The following was excerpted from American Philatelic Society executive director Scott English’s column in the December 2024 issue of the APS journal, The American Philatelist and distributed as an email to members:

After nearly 10 years with the American Philatelic Society and the American Philatelic Research Library, I’ve made the difficult decision to move on to the next chapter in life. As many of you may know, I concluded in 2023 that it was time to move on, but after discussions with the APS Board, I agreed to stay on to complete some much-needed work through 2026. I appreciate the Board’s faith in me to stay for two more years. As we complete those projects in the months ahead, it is time for me to step aside for new leadership prepared to lead the organization, growing our community of collectors for the next decade.

It’s not the end, but the beginning of the end of my time with the APS. I plan to stay with the APS while the Board searches for the next Executive Director. This can be a challenging process that should be carefully conducted, so it could take a year to successfully transition from one Executive Director to another. In the meantime, I will work with the APS Board and our team in Bellefonte to ensure this can be concluded with a smooth handoff.

Over the months ahead, I’ll connect with and share with the APS members about my time as the Executive Director. For now, I want to share a few thoughts with you.

With Gratitude
The APS is for members by members. From my first day on the job, I’ve met enthusiastic collectors who believe in this great hobby and the APS. The selflessness of your time to contribute your thoughts, actions, and passion is beyond words. The stamp-collecting community is warm and welcoming. Every interaction has been a learning experience, and I’m grateful for your kindness and hospitality.

Wherever you serve the hobby, please know you’re making a difference in the lives of others. Members have shared thousands of stories with me over the years, and the thing they remember most is who helped them along the way and why they gave their time in return.

With Pride
In my time here, we’ve celebrated some great wins:

• Construction of a state-of-the-art research library
• Recovering and sale of Position 76 of the McCoy Block of the Inverted Jenny
• Thrived during the pandemic, adapting to the changing circumstances
• Retiring the $5.4 million mortgage debt on the Match Factory
• Replacing the Tiffany Dinner with the Stamp Soiree, which annually raises more than $100,000 for important APS and APRL missions
• Recovering from the COVID-era tenant loss, going from 40 percent occupancy at the end of 2021 to more than 90 percent this year
• Partnering with the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society to form the Great American Stamp Show, North America’s largest annual stamp show
• Launching Stamp Chats and StampEd, which are accessible online resources for collectors to learn about stamps and their hobby

These are just a few examples of how we’ve transformed the APS and the hobby. Each one took the hard work of many people in the hobby, including you. Thank you for your support, enthusiasm, and faith.

With Optimism
The APS and APRL are in better financial shape than in decades. We are debt-free and generate income from our third-party tenants to support the library. Our investments are paying great dividends, and we are building our cash reserves to prepare for future needs.

Thanks to the kindness of Al and Dottie Kugel, we’ve secured more than $2.2 million to date for a website replacement and replacing the roof on a portion of the Match Factory. There will be more news on the Kugel Estate sale in the coming months, and we’ll share those updates with you. I’ve been working with Dottie to find the proper way to honor Al, and we will do so before I leave.

Thanks to Karen Campbell, who pledged $100,000 to start the Stephen Campbell Home of Online Learning (Stamp SCHOOL). Her pledge launched a campaign to raise $250,000 to build an education program for collectors of all levels. I pledge to complete this campaign in the months ahead to offer members a full menu of options worldwide.

Thanks to Bob Mason, whose estate helped us complete the mortgage debt payments in 2020, we launched the current digital library project, now known as the Robert A. Mason Digital Library (RAMDL). We’ve hired a grant writer to help boost the mission even more, allowing us to improve the user experience, increase the number of objects available to search, and begin to develop preservation policies for orphaned digital projects. We’ll have more exciting news to share soon on additional content housed in the RAMDL.

Thanks to the APS and APRL boards for providing vigilant and thoughtful leadership over the years. Members only occasionally see the work involved in developing our strategies, managing the finances, and looking toward the future. Still, our boards have worked effectively to resolve some of our time’s greatest challenges and opportunities. They are all volunteers who give their time, so the reward for hard work is often more hard work.

Thanks to the dedicated APS and APRL staff and volunteers. Our staff and volunteers in Bellefonte work enthusiastically daily to serve the members and our community. They are more than just staff; they’ve become like family to me. My routine joke is, “If something goes well, good job! If something goes wrong, it’s my fault.” I would like to single out Leonard and Darlene Bloom, our extraordinary volunteers, who show up every day to manage donations, sell through the Stamp and Cover shop, and help in more ways than I can count.

Thanks to my wife, Kendra. She’s supported the long hours, the travel, and the time spent with me at stamp shows and stamp clubs around the country. While I would meet with members, she picked up an interest in collecting stamps, covers, and postcards, recruiting new members for the APS, and meeting and talking with collectors at any hour of the day or night. I could not have possibly done any of this without her support. We’ve made friendships that will last beyond my time as Executive Director.

This is not goodbye since I will still be around, at least through the Great American Stamp Show. In the meantime, I will continue to work on your behalf and for the hobby I’ve come to love. Thank you for all you do for the APS, APRL, and the hobby!