibit. She is the grand award winning exhibitor for Blood: A Modern Medicine, CANPEX, 2019, and one of the foremost thematic exhibitors working today. She will describe how she selected a wide range of philatelic items to tell the thematic story.

The final session of the course will be a wrap-up for students to report on their progress and ask questions.

[press release]
Ronnei To Coordinate Exhibit Efforts for FDC Society

The American First Day Cover Society has chosen Todd Ronnei, a gold-medal exhibitor himself, to coordinate its exhibiting programs and promote FDC exhibiting.

Ronnei was awarded the Reserve Grand and a Large Gold medal for his U.S. Winston Churchill (Sc. 1264) exhibit at the AFDCS’s Americover 2018 and at Minnesota Stamp Expo in 2018. [One of the covers is shown below.] He has a number of other FDC exhibits, including the 1967 Urban Planning stamp (Sc. 1333) and 1970 Fort Snelling stamp (Sc. 1409), and is the Exhibit Chair for Minnesota Stamp Expo, a World Series of Philately show.

Ronnei and his family live in a Minneapolis suburb. He has been the AFDCS.org webmaster for a number of years and also served on its board of directors, five years as its chairman.

The AFDCS presents unique awards in special categories at its Americover shows, created by Kerry Heffner, and Randy Smith distributes a general AFDCS award to shows upon request. “Todd will pull together these efforts, while adding others and encouraging more FDC collectors to try their hand at exhibiting,” said AFDCS president Lloyd A. de Vries.

The AFDCS, a 501(c)(3) educational not-for-profit organization, also recently reorganized its Education Department and is putting more emphasis on those programs.

The society publishes its award-winning journal First Days six times a year, as well as handbooks and directories, and is a co-sponsor of the big U.S. summer philatelic event, Great American Stamp Show (Aug. 12-15 in the Chicago area) or its equivalent virtual show.

For more information on the AFDCS, visit its website www.afdcs.org, email afdcs@afdcs.org or write to the society at Post Office Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246.

Todd Ronnei’s Winston Churchill exhibit can be seen here.

[press release]

Kris McIntosh is the new chair of the Education Department of the American First Day Cover Society. The retired high school social studies teacher in Fort Worth, Texas, schools has already been demonstrating FDCs as teaching aids, both online and at social studies teachers’ conventions. This new position will expand upon her advocacy of covers in education.

The department also includes youth activities, audio-visual programs, and online programming. Gary Denis, the previous Education Chair, continues as chair of the Publications Committee. The AFDCS earns its not-for-profit status as a 501(c)3 organization for its educational activities.

As Education Chair, McIntosh will have a seat on the society’s Executive Committee. She was also just elected, separately, to her first term on the AFDCS Board of Directors.

McIntosh lives in a recreational vehicle, and spends the year traveling through several western states. She is a member of the Fred Sawyer North Texas Chapter of the AFDCS, and collects and exhibits the 1936 Susan B. Anthony (Sc. 784) and the 1948 Progress of Women (Sc. 959) issues.

The AFDCS’ publications include handbooks, catalogues, directories, and its award-winning journal First Days. The society also produces some FDCs, advocates for first day cover collecting and exhibiting, and is a cosponsor of the big national stamp collecting show each summer. The Great American Stamp Show is currently scheduled for August 12-15 in the Chicago area.

For more information on the AFDCS, visit its website www.afdcs.org, email afdcs@afdcs.org or write to the society at Post Office Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246.

[press release]
AFDCS Offers Members Free Online Collecting Interests Registry

The American First Day Cover Society, the world’s largest not-for-profit FDC organization, is now offering its members a way to find other members with similar collecting interests and to seek out wanted items.

With the new “Member Connect” benefit, members may submit their collecting interests in a secure area of the AFDCS.org website, accessible only to other members. There is no charge for the service. Commercial ads and cachetmaker ads are not permitted in Member Connect entries. (Separate ads on the website may be purchased.)

An individual’s Member Connect entry may include any topic of general philatelic or FDC interest, or can be used to seek specific items (such as “want ZIP block on FDC for Sc. 1306”). There is a limit of 25 words per listing, and one listing per member. Members can submit changes or delete their listings at any time.

Member Connect can be found in the Members Area of the website, accessed via the “Member Login” button on the homepage. AFDCS members who do not already have access to this area can request it by sending their names and membership numbers via email to webmaster@afdcs.org.

In that same area, members can download copies of First Days, a full-color magazine published six times a year by the AFDCS. The organization also publishes handbooks, catalogues and a free directory of current cachetmakers, cosponsors an annual stamp show, and otherwise promotes first day cover collecting.

For more information on the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org or write to the AFDCS, PO Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246, or via e-mail at afdcs@afdcs.org

[press release]
CCC Digitized Philatelic Handbooks Availability

Since 1968, the Collectors Club of Chicago, has published 34 original research specialized philatelic handbooks, compendia, and anthologies. As the handbooks are issued in limited editions, the published handbooks are available only from libraries, or whenever private philatelic literature libraries receive copies through private treaty or auction.

The CCC maintains the copyrights for the handbooks, and has completed a digitization program that allows about 30 of the publications to be available for the Good of Philately for downloading at a nominal cost by the collector or dealer (https://www.collectorsclubchicago.org/handbooks-available-for-download/). The titles are diverse, ranging from specialized United States collecting areas, to esoteric foreign subjects.

The CCC actively solicits for publication all manuscripts reflecting original philatelic research, regardless of the subject matter, or their perceived esoteric content. Complete details for potential authors are available on www.collectorsclubchicago.org.