President Nick Lombardi called the meeting to order at 1 PM.  Nick welcomed everyone and thanked Bob Rufe for being the liaison and setting things up for USSS at this meeting including the Friday evening dinner.  He also thanked Jeff Shapiro and Rich Nazar for making presentations here and expressed appreciation to everyone who exhibited at the show.  One reason that USSS gets so many invitations to shows is the good impression made by the Society.  Nick then asked all to introduce themselves by stating name, where from, and collecting interests.

The minutes of the meeting held at St. Louis, February 28, 2009 were published in the May, 2009 issue of The United States Specialist.  Jeff Shapiro made a motion to accept the minutes; second, Kim Johnson.  PASSED.

Nick then gave a brief review of the Board of Governors meeting held at 8 AM this morning:

Committees – Due to a new employment position, Paul Bourke had to step down as chairman of the Washington/Franklin Committee.  Paul has been replaced by Gerald Nylander.  Allen Bohart, chair of the Americana Study Group also asked to be relieved of that responsibility.  Nick said the position will be listed as vacant at this time and perhaps someone will step forward to fill that.  Twelve committees have submitted reports that will be published in The Specialist.

Member retention – Although the membership total dropped about 1% in 2009, that is a lot less than many other organizations.  Nick added that the Society has been successful at recruiting new members.  To help with new member retention, the Board devised a system whereby a new member will receive a welcome letter from one of the Board members; a USSS bookmark will be included with the letter.  Also at the meeting this morning, the Board decided that when the first dues renewal is sent to these new members, a coupon will be included that could be used toward the purchase of some Society publication.

Annual meeting sites – Nick reported that the Board approved Cleveland as the site for 2017 and MILCOPEX for 2018; so the schedule through 2018 is:

2011    ROMPEX Rocky Mountain Stamp Show – Denver, CO (May)
2012    NAPEX – McLean, VA (June)
2013     CHICAGOPEX – Chicago, IL (November)
2014     Philatelic Show – Boxborough, MA (May)
2015     WESTPEX – San Francisco, CA (April)
2016     International Show – New York, NY
2017     Garfield-Perry March Party – Cleveland, OH (March)
2018     MILCOPEX – Milwaukee, WI (September)

Publications Review – Len Piszkiewicz’s book, United Stated Supplementary Mail has reached the break-even point in sales.  Guide to United States Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations 1907-1927 has also had good sales.  USSS probably has only about 43 copies of the Encyclopedia and there may only be a total of 100 copies held in all stocks.  The supplement to the 2008 Durland was available for the first time at this show.  For this 2010 Supplement, the Society used a print-on-demand company (Lulu) for the first time.  The project to digitize the complete run of The Specialist is moving along.  Although this has taken a bit of time to get off the ground, the Board’s emphasis is to “do it right” as this will involve a large monetary expenditure.

APS – The 2nd Annual USSS-Barbara R. Mueller Award for the best article in the American Philatelist in 2008 was presented in Pittsburgh to Tom Broadhead for “Petite Messages – The Development of Carte de Visite Mail in Nineteenth-Century France.”  The 2009 award will be presented in Richmond, VA at StampShow.

Special Award presentations – Nick stated that he prefers to be able to present the membership recognition pins in person; if a member is not present at the Annual Meeting, he will try to present the appropriate pin at another show or it will be mailed later.  There are five 50-year members this year; 37 members will receive 25-year pins and 38 will get a 15-year pin.  None of this year’s awardees were present at this meeting.

The Hopkinson Literature Award was won by Gerald Nylander and Larry Weiss for their articles about the discovery of the USPS watermark patterns; each will receive a plaque and half of the $500 that goes with the award.  Although neither could be at this show, Nick read a thank-you letter from them.

Other Board actions – The National Postal Museum (NPM) is sponsoring research scholarships to attract people to do serious research in Washington, D.C.  The Board authorized such a scholarship at the meeting this morning.  NPM asked various groups to help with these sponsorships.  This involves a commitment of up to $2,000 a year for five years.  This amount could be divided between or among two or more persons if one person did not need the entire amount in a single year.  The USSS amount would be specifically for U.S.-related material.  USSS would benefit in that the research would be published in The Specialist.

Last fall the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society held a meeting in Bellefonte in conjunction with the NPM Blount Symposium.  The USSS Board of Governors decided to be part of the symposium to be held in Bellefonte in 2011.  The symposium alternates between Washington D.C., and Bellefonte.  The theme for the 2011 symposium will be “How Commerce and Industry Shaped the Mails in the Twentieth Century.”  More information will be provided in The Specialist at a later date.

Announcements – Nick reminded members to thank dealers who advertise in The Specialist to show we appreciate their advertising.  He also suggested that members encourage other dealers to advertise.

David Eeles said that he and Wayne Youngblood, the chair of the Luminescence Study Group, are interested in revitalizing the study of luminescent stamps and would like interested persons to contact them.  David added that at StampShow 2011, which will be held in Columbus, OH, there will be a Court of Honor of one-frame exhibits that deal with an Ohio topic.  Those interested were asked to contact David.

The Society had representation at both the fall and spring Mega Shows in New York as well as at the APS StampShow in Pittsburgh.

Chairman Roger Brody added that the finances of the Society are very strong.  The Society has been operating on a break-even basis for several years.

Frank Braithwaite said that Mark Burnett’s revised Washington/Franklin exhibit is available on CD at this show.

Adjournment – Frank Braithwaite made a motion to adjourn; second, Larry Ballantyne.  PASSED.  The meeting adjourned at 1:47 PM.

—Joann Lenz, Secretary to the Board