[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Boston 2026 U.S. Commissioners Named
Three regional U.S. commissioners have been announced by Boston 2026 World Expo to handle the transport and care of exhibits before, during and after the show.
Representing the East is Chris Lazaroff, a well-established first day cover creator and enthusiast since the 1980s. He has been instrumental in promoting all aspects of FDC collecting to philatelists worldwide and an active advocate of the cachet maker bourse nationally. Chris was appointed U.S. commissioner to the IBRA 2022 exhibition in Germany, WSC Exhibition Thailand 2023, EFIRO 2023 in Romania and to the upcoming Uruguay 2025 and Liberec 2025 exhibitions. Among the former American First Day Cover Society president‘s accomplishments was reaching his goal of attending U.S. first day ceremonies in all 50 states between 1982 and 2016.
The Central commissioner is Gregory Shoults, a well-known exhibitor whose single and multi-frame exhibits on various aspects of the Third Bureau Washington-Franklin coils have won top honors, making several appearances in the APS Champion of Champions over the past 15 years. Most recently he was the CAPEX 2022 U.S. commissioner in Toronto and earlier was appointed to Brasiliana 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. Greg has been the exhibits chair for the Garfield Perry March Party national stamp show in Cleveland, Ohio, for the past 10 years. He belongs to numerous philatelic organizations, holding positions in many of them.
Vesma Grinfelds of California will be in charge of exhibitors from the West. She was the prior U.S. Commissioner to Korea 2014, New York 2016, Jerusalem 2016, Prague 2018, Indonesia 2022, IBRA 2023, Bangkok 2023, Mare Balticum in Estonia 2024 and will continue the role for the upcoming PhilaKorea 2025. She is active in the Collectors Club of San Francisco, American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE) and Rossica. For many years Vesma has been the Director of the AAPE Youth Champions of Champions competition held at GASS annually. She received the 2024 APS Kehr Award for service to guarantee the future of the hobby.
Overseeing the three will be Commissioner General Yamil Kouri and Deputy Commissioner General Dzintars Grinfelds.
Boston 2026 World Expo takes place May 23-30, 2026, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Full show details may be found at Boston2026.org and on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up to be added to the Boston 2026 email list and receive updates when available.
