[press release]
Philatelic Foundation to Award Neinken Medal to John M. Hotchner

The Philatelic Foundation will award John M. Hotchner [left] its 2020 Neinken Medal for distinguished service to philately. Originally scheduled to be held at a ceremony and reception at The Collectors Club in New York on October 27, 2020, it instead will be held in October 2021 because of COVID-19 which has shuttered much of New York. A collector since the age of fivc, he has been a devoted leader, writer and active participant in the advancement of organized philately at the international, national and local levels.

Mr. Hotchner served on the Board of the American Philatelic Society for sixteen years including a term as its President, as a member of the National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists for twenty years, as well as a dozen years as a member of the Postmaster General’s Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee. A co-founder of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, he served as a Board member for 32 years including two terms as its President. Accredited as a national chief judge and international judge in both stamps and literature, Mr. Hotchner has served for many years on the APS’ Committee on Judging Accreditation including a term as its Chairman. In 2017, he was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists. On the local level, he has served as president of the Virginia Philatelic Federation. He was a founder of national specialty societies for Auxiliary Markings, AMG Philately, and for Mourning Stamps and Covers.

A prolific writer, Mr. Hotchner currently serves as a contributing editor of Linn’s Stamp News, responsible for its popular “U.S. Stamp Notes,” a weekly column, and as a monthly columnist for The American Stamp Dealer & Collector, and U.S. Stamp News as well as a quarterly columnist for a number of philatelic publications. As an exhibitor, his exhibits have garnered both national grand and reserve grand awards.

PF Chairman Robert G. Rose commented on the choice of Mr. Hotchner as the recipient of its Neinken Medal. “John has done it all, and always at the highest level of achievement, as a collector and exhibitor, as writer and judge, as a philatelic expert and, as a board member and president of philately’s leading organization. We were looking forward to presenting our Neinken Medal to John this fall, but the PF will make certain that he gets due in 2021!”

The medal is named in honor of the late Mortimer Neinken, a former chairman of the Philatelic Foundation, who was one of the most foremost students of United States classics philately.

The American Philatelic Society is reorganizing three major areas of its internal organization: Editorial, Membership and Expertizing. From left, Thomas R Loebig will head Membership, Ken Martin, Expertizing, and Gary Loew, Editorial.

Here’s the full text of the APS press release:

American Philatelic Society Announces Reorganization
New Services Create New Opportunities

The American Philatelic Society today announced a reorganization in three areas: Editorial, Membership, and Expertizing. The changes result from new and expanded services instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic to help members and collectors sheltered in place.

“Change has come quickly to the hobby. We’ve responded by offering new services and new traditions,” said APS Executive Director Scott English, “Content development has been critical to serving our fellow members and recruiting new ones. We have to realign to sustain and grow with the demand.”

Effective July 1, 2020, the following changes will occur:

Membership: Tom Loebig, Chief Content Officer, will become Director of Membership. Heidi Lauckhart-Rhoades, Content Marketing Specialist, will become Communities and Grassroots Specialist.

The office will manage Member Administration, Membership Marketing, Web Content, Social Media, Ambassadors Program, and Shows.

Expertizing: Ken Martin, Chief Membership Officer, will take over as Director of Expertizing.

The office manages the American Philatelic Expertizing Service, the Reference Collection, and the Estate Advisory Service.

Editorial: Gary Loew, Director of Expertizing, will serve as Editor-in-Chief, Susanna Mills, Content Manager, will become Associate Editor, and Chad Cowder, who joined the APS in April, will continue as Graphic Designer.

The office will produce The American Philatelist, the monthly journal of the APS, Philatelic Literature Review, the quarterly journal of the American Philatelic Research Library, and APS publications.

In response to questions from The Virtual Stamp Club, English says the reorganization has been in the works since February 2018, as part of a plan to reach more members and have more members, largely through better use of the website.

Other organizational groups within the APS staff include Administration, headed by Jeff Krantweiss (who succeeded Rick Banks in February, upon the latter’s retirement); Sales (Wendy Masorti, director); Education (Cathy Brachbil); and Information Services and Library (Scott Tiffney).

We asked whether Martin, who has long directed or at least supervised the production of APS shows (StampShow, AmeriStamp Expo and now or soon Great American Stamp Show), would still have input into show operations. Yes, replied English. ” More than half of the APS staff have a role in supporting the annual show,” he told The VSC. “Ken’s institutional knowledge will be critical while planning for Chicago 2021” and beyond.

American First Day Cover Society Treasurer Mark Thompson and his wife Linda are uninjured after the devastating tornadoes in central Tennessee March 3rd. However, a big tree fell on their house in East Nashville, crushing the two dormers. (Mark’s home office was up there.) The tree also ruptured the gas line, so power is cut in the neighborhood to any homes that might have still had it. East Nashville was one of the harder-hit areas of the city.

Some of his collection may have been damaged by the rain after the tornado opened the roof, but he believes his gold-medal exhibit, “Women of the Black Heritage Series,” is fine, “maybe a little dusty.”

That’s Mark above at the 2016 first-day ceremony in Nashville for Soda Fountain Favorites, and, as you can see, he was enjoying one of the stamp subjects.

[press release]
Eric Knapp Named to ATA Board

Eric Knapp of Anchorage, Alaska, has been named to fill an unexpired term on the American Topical Association board, through 2021.

Eric has been a stamp collector since he was nine years old. His grandmother, Blanch Snyder, was a stamp and coin collector. She had other grandchildren who were Scouts, and she knew about the Stamp Collecting and Coin Collecting merit badges. She got Eric started, he earned the merit badges and he has not stopped collecting.

Eric collects United States, the Baltic States and dabbles in Canada. He also collects Alaska Postal History, Scouts on Stamps and the occasional other thing that grabs his attention. He has exhibited at the local and national level. Most of his exhibiting has been related to the study of World War II in Alaska, but he is developing other exhibits.

He is a long-time member of the Anchorage Philatelic Society and has held several offices in the club. He is currently the secretary. He is secretary/treasurer of the Alaska Collectors’ Club and is also chairman of the board of the Northwest Federation of Stamp Clubs.

[press release]
The Queen opens new Royal Philatelic Society of London headquarters

On Tuesday, 26 November Her Majesty the Queen graciously visited 15 Abchurch Lane to open officially the new headquarters of The Royal Philatelic Society London. Her Majesty was greeted by The Lord Mayor, Alderman William Russell as Lord Lieutenant, who presented Mr Richard Stock FRPSL, President of the Society, to Her Majesty together with Peter Cockburn FRPSL and Mike Roberts, FRPSL, Vice-Presidents, and Patrick Maselis RDP FRPSL, the immediate Past President.

The Queen then met those closely involved with refurbishing the new premises and organizing the move that took place during the summer, notably Christopher King RDP FRPSL and Brian Trotter RDP FRPSL.

[At left, Her Majesty unveils the RPSL HQ’s plaque.]

It was fitting that The Queen’s visit took place during the Society’s 150th anniversary as Her Majesty had previously visited the Society on 14 April 1969 to mark its Centenary.

The Queen toured the new premises and Nicola Davies, the Head of Collections, showed Her Majesty some of the important artefacts held by the Society, including the letter from the future King George V to Lord Crawford regarding the use of the Royal prefix in the Society’s name.

In the Meeting Room on the first floor The Queen viewed a special display of material from the Society’s Philatelic Collections, and a selection of the Society’s extensive publications. Representatives from some of the eighty countries where members reside were presented to Her Majesty and she showed great interest in the work undertaken by the Expert Committee. Her Majesty heard how the Society is encouraging collecting among young people.

The Queen visited the Society’s Philatelic Library, amongst the finest in the world, where Her Majesty was presented with a copy of the recent publication A History of the Royal Philatelic Society London 1869-2019.

Throughout her visit The Queen met members of the staff, Officers of the Society and many of the volunteers who ensure its position as the premier philatelic society in the world.

The President thanked Her Majesty before she signed the Attendance Book and unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the new premises.

[press release]
The American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors has announced the winners of its top awards for 2019.

Jerry Miller and Charles Verge are this year’s recipients of Herdenberg award. The award, named for Ralph and Bette Herdenberg, founding AAPE members, is presented to members who have provided long and distinguished service to the organization.

Miller administered the popular AAPE exhibit critique service for more than 8 years. Verge served on the AAPE board for 12 years, including as president 1999-2002. He was also a key organizer of Ameristamp Expo 2006 in Toronto.

Jay. B. Stotts is the recipient of the Bernard Henning award, which is given to recognize excellence as a stamp show judge and/or philatelic literature judge. Criteria include skillfully communicating with exhibitors and accurately awarding medal levels. Stotts has been an APS accredited judge since 1989 and was involved in the preparation of the current judging manual.

[press release]
American Philatelic Society Announces Video Sponsorship
Investment in “Exploring Stamps” YouTube channel begins content initiative

Bellefonte, PA— July 17, 2019 — Today, the American Philatelic Society, the largest, non-profit organization for stamp collectors in the world, announced its sponsorship of Exploring Stamps, a YouTube channel produced and hosted by Graham Beck.

Since December 2016, Beck has taken his love of stamp collecting and made it come to life, garnering more than 580,000 video views and 6,700 subscribers to the Exploring Stamps channel.

“We have been working aggressively to recruit and educate the modern stamp collector,” said Scott English, Executive Director of the APS, “Partnering with Exploring Stamps is another innovative tool to help collectors connect and grow in the hobby.”

“Partnering with the APS is an exciting new milestone for Exploring Stamps and its viewers,” said Beck. “This support, endorsement and encouragement will further grow the channel and help to reach an even wider audience. It is an honor to work with the APS and I look forward to seeing where this opportunity takes us.”

New Content Initiatives for the American Philatelic Society
Recently, APS announced the hiring of Thomas Loebig, as its new Chief Content Officer. Loebig, an experienced digital media and television executive, is tasked with enhancing all of the society’s content offerings in digital media, video, social media and print.

“Exploring Stamps visually explains stamp collecting in an easy to understand manner, said Loebig. “We love Graham’s passion. Our sponsorship shows how we will evolve the APS content to delight our current members, attract new members and promote stamp collecting as a hobby for everyone.”

About the American Philatelic Society
With nearly 28,000 members in more than 110 countries, the APS is the largest, non-profit organization for stamp collectors in the world. Founded in 1886, the APS serves collectors, educators, postal historians, and the general public by providing a wide variety of programs and services.

The Society is entirely supported by membership dues, gifts, and the sale of publications, souvenirs, and services. The American Philatelic Society is located in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania and online at www.stamps.org

About Exploring Stamps
Graham Beck has been the host and producer of the Exploring Stamps YouTube channel since 2016. The online video channel is dedicated to the promotion of philately through short entertaining videos. Since the channel’s launch, Graham has attracted over half a million views and gained a global following of almost 7000 subscribers. Graham’s interest in philately started as a child growing up in South Africa where he enjoyed collecting new issues with friends. After rediscovering the hobby as an adult, he began producing videos to share his passion with others while demonstrating what stamp collecting has to offer. From Apollo missions to Icelandic Volcanos, the channel has covered a number of fascinating topics related to philately, often involving travel and special video effects. Graham is based in New Jersey with his wife Laura who eagerly takes part behind the scenes with her nifty camera work.

Not surprisingly, the incumbents were all re-elected to new three-year terms in the American Philatelic Society elections.

They were the only candidates running.

Robert Ziegler of Indiana will continue as President. The three-person Board of Vice Presidents will again be Patricia Kaufman, Jeff Shapiro and Cherly Ganz. Stephen Schuman will repeat as Secretary, Bruce Marsden as Treasurer. And the four Directors-at-Large will again be Rich Drews, Peter McCann, Michael Bloom and Mark Schwartz. Less than 30 votes separated the four At-Large candidates.

Here is the APS press release:

BELLEFONTE, PA – Today (June 10), the American Philatelic Society announced the results of the officers’ elections for APS Board of Directors and American Philatelic Research Library Board of Trustees. Ballots were included in the May 2019 issue of The American Philatelist and mailed directly to members who do not receive the magazine.

For the APS Board of Directors, officers were elected to three-year terms beginning in August 2019 through August 2022. None of the 10 elected positions were contested in the 2019 Election. All of the elected officers were newly-elected in the 2016 cycle, so term limits did not affect any office. Stephen Reinhard, who serves in the Board’s Immediate Past President office, will remain on the Board for three more years. This position is not subject to vote by the APS membership.

The membership also elected candidates for two APRL Trustee positions to replace outgoing APRL Vice President Patricia Stilwell-Walker and Secretary Charles Wooster. One of the Board’s two Founders/Patrons/Fellows spots was up for election to replace outgoing Trustee Don Heller. The candidates will join Hugh McMackin, who was appointed by APS President Robert Zeigler to replace outgoing Trustee and past-APRL President Roger Brody. The terms of the incoming Trustees will expire in August 2025.

Newly-elected officers of the APS and APRL Boards will officially take office on Saturday, August 3, 2019 at the annual StampShow/National Topical Stamp Show held in Omaha, NE. The organizational meeting for both Boards will occur at 1 pm at the CHI Health Center Omaha Convention Center and Arena.

Total number of ballots cast in the election was 1,986 and 1,978 were declared valid. In the 2016 election, 3,961 were cast and 4,710 in the 2013 election. The 2019 Election was the least contested election in recent APS history, so low turnout was expected.

The election results were certified by APS members: Debbie Cleeton, Bill Lehr, and Gerry Robbins, who served as the Board of Elections for the 2019 Elections. Members of the Woodycrest United Methodist Church in State College, Pennsylvania again assisted in counting ballots.

According to analysis by APS member Dennis Gilson, only 7.3% of the members voted in this election, compared to 13.3% in 2016 and 14.8% in 2013.

[press release]
The American Topical Association has named Jennifer L. Miller of Greer, SC, as its executive director. An avid topical collector and ATA member, she is well-known in the hobby.

Miller has many years of customer service experience. She spent several years working for Disney, and most recently has 13 years of business experience with Starbucks. Many of the skills she used daily in those roles are essential to the ATA: customer service and creating customer experiences, managing finances, managing workflow and priorities, and participating in promotional activities. She has a degree in education and was a teacher at the beginning of her career.

“Jennifer comes to us with enthusiasm, creative ideas and a desire to help ATA continue its high level of ser- vice,” said ATA President Dale Smith. “We will be moving the office to Greer this summer with minimal interruption of ATA services.” ATA’s new address is: P.O. Box 2143, Greer, SC 29652-2143.

Miller will replace Vera Felts, executive director since 2009, who will be retiring. The opening was announced in April.

Miller is the wife of Martin Miller, the new editor of the U.S. Stamp Specialist, the journal of the U.S. Stamp Society, and former editor of American Philatelist. Felts had told VSC last year that she wanted to retire soon. Jennifer accompanied Martin to Southeastern Stamp Expo in January 2018 and helped staff the American Philatelic Society table with him.

Jennifer Miller and Vera Felts will both be at National Topical Stamp Show in Omaha this August. She will spend at week at Felts’ home office for ATA, and there will be an overlap in their employment, with no actual date of transition. In fact, Felts will remain a consultant. — VSC

The Virtual Stamp Club has learned that the American Philatelic Society — the biggest stamp collecting organization in the U.S. — has chosen Thomas Loebig (pronounced “LO-big”) for Chief Content Officer. As such, he will be the editor of both American Philatelist and the American Philatelic Literature Review, as well as in charge of APS’ online outreach efforts.

Loebig and his wife live in State College, Pa., so having a CCO onsite won’t be the issue it was with his predecessors, although APS executive director Scott English tells VSC that was not a major consideration. He held a similar position at Accuweather, which is headquartered in State College.

He begins June 25th, which is during APS’ Summer Seminar. He also will attend APS StampShow in Omaha.

[press release]
American Philatelic Society Names New Chief Content Officer

BELLEFONTE, PA, June 5, 2019 – Today, the American Philatelic Society announced Thomas R. Loebig as its next Chief Content Officer. Loebig, an experienced digital media and broadcasting executive, most recently served as Vice President, Digital Media Content and Operations of AccuWeather.

The APS conducted a national search for a Chief Content Officer to serve as editor of the two award-winning journals of stamp collecting, The American Philatelist and the Philatelic Literature Review, the flagship publication of the American Philatelic Research Library. In addition, the Chief Content Officer will be responsible for leading the growth of digital content offered to members and non-members alike through the organization’s website, stamps.org.

“We’re incredibly fortunate to be so close to Penn State University and great corporate citizens like AccuWeather to draw new talent,” said Scott English, Executive Director of the Society, “Tom brings experienced leadership in the digital content field and will help lead the APS and the hobby to serving 21st century stamp collectors.

Loebig, a collector in his youth, has recently reignited his collecting interests and joined the APS. “I am excited to join stamp collecting’s preeminent organization, as an executive and member. Stamps have deep historical significance and are beautiful pieces of American art. I look forward to engaging our current members and introducing future members with amazing content that advances and promote the hobby.”

While with AccuWeather, Loebig successfully led the effort to increase web traffic through relevant news and video content, increasing time spent on the website and more than doubling the social media referral traffic within three months. “Our recently-adopted strategic plan emphasizes development of more relevant, shareable, and timely content for the hobby and we believe Tom will be a critical link in moving ahead,” said English.

Loebig served as news director for several television stations from Altoona, PA, Cincinnati, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, and Asheville, NC. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Penn State University. Loebig resides in State College, PA and will work from the APS headquarters in Bellefonte.

In the past six months, the APS has launched the virtual library, housing nearly 2,000 journals of philately dating back to 1887 and the online learning portal, Collecting and Connecting Central Academy (C3a).

Loebig will join [the APS Staff] on June 25, 2019, during the APS annual Summer Seminar. Loebig will be part of the APS team in Omaha, Nebraska for the joint StampShow/National Topical Stamp Show put on by the APS and the American Topical Association on August 1-4, 2019 at the CHI Health Center Omaha Convention Center.

We expect to expand this article as we get more information —VSC.