[press release]
Americover 2019 Announces Exhibits Jury

Frederick P. Lawrence of Arizona will head the exhibits jury at Americover 2019, a World Series of Philately show that will be held July 26-28 in Saint Louis.

He will be joined by Robert D. Hohertz of Minnesota, Jerry H. Miller of Illlinois, Allison Cusick of Pennsylvania and David S. Ball of Massachusetts.

The prospectus is now available on the AFDCS Web site, www.afdcs.org/show, by regular mail from Kerry Heffner, 17656 K Street, Omaha, NE 68135-3491, or e-mail at exhibits@afdcs.org. The deadline for entering the Americover 2019 exhibition is June 1, 2019, or whenever the 160 available frames fill up.

The emphasis at Americover is on First Day Cover exhibits, and about three-fourths of each exhibit should consist of FDCs and related material.

Lawrence has been a collector and exhibitor of Scouts and Scouting on stamps since 1960, and is an international-level judge

Hohertz is president of the American Revenue Association and has been writing lately about the Prexies (Presidential Series of 1938). He reports he is “currently working on an ambitious first day cover exhibit.”

Miller has won nine grand awards with different exhibits at WSP exhibitions and is director of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors’ Exhibit Critique Service.

Cusick began seriously collecting first day covers nearly 50 years ago, and has served the AFDCS as president and in other capacities. He is a past winner of the society’s Distinguished Service Award and was just appointed chair of the DSA committee.

Ball is the U.S. delegate to the International Federation of Philately for Astrophilately (space- and astronomy-related material). He is also president of the Northeastern Federation of Stamp Clubs and a past executive director of the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History.

As a WSP show, the winner of the Grand Award at Americover 2019 will be part of the Champion of Champions competition at StampShow 2020. Charles J. O’Brien, III, winner of the 2018 Grand with ” Frank Lloyd Wright-First Days and Usage of the Two Cent Issue,” will represent Americover this summer in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Americover Grand prize is again a crystal pyramid provided by the AFDCS’ Claude C. Ries Chapter. [right]

In addition, if six or more competitive single-frame exhibits are entered, the Curtis B. Patterson Award recipient for the best single-frame exhibit will be invited to enter the APS Single-Frame Champion of Champions competition at Saint Louis Stamp Expo in March 2020.

Besides its Grand and Reserve Grand awards, Americover offers special awards from both the AFDCS and other philatelic societies, including ones for best exhibits of foreign FDCs, topical FDCs, and pre-1931 FDCs, best exhibits by a novice and a youth, and best single-frame exhibit.

Americover 2019, a three-day World Series of Philately show, will be held at the Renaissance Saint Louis Airport Hotel, with a special Americover room rate of $104. There also will be two bourses (commercial dealers and cachetmakers), a banquet, meetings, a hospitality suite, live and silent auctions, seminars, a pre-show tour of the area, a post-show evening dinner event, and possibly a U.S. first day ceremony. A forum by a postal official involved with first day covers is also on the schedule.

Unlike other WSP shows, Americover’s exhibit awards are not presented at its banquet (which is held Friday night), but at the AFDCS Business Meeting Saturday morning.

For more information on Americover 2019 and the AFDCS, contact the AFDCS at P.O. Box 16277, Tucson, Ariz. 85732-6277, email showinfo@afdcs.org or visit www.afdcs.org/show.

Photo: The Americover 2017 Grand award. The 2019 award will have the same design.