Butterline Runs for APS Secretary

Dear Fellow APS Members,

ButterlineMy name is Mark Butterline and I am announcing my candidacy for the position of Secretary on the APS Board of Directors.

My main goal in running is to bring more people into our great hobby, and more collectors into the American Philatelic Society. In other words, maximum philatelic fun to the greatest number of people! There are many people out there for whom philately would bring them much joy. But they just don’t know it, yet.

This is the biggest challenge facing the philatelic community and the APS is the organization best equipped to do something about it. This task squarely falls upon the shoulders of the new Executive Director and the APS Board. They need to carefully analyze the current philatelic environment, identify our objectives and associated strategies, and then develop and execute plans to achieve those objectives. And they need to work with the whole APS community, collectors and dealers, while they do this. Our main challenges are about long-term strategy and communication (internal and external).

So who am I, and why should I be on the APS Board? Over the past 12 years, I have helped guide various philatelic organizations, large and small, while holding different leadership roles. I am the current President of the Northeastern Federation of Stamp Clubs. The Federation provides support services to 35 New England stamp clubs and their stamp shows, in addition to staging Philatelic Show, the annual WSP show in Boxborough, MA. I am a past President and Treasurer of the Pitcairn Islands Study Group and past Treasurer of the Waltham Stamp Club. Currently I am the Executive Director of the Boston 2026 World Stamp Show (the next international philatelic exhibition in the United States after New York 2016 – yes, there will be another big international show in America after New York). Much of my work in organized philately has been about analyzing organizational health and effectiveness, and developing and executing plans to improve that health and effectiveness.

As for my philatelic background, I discovered stamps at the age of four. My first acquisition was a large used multiple of the 1963 Sciences commemorative (Scott 1237). After soaking and drying, I affixed it to a piece of orange construction paper with thick white paste and exhibited it on my family’s refrigerator door. Since then my collecting techniques have improved. My current interests include stamps and covers of the Falklands, Pitcairn, United Nations, Germany, Bhutan and Expo67 postcards. I’ve been a proud member of the APS since 2003 and work on my collections almost everyday.

Professionally, I am a consultant that addresses both technical (IT) and business issues for companies ranging in size from 100 employees to multinationals. I am also an author of various articles, both professional and philatelic, as well as a book on software engineering. I am a graduate of Rutgers (1981 – B.S. Computer Science) and Cornell (1995 – M.B.A.). I am married, with a son, and live near Boston. If you have a questions or comments, please feel free to email me at mbutterli@gmail.com or call me at 1-978-407-9644.

Thank you for considering my candidacy for APS Secretary. I respectfully ask for your vote in next year’s Society election.

Mark Butterline