We are very happy to be able to announce that George Jay Kramer of Clifton, N.J., and Jupiter, Fla., has been awarded the 2018 Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Philately. He will receive this honor, one of the highest in philately, at the Collectors Club Awards Dinner on May 2, 2018.

George has excelled in the four major areas considered when evaluating all candidates. The first is Philatelic Leadership. As former chair of The Philatelic Foundation, as a trailblazer in new exhibiting methodology and through his numerous philanthropic philatelic endeavors, George has risen above others considered.

His past and present leadership roles include trustee of the Philatelic Foundation, chair and chair emeritus of the Foundation, U.S. commissioner to international exhibitions in France, Israel, Korea and Washington, D.C., APS-accredited philatelic judge, member of APS Finance Committee and generous donor to the American Philatelic Society, Smithsonian National Postal Museum and the Philatelic Foundation. The second area considered is that of Philatelic Research and Scholarship. He has authored or co-authored definitive works, including United States Telegraph Stamps and Franks; The Pony Express: A Postal History; and has been published in Opinions VI, the USPCS Chronicle and the American Philatelist. Additionally, he has given many talks to share his research, including part of an APS seminar.

Thirdly, George's philatelic exhibiting and collecting achievement is second to none. He has competed in the APS Champion of Champions competition nine different years, with six different exhibits, becoming the Champion of Champions three times with Wells Fargo in 1986, Across the Continent in 1993 and U.S. Domestic Mails 1776-1869 in 2003. He received the Grand Prix National at Pacific 97, the Grand Prix in Australia 2005 and the Grand Prix d'Honneur at Brasiliana 2013 for his U.S. Domestic Mails exhibit. He has developed exhibit techniques that have influenced new generations of exhibitors. Finally, we consider previous awards and honors, as an indication that the work of the candidate is well-known around the world. George is the recipient of the John N. Luff Award (APS) for Exceptional Contributions in Philately (2013), the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award (2013), the Mortimer L. Neinken Medal of the Philatelic Foundation (2007) and the Distinguished Philatelist Award of the USPCS (1999). He signed the Role of Distinguished Philatelists (U.K.) in 2005. It is fitting that this true philatelic gentleman receive the 2018 Alfred F. Lichtenstein Award