As many of you know, the Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting is now in its second printing. This second printing corrects several errors in the original printing. Owners of the original printing who would like a set of photocopies of the corrected pages from the second printing are invited to send a request to me, along with $1 postage. Just send the postage, not a return envelope.

—Rodney Juell
P.O. Box 3508
Joliet, IL 60434

Reminder postcards were sent out in January to those of you who have not paid your dues for 2008.  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

Nominations are now open for the first annual United States Stamp Society – Barbara R. Mueller Award for the best article to appear in 2007 in The American Philatelist, monthly magazine of the American Philatelic Society.  The award includes a cash payment of $1,000 and recognition on a permanent plaque in the APS editorial offices at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.  APS members can vote by completing and mailing the form available at the bottom of the inside front cover of the January, 2008 issue of The American Philatelist.  Members can also vote online at www.stamps.org.  For a list of the 78 articles by 46 authors in the 2007 American Philatelist that qualify to be considered for the award, go to the APS home page at http://www.stamps.org and scroll down to “Vote for Your Favorite AP Article.”

Votes for the best article of 2007 must be received by March 1, 2008.  The USSS-Mueller Award Committee will select the winner from the top five as voted on by APS members and the top five as selected by the staff of The American Philatelist.  The 2007 USSS-Mueller Award winner will be announced in the August, 2008 issue of The American Philatelist, and at APS StampShow 2008, on August 14-17, in Hartford, Connecticut.

The United States Stamp Society founded the award, not only to promote research and philatelic writing, but also to promote the USSS, its goals and its mission — to expand the study of and knowledge about U.S. postage and revenue stamps — to the more than 43,000 members of the APS, approximately 80 percent of whom collect U.S. material.  The American Philatelist, which has been the journal of the society for the past 120 years, publishes articles on the stamps, postal history and collecting specialties of all nations, and goes to APS members in 110 countries around the globe.  The award is named for the USSS and for one of its most prominent members, authors and editors, Barbara R. Mueller.  Among her many other honors in six decades of devotion to philately, Mueller, a member of the Halls of Fame of both the USSS and APS Writers Unit 30, was the recipient of the APS John N. Luff Award in 1956 for Distinguished Philatelic Research.

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.

NOTE: Awards were sent to the following shows, but no report was returned – if you have information about who won the award, please let me know:

• Milcopex
• Omaha
• Vapex
• NewMexPex
• Worthington (OH)

This year more members than ever are making contributions to the USSS. All contributions beyond the regular annual dues of $25 qualify under current IRS guidelines as a tax deductible charitable contribution.  We acknowledge all contributions of $5 or more with a written receipt.

It has come to our attention that your contribution may be eligible for a matching grant from your employer.  Many companies have matching programs for contributions made by employees to eligible, recognized charitable organizations.  If you have recently made a contribution to the USSS and your company has such a program, please consider applying for a matching grant.

— David S. Sugar
Treasurer

If you haven’t sent in your dues for 2008, please do so before you forget.  You will receive a $3.00 discount off the $25.00 annual dues only if you pay by December 31st.

If you want a copy of the 2008 bound volume of The Specialist, pay for it now along with your dues.  It will be mailed to you in the Spring of 2009.  Lastly, don’t forget to send your free classified word ads directly to Leonard Piszkiewicz, the Editor of The Specialist.

The Society has a Hardship Fund for those who are unable to pay their annual dues because of a job lay-off or any other hardships.  If you find yourself in one of these situations, let me know and I will arrange for your dues to be paid for 2008.  We don’t want to lose any members because of unfortunate circumstances beyond their control.

—Larry Ballantyne

The United States Stamp Society is in the process of planning for the 2008 Annual Meeting to be held at NOJEX, the annual stamp show sponsored by the North Jersey Federated Stamp Clubs. The venue will be The Meadowlands Crowne Plaza Hotel, Two Harmon Plaza in Secaucus, New Jersey. The show will be held over the Memorial Day weekend and will run from Friday, May 23rd, through Sunday, May 25th. This is the same location at which we held our 2004 Annual Meeting.

This show promises to be a blockbuster! In addition to the USSS, the United States Philatelic Classics Society and the Carriers and Locals Society will be holding their 2008 annual meetings at this show. I don’t believe that these three powerhouse societies have ever convened at the same show before. The exhibits should be spectacular and the 40 dealer bourse should be packed with those handling a full range of U.S. related material. In addition, the New Jersey Postal History Society will hold its annual meeting at NOJEX.

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The Fall Mega Show was once again held in Madison Square Garden in the heart of Manhattan. The show floor was occupied by 79 dealers, five postal administrations, and ten 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 show attendees, although for the first time in many years, we didn’t sign up any 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 did result in good publication sales figurers.

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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.

William Horace Waggoner, Jr. was always known as “Bill” to his friends and family, although he is known to have said that only his mother called him “William.” Bill Waggoner was a native of Portage County, Ohio and grew up in Ravenna. He attended the University of Michigan for one semester before being called up for active duty and assigned to the Army Air Corps. Bill served in the Pacific as a second lieutenant and navigator on B-24s. After World War II Bill returned to Ravenna, married Ruth Cook, graduated from Hiram (Ohio) College and began teaching chemistry at the college. He entered graduate school at Western Reserve University and earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in inorganic chemistry. He joined the University of Georgia (Athens) in 1952 as assistant professor of chemistry and remained at the University until he retired in 1986.

Bill’s philatelic interests centered on U.S. revenue issues, and he exhibited Consular Fee stamps and other revenue stamps for many years. Bill served as the Chairman of the USSS Revenue Issues Committee, which he described as “a committee of one.” He contributed many articles in the revenue area to The United States Specialist, The American Philatelist, the American Revenue Association’s The American Revenuer and other publications.

Bill has long been involved in organized stamp collecting and was one of the founders of the Peach State Stamp Show, later renamed the Southeastern Stamp Show. He served on the organizing committee for many years, including terms as bourse chairman and awards chairman. He and his wife Ruth were fixtures at the show’s hospitality table for over a decade, and together they made many financial contributions to the show. Bill also served his own local community as an active member of the Athens Philatelic Society.

In 2006, the Southeast Federation of Stamp Clubs, representing stamp clubs in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and Florida, awarded William H. Waggoner the Federation’s 2006 Rowland Hill Award. The award is named after Sir Rowland Hill, creator of the first postage stamp, and is awarded annually to a philatelist in the Southeast who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to stamp collecting.

Bill is survived by his wife, Ruth Cook Waggoner, a son, Larry Waggoner, and his wife, Leah, two grandchildren and their spouses, and three great-grandchildren.