The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has announced three recipients of the 2008 Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Awards  — W. Wallace Cleland, Bernard A. Hennig Sr. and Gordon Morison.  Wallace Cleland and Gordon Morison are longtime USSS members.

The Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award celebrates outstanding lifetime accomplishments in the field of philately, including original research that significantly advances the understanding of philately and postal history; exceptional service to the philatelic community; and the overall promotion of philately for the benefit of current and future collectors. The honorees were selected by the National Postal Museum Council of Philatelists, a 29-member body of American and international philatelists, from open nominations submitted this past year.

The awards will be presented at the 2008 National Postal Museum Gala Awards dinner Saturday evening, November 8th. This biennial event is a fundraising event for philatelic initiatives at the museum.  This year, guests will include members of the Club de Monte Carlo, who are traveling to the United States to exhibit rarities in the museum that day.

“These 2008 Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Awards recipients are extraordinary philatelists who have shared their incredible talents in exceptional ways for the betterment of our great hobby,” said museum chief curator of philately Cheryl R. Ganz.

Wallace Cleland’s lifelong devotion to philatelic research has resulted in a published body of work revealing the “how and why,” as well as the existence of many late 19th- and 20th-century postage and revenue stamp rarities.  The volume of his published research is second only to that of George W. Brett.  He has served many organizations within philately, notably the U.S. Stamp Society (Chairman of the Board of Governors and President).  Cleland has written more than 200 articles that have appeared in The United States Specialist and the Canal Zone Philatelist.  He is a three-time winner of the Hopkinson Memorial Literature Award given to the best article published in The U.S. Specialist and is the Editor of the 2008 Durland Standard Plate Number Catalog.

Gordon Morison’s impact on philately has been enormous.  As assistant postmaster general, Morison introduced exciting and innovative stamp designs, including the large-format se-tenant stamps, such as the state flags and state birds issues; the first U.S. self-adhesive stamps; such successful, long-running series as the prominent American definitives, the transportation coils, the black heritage stamps and the American music stamps.  The Ben Franklin Stamp Clubs for youth collectors was another of his initiatives.  Morison was instrumental in the creation of the National Postal Museum.  In 1968, Morison conceived the structure of the World Series of Philately competition that is still operating today.  He served as vice president of the APS, General Chairman of Nordia 2001, and most recently was executive director of the wildly successful international show Washington 2006.

The National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and engaging history of the nation’s mail service and showcasing the largest and most comprehensive collection of stamps and philatelic material in the world.  Its five exhibition galleries present America’s postal history from Colonial times to the present, while its collections contain prestigious U.S. and international postal issues and specialized collections, archival postal documents and 3-D objects. The museum is located at the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue N.E., next to Union Station and is open from 10 AM to 5:30 PM every day, except December 25.  Admission is free.  For more information, visit www.postalmuseum.si.edu.