The temperatures were high in The River City, but so was the enthusiasm of more than 130 USSS members from across the country who flocked to the annual APS StampShow held this year in Richmond, Virginia.

The show ran four full days and the Society manned a spacious corner booth during the entire time.  As you can see from the list below, many members stopped by and signed in, surpassing our total last year in Pittsburgh.  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.  The friendly atmosphere also attracted many non-members who inquired about the Society and purchased many of our publications.  Book sales for the four days were excellent.  We also signed up 16 new members and welcomed three “lost sheep” back into the fold.  This was our best recruiting result ever at a show, even topping what we did in Pittsburgh last year, which had topped the Portland StampShow in 2008.  A number of these new recruits said that they had sought us out because of our prominent full-page ad in the show program.

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

NOTE: If you have won a USSS award and have not seen it listed here, please let me know and I will see that it is recorded.

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 contact me by e-mail or write to P.O. Box 690042, Houston, TX 77269-0042.

—Denise Stotts, Awards Committee

The Philatelic Foundation has announced that it has created a searchable Internet database of PF certificates with images of the opinions.  The database currently contains opinions issued from April, 2000 through mid-2010.  The Philatelic Foundation will continue to update the database with new opinions as they are issued.  Certificates issued prior to 2000 will also be added; they require different technology and take more time to complete, so additional time is necessary before the staff will be able to include them.

This is the 65th year since the Philatelic Foundation’s not-for-profit charter was granted in 1945.  The Foundation is pleased to present the PF Searchable Database to collectors as an anniversary present.  You can access the database from the PF’s website at www.philatelicfoundation.org.

At the Annual Meeting at the Philadelphia National Stamp Exhibition this past April, the Board of Governors agreed to host a special gathering, exhibition and events next year at the American Philatelic Society Center in Bellefonte, PA to celebrate our 85th Anniversary, and formal dedication of the United States Stamp Society Room.

The three day event, to be held September 16th to the 18th, 2011, will be held in conjunction with the Sixth Annual National Postal Museum – American Philatelic Research Library Blount Symposium. A copy of the “Call for Papers,” for the 2011 symposium is found below. The symposium theme will be “How Commerce and Industry Shaped the Mails.” More information will be provided in The Specialist in the months ahead.

Papers are not limited to the academic level, as many previous participants have been collectors whose interest offered valuable contributions to the symposium themes. We encourage USSS members to participate in the symposium. As you may note, the theme for the 2011 event has been tailored to a wide area of the Society’s interests.

The weekend events for the Society will include a non-competitive display of outstanding award winning exhibits. The exhibits will be displayed throughout the APC complex in the Library, the Kramer Gallery, and Sundman Hall. Plans for a dealer bourse, specializing in United States material, are under way.

The United States Stamp Society Room will be dedicated on Saturday, September 17, 2011, followed by a Society banquet celebrating our 85th anniversary. We hope to exceed the participation we enjoyed at the National Postal Museum at Washington 2006 for our 80th Anniversary.

If you have not been to the APC in Bellefonte, this is the time to come. The transformation of the old Match Factory has been truly amazing. Even better is our Society Room that houses our archives and honors. On display are some truly amazing items that tell the story and history of the USSS.

Mark your calendars …. plan to attend and participate in the symposium, the exhibits and the celebration.

—Roger Brody
Chairman

As is our tradition, we will hold a Dutch Treat dinner on Friday evening after the show closes. This year, we’ll be heading out to Tarrant’s Cafe which is located four blocks from the convention center. The menu is varied and reasonably priced and the staff will provide separate checks to make things simple. The dinner will be held at 7 PM on Friday night, August 13th. Please stop by the Society booth and sign up, at which time you’ll receive a ticket for the dinner. Only those holding tickets will be admitted to the dinner. Even though it’s Friday the 13th, this is certain to be a very enjoyable evening of food and camaraderie. For more information about Tarrant’s Cafe, visit their website at www.tarrantscafe.org.

The U.S. Stamp Society will once again have a booth at the annual APS StampShow.  The show will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 403 North 3rd Street in Richmond and we will have our booth manned for the full four days of the show.  We will have a full supply of all the Society publications on hand, including both of our 2009 releases, United States Supplementary Mail by Len Piszkiewicz and Guide To United States Vending And Affixing Machine Perforations 1907-1927 by Steve Belasco, as well as the recently released 2010 Durland Supplement.  There will be special show discounts on certain items, so be sure to stop by and check out the savings.

As is our tradition, we will hold a Dutch Treat dinner on Friday evening after the show closes.  [See above announcement.]  The dinner will be held at 7 PM on Friday night, August 13th.  Please stop by the Society booth and sign up for what is certain to be a very enjoyable evening of food and camaraderie.  At the time you sign-up, you’ll be given a ticket so that we can be sure to accommodate everyone.

The February, 2010 issue of The Specialist contained a list of those members who will receive their Membership Appreciation Award pins in 2010.  We presented several at our Annual Meeting at PNSE in April and would like to present additional pins in Richmond.  We will have a supply of pins on hand at our booth, so if you’ve been a member for 15, 25, or 50 years, please stop by to receive your pin and accept the thanks of the Society for your loyalty.  If you’re not sure of your years of membership, just check the list in The Specialist.  After the show, pins will be mailed to all those who were unable to receive them in person.

We could really use help staffing our booth and any time you could spare to do so will be greatly appreciated.  In addition to those who volunteer, we will have our officers, Board members, committee chairs and authors helping out.  This will be the place to meet old friends and make new ones.  Please contact me if you can help out.

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

—Nicholas Lombardi
President

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

NOTE: If you have won a USSS award and have not seen it listed here, please let
me know and I will see that it is recorded.

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 contact me by e-mail or write to P.O. Box 690042, Houston, TX 77269-0042.

—Denise Stotts, Awards Committee

The 2010 Annual Meeting of the United States Stamp Society was held at the rejuvenated Philadelphia National Stamp Exhibition in Oaks, Pennsylvania, over the April 9th weekend.  More than 40 members from coast to coast and border to border attended the show.

The official business of the Society was conducted at the Board of Governors Meeting on Saturday morning and the General Membership Meeting later in the afternoon.  The account of the Board Meeting is reported elsewhere in this issue, as are the General Meeting minutes and Committee reports.

We opened the show on Friday morning with the release of the Society’s latest publication, the 2010 Durland Standard Plate Number Catalog Supplement.  This 24-page full color 8½” x 11” publication contains additions and corrections to the 2008 Durland, as well as a listing of new issues from 2008, 2009, and right up to the Distinguished Sailors issue in February of this year.  We sold out of the supply that we brought to the show and virtually every buyer commented on the high quality of the publication.  The Supplement is priced at only $5 postpaid for members.  With a limited print run, I suggest that you order your copy today.  Thanks to the work of our Exhibit Photocopy Service, we were also able to release another top notch exhibit on CD – Mark Burnett’s 2009 version of “Washington-Franklin Postal History: Rates and Usages 1908-1923.”  I highly recommend this CD not only to Washington-Franklin collectors, but also to anyone already involved in, or thinking about, exhibiting.  It contains a wealth of useful information and ideas.

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A major expense for the United States Stamp Society is postage.  Each year the official business of the USSS requires approximately $2,000 in postage.

Discount postage usually sells for 75% of face value.  Any member who wishes to make a contribution of discount postage will receive a tax deductible contribution for the full face value of the postage plus mailing costs (including insurance).

Please mail discount postage to the Treasurer for distribution, or drop it off at any show where the USSS has a Society table.  A receipt indicating the amount of your tax-deductible, charitable contribution will be sent for all contributions in excess of $5.

—David Sugar, Treasurer
20 North Wacker Dr., Suite 2250
Chicago, IL 60606

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.

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