‘A Confluence of Glorious Circumstance‘

Sounds like a chapter from a Victorian novel- guaranteed to contain excitement, high emotion, grand events and, of course, a bit of wanderlust!

First off, we congratulate our board member Daniel Ryterband on achieving the Stockholmia 2019 Grand Award for his exhibit, A Country Divided; Effects of the American Civil War on the Mails. Dan is the featured speaker at our regularly scheduled June 19 Wednesday evening meeting. The video of his presentation is also available on our website (www.collectorsclub.org) as a member benefit.

Our landmarked Clubhouse has seen more philatelic activity in the past few months than in a long time. We encourage its use by members and related groups as both a member benefit and continued support for the greater collecting community. In this vein, we welcome the Bronx Coin Club members who now meet monthly in our home. There is some cross membership between our groups, and I foresee the likelihood for combined programs in the future.

At the wonderful awards dinner held this May, in which Christopher M.B. King, RDP, received the Lichtenstein Award, we inaugurated a proper tribute in the form of the newly named Robert P. Odenweller “Best Article Award.” Aside from being a past president and long-serving governor, Bob, as editor of the Philatelist has set a very high standard for all who follow.

We also recognized several very deserving CCNY members for longstanding accomplishments (also on our website): Alan Warren is now an RDP signatory, and both Debby Friedman and David Steidley received the President’s Medal for their long and varied service to both the Club and philately in general.

Debby has kick-started and maintained our ongoing youth and beginning
adult collector outreach. One of Debby’s youth group members presented at our most recent annual meeting to great acclaim! David’s board service over many years has been low-key, yet essential. He is our longest-serving board secretary; his shoes are hard to fill. In his role as club archivist/historian David has coordinated activities with various community groups. As a result, we are proud members of the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association.

Our re-imaging has gotten off to a good start. As time progresses you will see more consistency over all our platforms: physical facility, print, electronic and outreach. This is a continuous work in progress.

Aside from generously sponsoring our Awards Dinner, H.R. Harmer/GPN has held sales viewings and auctions at the Club in both May and June, and have also committed to multiple events going forward. The Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries made use of our facilities for some of the Gross sales. The firm also provided assistance with general building refreshment and upkeep. In addition, Kelleher and Harmers International, among others will have a presence at the end of June and during July.

Why is there an uptick in activity at the clubhouse? Whether based locally or farther away, each one of these organizations appreciates the club’s illustrious past and its importance in the philatelic world today. We benefit in turn by their providing our message to their clientele as part of our ongoing outreach. Their support also allows us to devote additional resources to both our building and member services in a fiscally responsible manner.

Our website continues to add further functionality on a regular basis. Though it may not be visible to the casual user, this greater communication ability will be more representative of our needs going forward.

Library users have complimented us on how the library continues to better meet their needs. Thanks to Andrea Matura and a dedicated team of volunteers, we continue to enhance the library’s overall usefulness. We welcome members and nonmembers alike to make use of our resources. And, as activities bring greater traffic into the building, we anticipate that membership will also benefit.

Please refer to our website or the recently provided meeting listing ( enclosed with the May/June 2019 Collectors Club Philatelist) for upcoming activities and join us in person, or from wherever you happen to be.

Our programs, building activities and outreach result from the hard work of many people. Please enjoy the benefits of your association with us to the fullest.

–Mark Banchik