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Glossary of Terms |
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USSS General Membership Meeting Minutes Chairman Roger Brody called the meeting to order at 11 AM. He stated that President Nick Lombardi was unable to attend due to a family obligation. Roger welcomed everyone present and then asked all to introduce themselves by stating name, where from, and collecting interests. Roger noted that Nick conceived the idea to recognize those who have been members of the Society for a number of years. With Board approval, Nick designed three different pins: one for those who have been members fifty or more years, another for those who have been members for twenty-five or more years, and a third for those who have been members for at least fifteen years. Roger added that there are thirty-one members who will receive the 50-year pin. There are about 485 members who will receive one of the various pins. Roger stated that several members of the Society have been recognized for their contributions to this hobby. This year Wallace Cleland has been chosen by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum to receive the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award; Roger added that most issues of The Specialist contain some article written by Wallace. He is a prolific writer and researcher. The minutes of the General Membership Meeting held in Dallas, TX, April, 2007, were published in the June, 2007 issue of The U.S. Specialist. Mike Plett made a motion to approve the minutes as printed. Second, Wallace Cleland; passed. Roger stated that the Board received a financial report from the Treasurer, David Sugar, and also approved the budget for 2008. There have been some enhancements to the website: usstamps.org. Roger added that the Board is considering making dues payable via PayPal on the site. Roger gave some of the highlights of the Society’s activities during the last year. The journal continues with colorization, which has enhanced the look of the publication. Membership dues do not cover the cost; revenue from other sources, like ads, is needed to offset the cost. The 2008 Durland has been published; Wallace Cleland is the editor and Len Piszkiewicz is the technical editor. The book is available for the first time at this show; this is one of several publications that will be released over the next few years. It appears that the orders for the Durland are running two-to-one for the spiral bound version. Wallace pointed out that enough margin was created on the left of the books so that one could drill holes in a perfect bound copy to create a notebook copy or to have it spiral bound. Mike Lampson, the webmaster, has been able to include the PayPal feature for publication orders. Other publications that are possible are a book by Steve Belasco about Vending & Affixing Private Perforations. Also, Sam Frank had been working on a book originally started by Don Littlefield about booklets; the first book, Volume 1, about flat plate printings, was published, and Sam had been working on Volume 3, the air mail and back of the book section, when he passed away. Ken Zierer has agreed to work on this, and Wallace Cleland has offered to help. Another possible publication deals with the series of articles about Supplementary Mail that Len Piszkiewicz contributed to The Specialist. Roger announced that the winner of the Walter Hopkinson Literature Award for the best article in The Specialist during 2007 is Robert Rufe. Robert received the award for his series of three articles about Special Handling stamps. At APS StampShow in Hartford, CT, the USSS – Barbara R. Mueller Award will be given for the first time. The recipient of this award for the best article published in the American Philatelist (AP) in 2007 will be announced in the August edition of the AP and presented in Hartford. Roger reported that he had recently visited the USSS room at the American Philatelic Center (APC) in Bellefonte; everything is as pristine as when it was opened a couple of years ago; the Board is considering adding glass doors to some of the cabinets so that more of the archival material could be kept there. For eighty years most of the archival material has basically occupied basements of Executive Secretaries or others, so this is the first time that USSS has a place to store its material where others may see it and/or use it. He recommended that members visit the APC and see the USSS room. Future sites for USSS Annual Meetings are:
At this point in the meeting, Roger asked the Secretary to read the names of those present who were eligible for various membership awards. Joann stated that there were no 50-year members present. The 25-year members who received pins were Larry Ballantyne, Wallace Cleland, Mel Getlan, Kim Johnson, Joseph Napp, Alan Parsons, Mike Plett, Steven Rod and Jay Stotts. The 15-year members who were awarded pins were Frank Braithwaite, Roger Brody, David Eeles, Joann Lenz, Tom McFarland, Bill McMurray, Len Piszkiewicz, Steve Suffet and David Sugar. Roger mentioned that some members will later receive pins on the show floor. These included Eric Jackson, Nick Lombardi, Ken Martin, Robert Swed, Tom Jacks and Stanley Piller. Roger added that pins will be given to awardees who attend StampShow in Hartford. The remainder of the pins will then be sent to the appropriate members. Roger announced that Dan Piazza, the assistant curator of the National Postal Museum (NPM), was present at the meeting. Roger added that at Washington 2006, the NPM introduced their website project, Arago. The eventual goal of this site is to have every artifact and every worthwhile piece of philatelic material available on the Arago site. The project is well under way; several members of the USSS have worked on this project as researchers and have written descriptions for material. There is still a need for others to work on some of the later modern issues. Roger encouraged anyone interested to contact Dan after the meeting. Rod Juell made a motion to adjourn; second, Mike Plett; passed. Roger thanked everyone for attending. - Joann Lenz, Secretary to the Board |
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