The United States Stamp Society is in the process of planning for the 2008 Annual Meeting to be held at NOJEX, the annual stamp show sponsored by the North Jersey Federated Stamp Clubs. The venue will be The Meadowlands Crowne Plaza Hotel, Two Harmon Plaza in Secaucus, New Jersey. The show will be held over the Memorial Day weekend and will run from Friday, May 23rd, through Sunday, May 25th. This is the same location at which we held our 2004 Annual Meeting.

This show promises to be a blockbuster! In addition to the USSS, the United States Philatelic Classics Society and the Carriers and Locals Society will be holding their 2008 annual meetings at this show. I don’t believe that these three powerhouse societies have ever convened at the same show before. The exhibits should be spectacular and the 40 dealer bourse should be packed with those handling a full range of U.S. related material. In addition, the New Jersey Postal History Society will hold its annual meeting at NOJEX.

An exhibitor’s prospectus and entry form may be obtained from Glenn Spies, P.O. Box 1740, Bayonne, NJ 07002 or via email. It can also be found on the NOJEX website, www.nojex.org as well as on our own USSS website. The fee for multi-frame entries is $8 per frame while single frame exhibits will be charged $15. Exhibitors under 18 years of age pay only $3.50 per frame. The deadline for applications is April 1st, but it is strongly recommended that you apply early, since the show is one of only two qualifying WSP shows in the immediate New York City area and the 266 available frames should be filled quickly since there are many exhibitors among the memberships of the convening societies. At this time, the NOJEX jury has not yet been finalized but will certainly be a group knowledgeable about U.S. philately. As an added incentive, exhibitors will receive a card entitling them to an additional discount off the already low special hotel room rates.

Both the show and the banquet are on-site at the host hotel, which also offers free parking. The hotel is offering special rates of $115 for a single room and $125 for a double room. To obtain these room rates, contact the hotel at (201) 348-6900, ext 7130 or 7104 and request the special NOJEX rates under group code NS8. [Or specify group code NS8 while booking online.]

We will hold our Annual General Membership Meeting on Saturday afternoon. A Board of Governors Meeting will be scheduled for earlier in the day. As always, I encourage those members who are interested in making a presentation about a U.S. philatelic topic to entertain the thought of doing so at our Annual Meeting. If you would like to do so, please contact me and I will make the necessary arrangements with the show committee. I can also arrange to have meeting space available for any of the committees or study groups which would like to hold a meeting.

As usual, one of the Annual Meeting highlights will be our Dutch Treat fellowship Dinner on the first night of the show. We will get together as the show closes on Friday and head off for an enjoyable dinner and evening of fellowship. The NOJEX committee has offered several restaurant suggestions and we are checking into them.

Well, that’s it for now. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me. This should be a memorable event!

— Nick Lombardi
President