[press release]
AAPE Announces Youth Grand Champion of Champions for 2022

Amelia Kelbert was named Youth Grand Champion at the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE) Youth Champion of Champions competition at the Great American Stamp Show in Sacramento in August.

Amelia’s thematic exhibit, “The World of the Monarch Butterfly (Daneius Plexippus)” qualified for the competition by winning the Youth Grand Award at PIPEX 2022. She is 17 years old and lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her exhibit also received the Most Improved Award and the Best Use of Worldwide Material award from the International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors. She did not attend the show.

The Reserve Grand Award was awarded to Adhyaatman Agarwala from Brooklyn, New York, age 15, for his postal history exhibit entitled, “Ecuadorian Slogan-Based Covers Related to the Ecuador-Peru Border Conflict of 1941.”

Eleven exhibits by youth ranging in age from 13 to 18 qualified and competed – each having won a Youth Grand Award at an APS World Series of Philately Show. The participants are eligible for 19 different awards donated by WESTPEX, Collectors Club of Chicago, Pinnacle Stamp Club, the American Topical Association, the International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors and individuals.