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Actions Taken By Board at STAMPSHOW 2005
The APS Board of Directors met for a total of 11½ hours at Grand Rapids, Michigan August 2 and 3, 2005.The Board received reports from our Executive Director Bob Lamb and from our Society Attorney Virginia Eisenstein, who brought the good news that there was no pending litigation against the Society. The Board approved Nashville, Tennessee for our Winter Show AmeriStamp Expo in 2009 and Richmond, Virginia for STAMPSHOW 2010.
We approved a judging reciprocity agreement with FIAF, the continental philatelic federation of the Americas, of which APS is a member. The Board agreed to sponsor the Dominican Republic for membership in the international philatelic federation FIP.
We reviewed changes in the Rules for World Series of Philately Shows proposed by the Committee on the Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges and remanded the document back to the committee for further changes.
The Board reviewed a budget for 2006 and remanded that to the staff to balance. Our treasurer Nick Carter presented a new investment policy for the Society, and the Board approved that.
John Hotchner presented a wonderful proposal to conduct "reunions" at the American Philatelic Center for members on their anniversary years. This will be tested for members celebrating their 25th anniversary as members of the Society as soon as practical.
Our Society historian and Chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee, Herb Trenchard, submitted a proposal for a new award called "Contributors to Philately." No Board action was taken, but those who have had substantially influenced philately will be recognized in the museum that will be a part of the American Philatelic Center.
Outgoing Secretary Lloyd de Vries proposed a new membership survey be conducted. The last one was done nine years ago. This motion was approved.
Incoming Director-at-Large Wade Saadi outlined the plans he has for the new Membership Recruiting Committee, which sound exciting. Your Board of Directors will be very active in the recruiting of new members, and we hope you will help, too. If everyone reading this recruited just one new member in the coming year, we could begin to turn the tide of declining membership!
With that in mind, the Board approved a membership promotion to offer new members discounts on existing member services APS provides, thus serving as an incentive to join as well as introducing the many outstanding services the Society offers.
The Board approved a plan to offer guarantees on items declared genuine by the American Philatelic Expertizing Service (APEX). The guarantee would cover those items certified as genuine, up to $5000, for a period of five years.
The Board and many interested guests listened to proposals by steering committees from Columbus, Ohio and New York City who are vying to be named host city for the once-a-decade international stamp show in 2016. The Board deferred a decision until we meet again on November 11 in Bellefonte, seeking to gather additional information and data from both steering committees.
This serves as a good time to remind you that Washington 2006 is right around the corner! Make your plans NOW to attend May 27 through June 3, 2006.
Immediately after the General Membership Meeting and swearing-in ceremony, the new Board of Directors convened briefly to affirm Committee chairman and other presidential appointments, approve the recommendation of the Fundraising Committee to write a proposal for the hiring of a Director of Development, and to approve the Florida Stamp Dealers Association's show FLOREX enter a 4-year accreditation program to become a World Series of Philately show.
STAMPSHOW itself was very well attended. By the time of the Sunday morning dealer's breakfast, most dealers were expressing great satisfaction with the attendance, the show venue, and the number of sales. The Amway Grand Plaza show hotel was a great success and certainly one of the nicest we have ever had the pleasure of convening. Our awards banquet and Tiffany dinner were both well attended and held in a stunningly beautiful grand ballroom.
My personal thanks to the APS Director of Shows Ken Martin for a job well done; to his assistant Barb Johnson for her hard work; and to the entire APS staff, each of whom plays a key role in making the show successful. Also thanks to all the APS members and guests who attended, and to the dealers, vendors, American Stamp Dealers Association and U.S. Postal Service for their continued support of our annual STAMPSHOW. If you have never been to one, you don't know what a grand time you are missing! See you next year at Washington 2006, and at STAMPSHOW 2006 in Chicago (August 24 - 27)!
Janet Klug
October, 2005