You can tell by my selfie that Boston was exhausting. It was, however, well worth the effort. The exhibition hall was enormous filled with exhibits, dealer and society booths and more. The show included many seminars, dinners, and special exhibits one of which included Queen Elizabeth’s Rolls Royce. Another was kinetic Lego structures. The US Post Office was a major site for philatelic fun as well.

The Collectors Club had a huge booth shared with two other philatelic associations. We had a lot of booth traffic and with many visitors mentioning how much they appreciated the Club’s webinar program.

The Club’s joint dinner with the US Philatelic Classics Society at Boston 2026 seated 200 guests on the 51st floor of the Prudential Building, which permitted a magnificent view of the city. Our thanks go to Carol Bommarito and Dr. Vernon Morris who organized this amazing opportunity to be with our fellow philatelists.

Many awards were presented with the highlight for me representing the Collectors Club was awarding two Lichtenstein Memorial Awards. The 2025 award went to Dr. Yamil H. Kouri, Jr., President of Boston 2026; and for 2026 to Alfredo Frohlich. Both awardees are also signers as Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London and recipients of the American Philatelic Society Luff Award.

Dr. Steven Berlin presented the Collectors Club with a signed copy of his Mail Robbery Postal History (From Around the World), and the American Society of Polar Philatelists donated a copy of Hal Vogel and Serge Kahn’s Cold War: Polar Military Conflict Mail.

New Club member Dieter Michelson, Global Philatelic Network Managing Director, donated four Edition D’Or books for our library. In June the club hosted an HR Harmer auction of Japanese Dragon covers and several individuals attending this have since joined the Club. A second auction is planned in November.

This summer we will take a break from the webinars. The club remains open, so if you find your way to NYC please stop by. We will be preparing the program for the 2027 webinars and some special events for the fall of 2026.

The Club will be convening at NOJEX, a World Series of Philately exposition; October 2-4 and I hope to see you at the club or at NOJEX.

–Bob Gray