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Glossary of Terms |
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USSS General Membership Meeting Minutes President Nick Lombardi called the meeting to order at 2 PM. He welcomed everyone present and thanked them for attending the meeting. He then asked all to introduce themselves by stating name, where from, and collecting interests. The minutes of the General Membership Meeting held in Washington DC, June, 2006, were published in the July, 2006 issue of The U.S. Specialist. Roger Brody made a motion to accept the minutes as printed. Second, Wallace Cleland; passed. Nick stated that one of the best jobs of the president is to be able to acknowledge the efforts of the members of the USSS. He explained that one of the most prestigious awards given by the Society is the Hopkinson Literature Award. It is given to the person who has written the best article or series of articles throughout the year. Nick presented the 2006 award to Wallace Cleland for his series of articles on the AMG plate blocks. Nick reported that membership has risen a little; there were 1638 members at the end of March, 2006; at the end of March, 2007, there were 1655. He added that some of the increase was due to the number of members recruited at Washington 2006. Nick also stated that the number of members contributing above the dues level has risen slightly. He encouraged all to let other U.S. collectors know about the Society, adding that membership is one of the best deals in philately. Since Treasurer David Sugar was unable to attend because of responsibilities during tax season, Nick reported that the Society is in very good financial shape. Total assets are $392,000; unrestricted assets are $358,000. Total revenue was $198,000: $39,000 from dues, $53,700 from publication sales ($44,000 from the Encyclopedia); contributions were $68,000, most of which came from the Max Alexander estate; advertising income was $20,000; interest and other income totaled $17,300. Total expenditures were $129,000, which included $10,000 for the Society's participation at Washington 2006 (the booth at the show plus subsidizing the dinner at the NPM). Cash flow increase for the year was $69,000. He also stated that the addition of color to the journal is a big asset but it is also costly. He encouraged members to thank those who advertise in the journal, as well as to promote advertising in The Specialist to other dealers, especially those dealing in U.S. material. USSS will begin to use PayPal services on the website, starting with sales of publications. Later on other services might be included, perhaps even paying dues. At the Board of Governors meeting held in the morning, a decision was made to change the date and place of the Annual Meeting in 2008. The meeting was scheduled to be at Philatelic Show in Boxborough, MA on the first weekend in May. However, the hotel where the show is held changed ownership; the new owners inadvertently offered the first weekend to someone else. So Philatelic Show will be held the second weekend in May in 2008. However, that is Mother's Day weekend and the Board decided that might not be the best weekend for members to be planning to attend an Annual Meeting of USSS. The consensus of the Board was to change the venue to NOJEX, in Secaucus, NJ, on Memorial Day weekend. It will be a unique situation since the Classics Society will also have its annual meeting at that show. Nick stated that this is an outstanding opportunity to have exhibits from both USSS and the Classic Society at the same show. He added that USSS will schedule an Annual Meeting at Boxborough in the future. The Encyclopedia, released at Washington 2006, has been a big success; of the 5,000 copies printed, there are only about 675 copies left. The Board authorized a second printing of 3,000 copies so that there will be copies available. A few minor corrections, like typos, will be made. Sometime in the future, there may be a second edition, which could include updates and other new material. Unlike most other USSS publications, the Society is not the only group selling the book: Mystic Stamp Company has made the book part of its reward program as well as selling it; the American Philatelic Society (APS) included a sales notice with its dues renewal; Amazon.com and a few others also offer the book. Linn's called the book the bargain of the century. Nick added that the only other philatelic book to sell more copies than the Encyclopedia was Nassau Street, but that has been on the market for forty years. Nick stated that APS wanted to present an award for the best article in the American Philatelist each year. APS asked USSS if the Society would like to sponsor this award. The Executive Committee recommended to the Board of Governors that USSS donate $25,000 to APS to endow this award from now in perpetuity. At its meeting in the morning, the Board unanimously agreed. The award will be named the United States Stamp Society - Barbara R. Mueller Award and will be given annually for the best article published in the American Philatelist. Nick said the Board felt it is money well spent, plus the USSS name will be on the award each year, and one of the USSS's most famous members is being honored. When APS publicizes the award, it will be stated that "the award was established by the United States Stamp Society to give special recognition to Barbara R. Mueller for her many contributions to philatelic research and writing." Nick said that another publication in the works is the 2008 Durland. Due to the bulk of the book, the 2008 edition will be a different format, 8½ x 11; it may be offered in two forms, spiral bound and perfect bound. When asked if there would be a CD version, Nick responded that could be considered in the future. There are several other publications that may be considered in the future. Nick stated that a few months ago there was discussion about putting the full run of The U.S. Specialist on a CD similar to what the London Philatelist has already done. The first question that arose was whether this would be allowed in the U.S. under present copyright laws. Nick said that it would be permitted as long as every page of every issue (to a certain date), including covers inside and out, is reproduced as originally printed. There is a company in Michigan that would do the necessary scanning for 8.5¢ per page, for a cost of about $3,600 for issues from 1930 to 2006. Now a decision must be made to decide what kind of searchable software is needed to do searches that would be advantageous to the user. Nick added that USSS would make pricing reasonable and make updates periodically. Then Nick reported that Roger had recently visited the USSS room at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte; Roger said that everything in the room is being maintained very well. USSS has had a presence at many major shows this past year: Washington 2006 was an outstanding show where the Society shared a super booth with three other societies. Nick added that members had a great time at the show and at the dinner at the National Postal Museum (NPM); forty members were recruited at the show and the Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting was released at the show. Other shows where USSS had a presence in 2006 were the APS StampShow in Chicago and the spring and fall Mega Shows in New York City. The Board agreed that USSS would have a table at StampShow 2007 in Portland, OR. Nick encouraged members who will be at the show in Portland to help out at the booth. Nick will help members schedule a booth at other World Series of Philately shows, plus provide material. USSS has been involved with the National Postal Museum with its Arago project and many members of USSS have helped out; Doug D'Avino, Paul Bourke, Roger Brody, Steven Rod, Jeff Shapiro and Kent Wilson are some of the USSS contributors to that program. This serves two purposes: (1) to help to make this a quality project and (2) to cement the USSS relationship with the Smithsonian and the NPM. Nick announced the schedule for future Annual Meetings:
He added that if the Society wants to be at a quality show, meetings must be booked well in advance. There are twenty-six different committees in the Society; some of these are service committees, like Awards; others do research/education. Every year Nick asks for reports from the committees; fourteen reports were submitted and were published in the May issue of The Specialist. This year there were no new committees, nor were there any vacancies. Some committees are producing newsletters, and a few have web sites. Bob Toth is in charge of Exhibit Photocopy Service; Frank Braithewaite assists Bob with the CD efforts. A list of the exhibits available on photocopy or CD appears in The Specialist regularly. Nick asked those members who are exhibitors to consider getting their exhibits on CD; Frank added that he is willing to help those who would like help to scan their exhibits. Roger Brody mentioned that if anyone at the meeting or in the Society is interested in being a publicist for the Society, to get Society news out, contact Nick. Nick emphasized that it is easy to do: type a release and email to various publications. Publications are willing to get the news into their editions. In response to a question from Lester Lanphear about whether the Society has ever held its meeting west of the Rockies, Roger responded that the Society participated in Pacific '97. Jay interjected that during the seven years in which he was president, the Society had not been solicited by WESTPEX, SANDICAL, or other WSP shows in the West. Nick emphasized that the Society does not have to ask for venues; USSS brings in dealers, members, and sells rooms for a show. Nick told Lester to send a formal request if interested in having USSS at a show. Jacques Schiff asked if there is any follow-up to non-renewing members. Larry Ballantyne, Executive Secretary, said some who are not renewing do add a comment; for example: age, changed interests, too specialized. Larry sends two follow-up post cards to those who have not responded. Jacques suggested a letter to those might elicit a reason for the person's non-renewal. Nick urged members to contact him with any questions, either here at the show or by email. He encouraged members to attend the Annual Meeting at NOJEX in 2008. The meeting adjourned at 2:54 p.m. - Joann Lenz, Secretary to the Board The following members stopped by the Society table at TEXPEX:
Board Meeting Committee Reports |
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