In the midst of all the improvements we’re making within the APS at Bellefonte, I don’t always highlight getting out and meeting APS members on the road. Traveling to where you live and collect is one of the perks of my job, and one of the best tools I have to learn what matters to you, which is why it is important to me to share what I learn out “on the road.”
In September, I had a chance to visit two World Series of Philately shows in Omaha, Nebraska, and Seattle, Washington.
Omaha Stamp Show
I started off at the Omaha Stamp Show, a two-day show held at the South Campus of the Metropolitan Community College. The location has great free parking and the traffic of students was also a nice pitch to draw in non-collectors. We kicked off the show with a town hall meeting of members from the region to get started on APS StampShow / National Topical Stamp Show 2019, which will be held next August 1-4 in Omaha.
APS members from Denver, Minnesota, Kansas City, Chicago, Iowa, and Texas would like me to remind their counterparts elsewhere in North America that Omaha is centrally located, easily accessible and that they’re looking forward to showing off how great the city is. U.S. Representative Don Bacon, a retired Air Force Brigadier General, also pledged his commitment to working with us to make the show a memorable event. [Figure 1]
While I was in Omaha, [Figure 2] I also met with representatives from Union Pacific, which has already committed $30,000 as a show sponsor and donated a “Brass Lantern Award” for a special exhibiting competition highlighting trains and the rail in philately.
We also received a special invitation to Boys Town, [Figure 3] home of the world’s largest stamp ball, weighing in at 615 pounds and more than 4.6 million stamps. We’re working out the details of a partnership with Boys Town so we can bring more sights to the show.
We will be making announcements on different special events with our major partner, the American Topical Association, which has once again agreed to co-host our annual summer event. For those who attended our first show together in Columbus, Ohio, the partnership definitely brought some great energy to the event. We’ve received very positive feedback on that joint effort and encouragement to keep working with the ATA and other national affiliates to highlight the best the hobby has to offer at the annual summer show. ATA President Dale Smith also was with me in Omaha. Dale has pledged their full support and is already working with ATA leadership to make the 2019 sequel an even more memorable event. Please mark your calendars and plan to be with us next year. Follow news of the show on our website at www.stamps.org.
SEAPEX
SEAPEX is a three-day WSP show held at the Tukwila Community Center in a suburban city of about 20,000 that borders on Seattle at its northern edge. Aside from free parking, the show hotel features a free shuttle for visitors to and from the show. There were more than 30 dealers from around the country and a very busy bourse throughout the weekend. APS President Bob Zeigler and Vice President Jeff Shapiro served on the jury and APS Treasurer Bruce Marsden exhibited with the American Helvetian Society, while also visiting with dealers and APS members.
The show has an enthusiastic committee that covered the floor to make sure everyone in attendance felt at home. We had a great town hall meeting originally scheduled for 60 minutes, but the members who attended wanted to keep going, so we added an another hour.
As for recruitment at the show, we brought back eight new applications, including three members under the age of 40. The chief reason for our success came from Doug Weisz, an APS Dealer Member from New Orleans, seen in the nearby photo with his wife Miriam and an unnamed biplane.[Figure 4].
Looking to the Road Ahead
On the first day of the show, Doug generously offered to pay for the membership for the first five new applications we picked up. Just as we were closing the fifth new member, Miriam brought over a 23-year-old collector interested in joining. Without hesitation, Doug offered to pick one more to make sure the young lady was able to sign up.
Dealers are among our most effective recruiters, but Doug went above and beyond the call of duty. Many thanks to his contribution and the great recruiting efforts by him and Miriam during the show!
By the time you read this, I will have traveled to Ontario, California, for SESCAL in October, and Bill Dixon of Circuit Sales will have represented the APS at the joint NOJEX / ASDA show in New Jersey.
APRL Librarian Scott Tiffney and I will be traveling to Chicagopex at the Westin Chicago Northwest in Itasca, Illinois, November 16-18, 2018. I will be hosting a Town Hall meeting Friday, November 16 at 4 pm with our members to discuss the APS and looking ahead to our international StampShow 2021 in Chicago. I hope to see you there!
