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Future Leaders of Stamp Collecting.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

The four current participants in the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship program are wrapping
up their year-long terms. "Philatelic" is the fancy word for anything related to stamp
collecting.

I spoke with the fellows earlier in the year.

Tasos Kalfas is from Swedesboro, New Jersey, and about to enter his sophomore year at George
Washington University.

"I'm in the curator track, so I'm working with the National Postal Museum down in D.C. … I
would love to work in philately or the Postal Service something if I could." RUNS :08

His grandfather and his grandfather's postmaster got him interested in stamp collecting.

"I collect new-issue U-S but I'm really interested in postal operations and postal policy.
Everything about the Post Office is interesting to me, and the Postal Service itself."
RUNS :09

Grace Rogansky is from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh, and attends
Lynchburg College in Virginia.

"I'm in the exhibitor track, which means that by August I have to put together a one-page
exhibit on a topic of my choice." "And do you know what it will be? "I'm thinking of doing
Irish botanicals. So there's a set of definitives that I really liked." RUNS :13

She began collecting whatever her grandfather gave her, but has used her Fellowship to grow
philatelically.

"He also gave me his Irish collection, so I've been trying to expand that, and I like
collecting stamps with dancers on them, and I recently joined the Penguins Study Unit, so
I've been collecting Penguins, too." RUNS :10

Darren Corapcioglu (kuh-RUP-chuh-LOO), from Germantown, Maryland, is also in the exhibitor
track, and is showing Turkish postcards, specifically—

"Turkish view cards, the 1965 set and this is basically a set of 10 cards which depict
different tourist attractions from around Turkey, and they have the postage printed right
on it." RUNS :12

He just graduated high school, and has been collecting since third grade; he's been
exhibiting since SIXTH grade, and is still showing that exhibit, titled—

"The Universe: It covers basically the history of some cosmology and discoveries, and then
it goes on to talk about our solar system and the universe as a whole." RUNS :09

We talked with Dani Leviss from East Brunswick, NJ, about a year ago. She is the first
Fellow in the Designer Track.

"I'll get to make seven original cachets of all types and design one stamp." RUNS :07

A cachet is the decoration on an envelope, and each of her cachets were different types of
art.

Her father was a stamp dealer, and he'd take the family to stamp shows.

"It's been a long time that I've been in this world." RUNS :02

She says one of the joys of the Fellowship program is meeting and working with other
collectors her own age.

"I don’t have to start at like ground zero the conversation. It can start like with already
some background knowledge." RUNS :05

Each of the participants has a sponsor, so they don't have to pay for the trips to three
stamp shows, the National Postal Museum in Washington and the American Philatelic Society's
headquarters in central Pennsylvania. The A-P-S is the major organization for stamp
collecting, and supports the Y-P-L-F program.

I’m Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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