At a “town hall” meeting at the NAPEX show in suburban Washington, D.C., June 9, 2017, American Philatelic Society executive director Scott English talked about the diminishing membership, not only in the APS, but in stamp collecting organizations in general.
APS membership in 1988, when English graduated high school, was almost 56,000. Today, when his youngest child is graduating high school, it’s about 29,000. Membership is down about 900 for the year. “It scares me,” he admits.
English said he did “opposition research” before he took the job as executive director 22 months ago. He described that as “I know more about you than you do, and it isn’t all good.”
In this case, he found that the APS was disconnected and standing still. It’s still a problem, he said. “Our problem with the hobby is we love tradition.”
However, English — who was not a stamp collector before he took the job — disputes assertions that stamp collecting is dying, and decreasing organizational membership proves it.
“Stamp collecting isn’t collapsing, organized philately is,” he declared.
English told the collectors at the NAPEX session the APS may get involved in the Regency-Superior bankruptcy case. That was a large philatelic auction house and retail stamp seller with headquarters in Saint Louis. A major creditor has seized the assets of the firm, and those who consigned stamps and covers to Regency-Superior for sale may not be paid.
He said that while the organization itself was a consignor to R-S auctions and stands to lose money, the APS also wants to stand up for its members and other consignors. English says it is not fair that material that they own should be seized by this creditor, a bank. He has directed the APS attorney to look into the matter.
He also said that APS may get involved in seeking changes to bankruptcy law to protect future philatelic consignors. English said that in his past career in politics, he was at times involved in writing bankruptcy legislation.
English also disputed the assertion by the owner of Regency-Superior that the business failed because stamp collecting is dying. You can hear or read his comments in a Virtual Stamp Club radio feature (podcast).
On other subjects:
- APS will be redoing its website to make it mobile-friendly and Google-friendly. Right now, it’s neither, and only 2% of its visits are from mobile devices (and he suspects that’s just himself and COO Ken Martin).
- AmeriStamp Expo 2017 in Reno was on target for revenue, off target on expenditures, and resulted in a loss.
- On finances, English deferred to APS Treasurer Bruce Marsden, who said APS/APRL finances are probably the healthiest they’ve been in the past 5-6 years.
English gives “all credit” to Robert A. Siegel Auctions for getting the most possible for the American Philatelic Research Library for the recently-recovered inverted Jenny airmail stamp. “That stamp should have sold for about $180,000,” English said. “It’s probably the most expensive reperfed stamp ever!”- A small shopping center is going into the vacant space right next to the American Philatelic Center, with six retail spaces. Its architectural style was influenced by and will be consistent with the APC.
Henry B. Scheuer’s article titled “Kansas-Nebraska Overprint Stamps: Why, Where, and When They Were Initially Sold” was selected as the 2016 winner of the United States Stamp Society/Barbara R. Mueller Award for the best article published in a single year of The American Philatelist. The award will be presented at the APS StampShow Celebration Banquet 2017 on August 5 in Richmond, Virginia.
The American Philatelic Society is recognizing Ed Andrews, Jack Congrove, Dawn Hamman, Ed & Judy Jarvis, and David McNamee for National Service to Philately, and Ed Laveroni, Sharon Newby, Gerald Nylander, Guy Purington, Roger Rhoads, Charles Shoemaker, Norm Shufrin, Roger Skinner, Tim Wait, and Ann Wood for Local Service.
For her wide-ranging contributions to philately, 
All articles published in First Days, the AFDCS journal, are automatically considered. Others may be submitted to the Ward Award Committee chair, Mark Goodson, 202 W. Temperance Street, Ellettsville, IN 47429, bgdsn@comcast.net.
The American Philatelic Society reports its Show Manager, Megan Orient, will be leaving following AmeriStamp Stamp Expo (March 3-5, Reno, Nevada) “to be closer to her family.” We understand that that is in Pittsburgh.
It seems like only yesterday that Bob Lamb and Ken Lawrence drove me from APS headquarters in Patton Township (“State College”) Pa. to Bellefonte to see a derelict factory complex. On a later trip, Ken Martin took me up into the loft area of “Building 4.” We had to watch where we put our feet, because the flooring wasn’t very solid. But I saw the view out the open end of the loft and said, “Wow! This could really be something.”
It’s now 16 years later (left), and it really is something. In fact, when I went up to the second floor for the first time during the celebratory weekend, I was a little choked up.
Roger Schnell was on the Board when the vote was taken; he voted against it. His comment as soon as the results were announced was, “Congratulations. You just bought yourselves a pile of bricks.” Yet as you enter the new facility, there’s the sign shown on the right: The Roger Schnell Main Entrance. Despite his misgivings, once the decision was final, Roger became a major donor for the complex’s renovation. There’s a lesson there that some mainstream national politicians haven’t learned. 
Every local official paid tribute to Ken Martin, now the APS Chief Operating Officer as an important part of the project. I think some philatelic leaders don’t appreciate Ken enough.
w, after an ugly APS election in 2007 and the subsequent lawsuit, and his always sharp tongue — he can flay you with his pen — but Ken was a driving force behind the “Match Factory” project. APRL president Roger Brody praised Ken, while admitting that he is often “prickly.” (I think that is the word he used.) Kudoes to Roger for broaching the subject. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, nor was deciding whether to do so wasn’t easy, either.
I was surprised that more wasn’t made of Dennis Gilson’s contribution to the project when he received his Luff Award for Service to the American Philatelic Society. In reading a list of his activities before Dennis signed the Luff scroll, Ken Martin first listed all his many activities on behalf of the APS, quite a few of which are continuing. Perhaps it’s because the American Philatelic Center actually belongs to the APRL, not the APS. Dennis was the first project manager, using his engineering background to get the work started. He retired from that post after the first two phases were completed and the two organizations had moved to the Center.
I was both pleased and surprised to see how closely the finished product (right) looks like the architectural renderings (left).
The exterior of the building, which the APRL shares with the American Philatelic Society, The APRL is the owner and leases space to the APS, which in turn provides services. 
The old library space, in “Building 1,” is now being rented to Centre County Democrats.
The main entrance to the Library. 
Staffer Fred Baumann at the Circulation Desk 
The Reference Desk on the first floor. 
This is the children’s area. The table and chairs are, well, child-size. 
The company making the chairs called the APRL before burning the design into the chair backs: “Do you know the airplane is upside down?” 
The main floor reading area. 
The second floor atrium. In 2001 or 2002, when the APS and APRL were considering buying the “Match Factory,” I was up in the second floor loft area, where there was not much of a floor and what there was wasn’t terribly safe. I saw the view out the end of the building and said, “Wow. This is going to be something some day.” It is.
Our tour of the new facility was conducted by librarian Scott Tiffney (correct spelling). This photo was taken on the second floor in the less-public areas containing material that is less in demand. 
A reading desk on the second floor. 
The upstairs reference desk, usually staffed by the Technical Resources library, Betsy Gamble. Pay particularly attention to the potted plant on the left. You’ll see why below.
People awaiting the start of the ceremony. How many do you know? 
Music before the ceremony was provided by bagpiper Betsy Gamble, the APRL’s Technical Services Coordinator. Why is she in the closet next to her usual station (to the right of the potted plant)? “People said I was too loud,” she told The VSC. 
APS/APRL executive director Scott English speaking at the dedication. 
Bob Lamb, who as executive director of the APS/APRL guided the acquisition of “The Match Factory” and its initial stages of renovation. 
APS president Mick Zais (left) and APRL president Roger Brody cut the ribbon (of stamps, of course) to signify the dedication of the new facility. Behind them, from left, U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson; Mary-Anne Penner, Director of Stamp Services, U.S. Postal Service; English; Randy Brachbill, vice president, Bellefonte Borough Council (and husband of APS Director of Education Cathy Brachbill); Michael Pipe and Mark Higgins, Centre County Commissioners; and Lamb. 
After the Library Dedication was the dedication of the Connie I. Swartz Reception Area, the main entrance to the American Philatelic Center. Swartz was a long-time employee of the APS/APRL, and was often the first contact for members and others when they called or wrote the two organizations. In the photo below, English presents a plaque to her in tribute to her long service. 
And then we took a walk on the beautiful Saturday afternoon to downtown Bellefonte for lunch, pausing in Talleyrand Park for a different view of the exterior of the American Philatelic Center. 
Hard to believe much of the park was once a dump or yard for the lumber/home improvement company that occupied “the Match Factory” in the 1950s and 1960s, isn’t it? 
And if you read this far, you heard it here first: There are rumors that the American Philatelic Center may expand some more, acquiring additional land. But not this park. It’s too beautiful.
The position serves as Director of the National Postal Museum (NPM), with responsibility for the overall planning, direction, and management of all programs and activities of the Museum. The Museum stewards the nation’s foremost stamp collection and is dedicated to the preservation, study and presentation of postal history as it pertains to the history of American postal operations and philately using exhibitions, educational public and online programs and research to make this rich history available to scholars, philatelists, collectors, post office employees and retirees and visitors from around the world. The Museum develops collaborative programs and activities with other Smithsonian and U.S. museums and maintains relations with the postal museums of other countries on a national level. The Museum is served by a Smithsonian-U.S. Postal Service Coordinating Committee, a Council of Philatelists and an Advisory Council. The Director is appointed by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and reports on all matters relating to NPM through the Smithsonian’s Provost/Under Secretary for Museums & Research.
The National Postal Museum was created on November 6, 1990 in a joint agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Postal Service and opened to the public on July 30, 1993. The Museum is located next to Union Station and near the U.S. Capitol, in the historic City Post Office Building, which was constructed in 1914 and served as the Washington, D.C., Post Office from 1914 through 1986. The Museum occupies 100,000 square feet of the building with 35,000 square feet devoted to exhibition space. The Museum also houses a 6,000-square-foot research library, a stamp store and a museum shop. Admission to the museum is free to the public and annual attendance ranges from about 350,000 to 400,000.
The museum conducts and supports scholarship, research and publication on philately and postal history, participates fully with the philatelic and postal service community, and sponsors numerous activities including the annual Sundman lecture and the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award. It has a robust online presence that is a resource to scholars, collectors, teachers and students. Its online resource, Arago, pioneered curatorial crowd-sourcing, while projects with U.S. Postal Service oral history, and the development of the postal industry invite strong constituent participation. Active educational programs provide activities, curriculum and special programs reaching teachers and students across the nation and around the world. The Museum has initiated and promoted a variety of programs with other Smithsonian museums such as the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Anacostia Community Museum, that encourage telling the diverse stories of American history and the American people.
