INDYPEX '05 Hosts Annual Meeting

The United States Stamp Society held its Annual Meeting at INDYPEX '05 in Indianapolis, Indiana, which took place between July 8th and 10th, 2005.  The Indiana Convention Center was an ideal venue for the show and the INDYPEX Show Committee went above and beyond to provide the Society with everything needed for a productive and enjoyable philatelic experience.

Fifty-one members signed in at the Society table, which was prominently located at the entrance to the show, and each received a ceramic coffee mug featuring the Society's revised logo and an inscription commemorating the Society's 75th anniversary.  The geographic representation of the attending members was excellent, with folks from Texas, Florida, Nebraska, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, and Washington, DC.  A list of the attendees appends this report.

The Society table served as the focal point for the members during the entire show and was a very active place.  The full range of Society publications was available, including the 2005 Durland, which was officially released on July 7th, the first day of the show.  Sales were brisk and eleven new members joined the Society, representing the largest number signed up at a single event in recent memory.  A special thanks goes out to Denise Stotts and Joann Lenz who kept things organized and running smoothly.  In addition to the Officers, Board members and Committee Chairmen who helped at the table, we are deeply appreciative of the time donated by local members Bill Glennon and Ken Collins.

The show opened on Friday with the release of the eagerly anticipated 2005 edition of the Durland catalogue, which proved to be well worth the wait.  In addition to updates to the previously existing sections, new areas of coverage have been added, and the image quality of the illustrations has been improved dramatically due to the use of scanned rather than photographic images.  All those involved in the creation of this edition deserve our thanks for producing such an excellent work.  During the course of the day, Society members Jacques Schiff, Jr., Roger Brody and Jeff Shapiro gave presentations about participating in stamp auctions, BEP stamp production techniques, and the Americana stamp series, respectively.  The day concluded with a meeting of the Second Bureau Issue Committee.

Bill Glennon (left) is congratulated by Chairman Roger Brody on his purchase of the first copy of the Durland 2005 catalog released at the Annual Meeting.

After the show closed for the day, 33 members gathered and headed off to the Alcatraz Brewing Company for the traditional informal Society Fellowship Dinner.  In addition to enjoying good food, drink and conversation, a special presentation was made.  George Voltzow received the Century of Service Award for his 39 years of distinguished service as Treasurer of the Society.  Although the presentation was to have been made at the General Membership Meeting the following day, George and his wife, Olive, were forced to cut short their stay and return to Florida due to the approach of hurricane Dennis.  The presentation did, however, add a special touch to the dinner.

Saturday was a busy and productive day.  The Officers, Board of Governors, and Committee and Study Group Chairpersons all gathered at the ungodly hour of 8AM and discussed a wide variety of topics including finance, membership, publication schedules, awards, publicity, and a USSS room located in the new Education Center being constructed at the APS Headquarters.  You will be hearing much more about these items in the future.

At noon, Jacques Schiff, Jr. gave a presentation about how collectors can guard themselves against purchasing altered stamps and covers.  This was followed by the General Membership Meeting, which was well attended. Treasurer Dave Sugar and Executive Secretary Larry Ballantyne each gave reports, and President Nick Lombardi noted that sixteen of the committees and study groups had submitted reports summarizing their activity during the past year.  Each of these reports can be found later in this issue.  Nick also reported that with the additions of Terry Scott (Dummy Booklet Study Group), Wayne Youngblood (Luminescence Study Group), and Lynn Batdorf (Indexer) during the past year, all of the committees and study groups now had Chairpersons.  He also announced that the Board had decided to create two additional positions Ð a Publicist to trumpet the great work of the Society, and a Membership Chairman to develop strategies to reverse the annual drop in membership we've seen ove! r the past six years.  Further information about these two positions along with a request for volunteers will be forthcoming.

Among the many other topics covered was the status of various publication efforts, such as the additional Littlefield volumes and the update of The Booklet Cover Checklist.  It was also announced that a new 71-page research paper, A Type Written Transcription of the U.S. Post Office Dept. Stamp Bill Book Numbers for the Issue of 1870 Ordinaries, 1870-1879, Part One: The National & Continental Issues, had been completed by Ron Burns and was now available.  Rod Juell gave a status report on the great progress made with the Encyclopedia project and thanked all those who had made financial donations and those who had written chapters for the book.  At this time, the book is on track for a release at Washington 2006.

Although Melvin Getlan was unable to attend the meeting and accept his 2004 Hopkinson Literature Award, Roger Brody was presented with a plaque for his 2003 Hopkinson Literature Award.  The members were also told that the Society will be naming an award to honor our past Chairman, George Brett, and it is anticipated that the first presentation will take place at Washington 2006.  President Nick Lombardi also extended a special thanks on behalf of the membership to Mike Lampson for creating and maintaining our excellent website.  It was also noted that the "Littlefield Booklet Book," released last year at NOJEX, had won a vermeil medal in the COLOPEX literature competition this past April.

The INDYPEX awards banquet concluded Saturday's events and the Society showed it has maintained its tradition of exhibiting excellence.  The Jury, chaired by USSS past president Jay Stotts, was faced with a field of entries that included seven previous grand award winning exhibits, a number of them having won multiple grands.  Society exhibitors garnered eight multi-frame gold medals along with the USPCS Medal, the USAMS Medal, and two APS Medals of Excellence.  Irv Heimburger received the USSS Southgate Award while Hideo Yokota won the Society's Hopkinson Award.  USSS member Arnold Selengut's exhibit "150 Years of U.S. Precancels" outdistanced the pack and won the INDYPEX 2005 Grand Award along with our own Statue of Freedom Award.

Sunday was spent relaxing, making those final philatelic purchases, and planning for our next meeting at Washington 2006.

I would be remiss if I did not express my sincere gratitude on behalf of the Society to Rod Juell, Steve Rod, Doug D'Avino and Lynn Batdorf who literally worked day and night during the show on the final revisions to the Encyclopedia of United States Stamp Collecting.  Also deserving of our thanks are those members who took time away from the show to sit and review various chapters for any changes or corrections.  All indications are that their collective efforts will result in a philatelic reference work like no other.

See you all at Washington 2006.

- Nick Lombardi
President

Members who stopped by the Society table included the following: