While the weather across most of the country was hot and humid during the second weekend of August, the conditions in Portland, Oregon were perfect. The same can be said of the United States Stamp Society’s participation at the annual APS StampShow - perfect!

The show ran four full days and the Society manned a spacious corner booth during the entire time. Our booth served as a meeting place for members to visit with old friends, make new ones, and, in many cases, to put a face with a familiar name. As you can see from the list below, more than 60 members stopped by and signed in. The combination of a good booth location and a friendly atmosphere also attracted many non-members who inquired about the Society and purchased many of our publications. Sales for the four days were very good and we signed up eleven new members, one of our best recruiting results ever at a show.

On Friday evening 32 members and guests gathered at Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub for our traditional StampShow Dutch Treat Dinner. Good food and conversation was enjoyed by all. The highlight of the affair was the presentation of the tongue-in-cheek “Fluff Award” to our Chairman, Roger Brody. Since Roger was to receive the prestigious APS Luff Award for Philatelic Research the following evening, the USSS wanted to express its gratitude for all of his hard work over many years on behalf of the Society. President Nick Lombardi spoke about the mythical Edgar Fluffinger and the history behind the award. Board member Steven Rod then presented Roger with a framed award certificate and photo of Edgar himself.

The Society was well represented by its members in every aspect of the show throughout the weekend. In addition to receiving the Luff Award, Roger Brody was elected Vice President of the American Philatelic Research Library. On Saturday morning, Denise Stotts and Joann Lenz were sworn in as new Directors at Large of the APS. Steven Rod and David Straight assumed their positions on the APS Board of Vice Presidents. Wayne Youngblood was installed as Secretary and Nick Carter became the new President of the American Philatelic Society.

Eight of our members gave presentations on a variety of subjects during the show. Clark Frazier, John Hotchner, Eliot Landau, Jim Lee, Jacques Schiff, Alan Warren, Tony Wawrukiewicz and Kent Wilson spoke on topics ranging from the essays of the 1861 issue to registered mail and auxiliary markings. The USSS was also well represented on the exhibit floor. Fifteen members entered exhibits that could be found in the single frame, multi-frame and Champion of Champions competitions. The USSS Statue of Freedom Award was won by Dickson Preston for his exhibit, “Provocative Prexie Postal History.”

Speaking of competitions, our journal, The United States Specialist, was entered in the Literature Competition and received the highest award presented to any of the 31 entries in the Periodical Class, a Vermeil medal. Congratulations to our editor, Len Piszkiewicz!

I’d like to express my appreciation to all of those members who helped setup and staff the booth at the show. Among the volunteers were Eliot Landau, Mike Perry, Jeff Shapiro, Rod Juell, Len Piszkiewicz, Kurt and Joann Lenz, Larry Ballantyne, Kent Wilson, Jay and Denise Stotts, and Roger Brody. A very special debt of gratitude goes to “Our Man In Portland,” Tony Wawrukiewicz. Without Tony’s extensive assistance we never would have been able to have the show we did. In addition to scouting out restaurants and arranging for our dinner, he was the recipient of many boxes of material for the booth and made certain that it all arrived at the show on time. Thanks so much, Tony!

Those visiting the booth came from across the country and included:

Bob Schlesinger	Kent Wilson	Albert Hirkell
Ruth Caswell	Rod Juell	Ralph Nafziger
Jeff Shapiro	Paul Ammons	Ken Trettin
Richard A. Giessler	Denise Stotts	Gordon Schmidt
Steven J. Rod	Jay Stotts	Clifton Peters
Eric S. Borsting	Joann Lenz	Chad Snee
Alan Bush	C. David Eeles	Nick Carter
Roland Austin	Jim Sauer	Ron Trefry
Charles Herren	Richard L. Beecher	Carl Shaff II
David Straight	Terry R. Scott	Wallace A. Craig
Ron Strawser	Marc Ackerhof	John Hotchner
Gene Trinks	Michael O. Perry	Doug Iams
Jonathan Topper	Warren Manning	Joe Bock
Robert G. Thompson	William E. Mooz	Bill McClellan
John L. Larson	Phil Hughes	George Pollock
Ronald Maifeld	Bob Benner	Hank Miller
Henry B. Scheuer	Craig Stowers	Ken Lawrence
Len Piszkiewicz	Alan Warren	Lucien Klein
Larry Ballantyne	Patrick Cunningham	Tom Jacks
Steve Davis	Nick Lombardi	Labron Harris
Eliot Landau	Judy Bruno	Ross A. Towle
Roger Brody