The United States Stamp Society 2007 Annual Meeting, held at TEXPEX in Dallas, Texas over the April 13th-15th weekend, was well attended.  Members from New York to California and Michigan to Texas were welcomed at our Society table at the entrance to bourse and exhibit, and over 30 members and spouses attended the fellowship dinner.

At the General Membership Meeting on Saturday, April 14th, President Nick Lombardi reviewed the highlights of the Society’s activities during 2006 including a membership and financial report.  He reported that the recent drop in membership has abated, and thanks to the success of recent publications and generous member donations and bequests, the assets of the Society are at historic levels.

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The Spring Mega Event was once again held in Madison Square Garden in the heart of Manhattan.  The show floor was occupied by 83 dealers, five postal administrations, and eight societies, including the United States Stamp Society.  Our booth was staffed throughout the four days of the show and served as both a meeting place for current members as well as a means of attracting new members.  Our Society banner along with a display of our current books, reprints, and past copies of The Specialist made an attractive showing and resulted in the recruitment of two new members along with good publication sales figures.

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Here are the United States Stamp Society medal winners that have been reported from recent shows:

Award winners, please note: If you have won a USSS award and have not seen it reported here, it is because the show committee has failed to return the requested award report.  If you would like to be listed, please send the information to Denise Stotts at P.O. Box 690042, Houston, TX 77269-0042 or by e-mail. 

Show Awards Chairs, please note:

USSS AWARDS PROGRAM

The USSS Gold Statue of Freedom Medal is sent automatically to all APS World Series of Philately shows.

The USSS Silver President’s Award medal is available upon request to all local and regional shows.

For more information, or to request an award, please write to Denise Stotts, P.O. Box 690042, Houston, TX 77269-0042 or by e-mail.

Traditionally, the Society has always held a Fellowship Dinner on the first night of the Annual Meeting and this year will be no exception.  Since we are meeting in the Lone Star State, it seems only appropriate that we hold the dinner in a true Texas style establishment.  With this in mind, arrangements have been made to enjoy dinner at the Saltgrass Steak House, located just a short walk from the show hotel.  We will have a sign-up sheet at the Society booth and I’d urge you to stop by early on Friday to make a reservation.  The dinner is sure to be one of the highlights of the show. 

- Nick Lombardi
President

Wallace Cleland has been selected to receive the Walter W. Hopkinson Memorial Award for the best article or series of articles published in The United States Specialist during 2006.  The award is given annually by the United States Stamp Society and consists of an engraved plaque and an honorarium.  Presentation of the award will be made at the Society’s 2007 Annual Meeting at TEXPEX in Dallas, Texas in April.  Wallace, past Board Chairman and current editor of the Durland Standard Plate Number Catalog, has been a prolific contributor to the monthly journal.  He joins George W. Brett and Larry S. Weiss as a three time winner of this prestigious award.

Cleland’s seven part series “AMG Plate Blocks” appeared from April through October in The Specialist.  These articles described in detail the allied military postage stamps issued at the end of World War II as postal service resumed in Italy, France, Germany and Austria.  Taking full advantage of the journal’s color illustrations, Cleland described these stamps and the role played by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in their production.  The stamps are not listed in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of U.S. Stamps and Covers, but only in the general catalogs under the country in which they were issued.  The stamps had previously been described in the journal at the time they were issued, but there were no illustrations of plate blocks then or since, until now.  It is hoped that Cleland’s series of articles will result in the listing of AMG stamps in the Scott Specialized Catalogue.

The Hopkinson Memorial Literature Award selection committee consists of the last three winners of the Award.  The committee for the 2006 Award consisted of Roger S. Brody, the 2003 winner for “Raymond Ostrander Smith Pencil Drawings - Series 1902,” Melvin Getlan, the 2004 winner for “Follow-up On Early Usage of Dummy Test Stamps” and Nicholas Lombardi, 2005 winner for “The U.S. Registry Label & Receipt of 1907.”

The Award has been given annually since 1954 in honor of Walter W. Hopkinson.  It was established by his wife, Mrs. Constance B. Hopkinson, in view of Hopkinson’s interest in philatelic scholarship and the dissemination of research and knowledge through the Society’s publications.  Hopkinson was a plate number specialist as well as a long-time member and vigorous supporter of the Bureau Issues Association, as the Society was then named.

A list of all previous winners of the Award can be found on the Society’s website: www.usstamps.org; click on “Feature Articles and Links” and then “Description of Awards given by the Society.”

The 2007 Annual Meeting is fast approaching.  The United States Stamp Society meeting will be held in conjunction with TEXPEX, the annual stamp show sponsored by a number of Texas philatelic organizations.

The USSS will gather during the weekend of April 13th through 15th, at the Doubletree Hotel Dallas, 4099 Valley View Lane, near the Galleria.  Reservations can be made by calling the hotel at 800-222-TREE or 972-385-9000.  The TEXPEX room rate is $98.00 for either a single or double room.

The show will include an American Philatelic Society World Series of Philately exhibit competition which will include more than 100 frames of United States and related material presented by USSS members.  In addition to the normal range of awards available at all WSP shows, eligible exhibits will also compete for the prestigious Southgate and Hopkinson Trophies which are presented only at the show hosting the Annual Meeting of the Society.

The exhibit Prospectus and the Entry Form can both be found on the TEXPEX website, which we have linked to our website under “Meetings & Events.”  You can also obtain copies by writing to Dick Phelps, P.O. Box 867373, Plano, TX 75086-7373.  The closing date is March 23, 2007, so if you would like to enter an exhibit, I’d urge you to contact Mr. Phelps at once to determine if space is still available.

The bourse will be made up of 40 dealers from across the country offering a wide range of U.S. material.

On Friday, we will hold the Society’s traditional Annual Fellowship Dinner.  This Dutch treat dinner is always one of the highlights of our Annual Meeting and a good time is had by all.  We will gather the troops as the show closes at 6:00PM and head out for an enjoyable dinner and evening of fellowship.  At the time of this writing, the location of the dinner is not yet confirmed but details will be available at the Society table.

On Saturday, the Board Meeting for Governors, Officers, employees of the Society and Committee Chairmen will be held prior to the opening of the show from 8:00AM to 10:00AM.  Our annual General Membership meeting is scheduled from 2:00-3:00 PM that afternoon.  The full schedule of all TEXPEX events is available on their website.  The show and all of the events will take place on-site at the hotel.

The Society will have a booth at the show for the purposes of selling our publications, promoting the Society, recruiting new members, and socializing with fellow collectors.  Please contact me if you are willing to help staff the table.  We could really use the help and any time you could spare will be greatly appreciated.  In addition to those who volunteer, we will also have our officers, Board members, committee chairs and authors helping out.  This will be the place to meet old friends and make new ones.

We look forward to seeing a large contingent of our members at this Texas show.  A good time is sure to be had by all.

- Nick Lombardi
President

The October, 2006 issue of The United States Specialist listed the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate of candidates to serve the Society as Officers and Governors.  The proposed slate, if elected, would then serve a three-year term beginning in January, 2007.  Ballots were included in last Fall’s 2007 dues mailing.  Results of the voting by the general membership of the Society were as follows:

There were one or two write-ins for various positions.  Therefore, the Nominating Committee’s slate of candidates listed above was elected and will serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2007 and running through December 31, 2009.

- Larry Ballantyne
Executive Secretary

As you know, our next Annual Meeting will be held at TEXPEX in Dallas, Texas during the weekend of April 13 to 15, 2007. The venue for the show will be the DoubleTree Hotel Dallas located near the Galleria. Information about the show, hotel reservations and other matters can be found on the TEXPEX website, which we have linked to our website under “Meetings & Events.” If any member would like to give a presentation during the show, please let me know so I can arrange a time slot with the show committee. It would also be greatly appreciated if members could volunteer an hour or two to help staff our Society booth at the show. If you would like to help, please let me know and we can work out a time that is convenient for you.

During the past several months I have been contacted by various World Series of Philately show committees that have extended invitations to host future Annual Meetings of the Society. The Board had previously approved sites for the 2008 and 2009 meetings to be held at Philatelic Show^* and St. Louis Stamp Expo, respectively. Last month, additional sites were approved for the 2010 through 2013 meetings. These may seem like a long way off, but such future planning is necessary to assure meetings at quality venues. Our schedule of Annual Meetings is as follows:

As you can see, we have selected quality shows that cover a wide area of the country. Hopefully, you’ll be able to attend a number of these great annual events.

- Nick Lombardi
President

* Note: In May, the USSS Executive Committee announced that the 2008 show has moved from Philatelic Show in Boxborough, MA to NOJEX in Secaucus, NJ.

Ron Demery of Joplin, Missouri was the winner of the contest announced in the December issue of The Specialist (p. 547). He won his prize, a margin copy of the George Rogers Clark commemorative (Scott #651) signed by PM.G. Harry S. New by submitting his email entry literally a couple of seconds after midnight on New Year’s Day. Congratulations to Mr. Demery, and thank you to all who participated in the contest.

- Rod Juell

Reminder postcards were sent out in January to those of you who have not paid your dues for 2007. If you do not respond promptly, this will be your last issue of The Specialist. The annual dues of $25.00 (foreign members extra for postage) buys you an excellent monthly journal on U.S. philately, discounts on Society books, two free ads per year in The Specialist, and access to research papers, reprints, and copies of member exhibits. Please renew now before you forget. You will be doing a service both to yourself and to the Society.

- Larry Ballantyne