2009 Nicholas G. Carter
Volunteer Recognition Awards

In a salute to the backbone of organized philately, the Volunteer, the American Philatelic Society takes great pleasure in recognizing the hard-working individuals who have contributed their time, talents, and energies to benefit both the hobby of stamp collecting and the Society. According to Dictionary.com: “a volunteer is a person who willingly offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking and without pay.” Our volunteers are the main ingredient in the recipe for a healthy future for the hobby.

The Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Recognition Awards were named to honor APS President Nick Carter (1936–2008) whose dedication to the hobby and enthusiasm for all its facets were legendary.

This year’s awards were presented at the General Membership Meeting at StampShow 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 8 Each recipient received a pin, certificate of appreciation, and many thanks for a job well done.

There are four award categories:
• National Promotion/Service — Maximum of five recipients per year.
• Local Promotion/Service — Maximum of ten recipients per year.
• Outstanding Young Adult Philatelist (Age 25–40) — One recipient per year.
• Outstanding Young Philatelist (Age 15–24) — One recipient per year.

The APS is proud to announce the second annual Volunteer Recognition Award recipients:

Alex Haimann • Bloomfield Hills, MI — Outstanding Young Philatelist (Age 15–24)
Alex spoke at the APS Tiffany Dinner this past February and has led the effort to initiate a Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship. He has worked with APS Director of Education Gretchen Moody on establishing the guidelines and has spearheaded fund-raising efforts encouraging APS chapters to sponsor fellows and his fellow dealers to sell material on eBay and give a portion of the proceeds to support the program.

Alex may have been the youngest dealer to ever take a booth at the APS StampShow when he first did so at age 14. Since that time he has become a regular at many shows around the country. Alex is a consultant for the Arago project for the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum and represents Mystic Rare Stamps in a partnership with Don Sundman.

Alex serves on the Board of the American Stamp Dealers Association and also has exhibited competitively.

Daniel Piazza • Washington, DC — Outstanding Young Adult Philatelist (Age 25–40)
Daniel A. Piazza, Assistant Curator of Philately at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, collects and writes about the stamps and postal history of the United States during the Bureau period (1894–1978) and of the Italian peninsula. He sits on the board of governors of the Vatican Philatelic Society and edits its journal, Vatican Notes. He also has received the society’s Veritas and President’s awards (for scholarship and service, respectively).

Daniel served as Assistant Editor of the APS Writers Unit Philatelic Communicator and was a columnist for the Stamp Insider of the Federation of New York Stamp Clubs. He was active in the Syracuse Stamp Club prior to his move to the DC area and he now belongs to both the Washington Stamp Collectors Club, which he serves as webmaster, and the Baltimore Philatelic Society. He is also a board member and literature chairman for Napex.

Other national memberships include the American Philatelic Society, American Philatelic Research Library, American First Day Cover Society, and Writers Unit #30.

Local Promotion/Service

Kurt Albrecht — Kurt has been a pillar of support for philatelic activities in the Milwaukee area for many years. He currently serves as Treasurer for the Milwaukee Philatelic Society and is a past Southeast Region Vice President for the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs. He has handled the jury, awards, and sometimes exhibits for many Milcopex shows. He also works to make the hobby attractive in many ways, including sharing his noncompetitive five-frame exhibit “May the Force Be With You.” Kurt was a volunteer for APS STAMPSHOW 1997 in Milwaukee and APS StampShow 2001 in Chicago. He was recognized by Milwaukee area clubs as a Distinguished Philatelist in 2001 for his many years of service, which continue today.

George Athens — At age 92 George Athens is once again President of the Venice, Florida stamp club for which he has been a driving force for many, many years. He is also active in the American First Day Cover Society, having staffed numerous recruiting tables at shows throughout Florida over the years. In addition, George served for many years as the Southwest Area representative for the Florida Federation of Stamp Clubs. He still arranges for speakers for a regional AFDCS meeting at the Sarasota show, where he staffs a booth for the AFDCS. Just as important as all these formal activities, however, George is also the first to recognize the good work of others for the Venice Club.

James G. Boyles — Jim has been the force behind the success of the Lancaster Club and its LANCOPEX show for many years. He has kept the club going through some challenging times, performing a variety of roles including seven years as president. Jim has been a tremendous mentor to many collectors, and through his input and guidance many successful club leaders have emerged to maintain and grow LCPS as a most viable philatelic organization.

After years of study, he has gained great expertise and reputation in Lancaster County and City postal history. He has similar proficiency in early U.S. postage and revenues and is developing a worldwide collection. Further, he is a proficient and award-winning exhibitor who most recently, in his semi-retirement, has become active as a well respected part-time stamp dealer. Over the last year or so, Jim has provided another service to hobby participants through his a bimonthly First Sunday Stamp Bourse. This day-long event now has ten dealers. It fills the void left by the closure of local philatelic shops. Through this and Lancopex, the Lancaster club has gained many new members.

Tom Current — Tom Current may not have become an active collector until his forties, but he has been a source of inspiration to Portland area collectors for the last forty years. A young 85, he remains APS representative for the Oregon Stamp Society and the Northwest Philatelic Library, which he helped found. He won the grand award at PIPEX in 1975 and since then has continued to churn out many new exhibits for most Portland area shows.

Along the way Tom also founded the Great Britain Collectors Club and was one of the leaders in making APS board meetings open to the membership.

Karl Deibel — Karl has introduced stamp collecting to more than 2,000 youth in the past ten years. He has volunteered at Boys and Girls Clubs, providing more than fifty postage stamp workshops for each of the past ten years, resulting in more than 150 kids (ages 7–12) each year taking up the hobby of stamp collecting. He provides about 400 hours yearly