Near and Far

 

Those whom live in the New York Metro area, or visit are welcome to take advantage of the Clubhouse and it’s varied activities. When located further away, the connection is via the Collectors Club Philatelist (CCP), video meetings/web site, and our various outreach activities.

Recently we completed the labor intensive project of producing and mailing membership certificates for the entire membership. Many have expressed thanks to Irene and the leadership team for this unexpected bonus. While Resident members said an occasional ‘thank you’, it is our non-resident member base who penned (or emailed) the most heartwarming responses. Several expressed delight with the feeling that they are indeed a part of our family. Though separated by distance, they feel that our efforts make them feel ‘at home’, or ‘included’ enhance the perceived value of CCNY membership. A sense of being included is behind our outreach efforts.

Continuous upgrades/enhancements of the web site (www.collectorsclub.org) [whether visible of behind the scenes] are performed on an ongoing basis. Our goal is allowing members and visitors to enjoy a Collectors Club experience wherever they may happen to be.

Please share thoughts and suggestions for website, CCP, and other outreach activities with us so that we can better meet expectations is a changing environment.

This May we will honor our Chris King, 2019 Alfred P. Lichtenstein Award recipient at our annual Awards Dinner. Details will be shared shortly. (See related item in this issue).

We will also honor Robert P. Odenweller, RDP by naming our annual ‘Best Article in the CCP’ award in his honor. Bob is probably the main force which brought the CCP to it’s level of recognition. Besides having been a past CCP editor, Bob currently is a member of the Editorial Board. As past Collectors Club President, Board member, author, presenter, and ambassador at large, Bob has contributed greatly to enriching the Collectors Club (and philately as a whole) experience.

Please join me in congratulating our ‘near and far’ members, award recipients, and volunteers. Opportunities to help us go forward take many forms; leadership, volunteering, financial, and support in kind.

Best for the the new year,

–Mark Banchik

What have you done for your Club…Today?

 

We are fortunate to have a wonderful building which houses our award winning library, meeting rooms, and like minded organizations. France and Colonies, NY Chapter of the US Philatelic Classics Society, British Empire Study Group, and the Philatelic Foundation among others all call 22 East 35th Street home.

Managing the Collectors Club and maintaining the physical plant takes the dedicated support of many people. Yes, there are compensated support and maintenance teams (Irene Bromberg (Executive Secretary); Andrea Matura (Library Associate); Parras Cara and Anthony Taylor (Facilities Maintenance), and Wayne Youngblood (CCP Editor).

However, volunteers make up the backbone of the Club. Without the Board of Governors and dedicated Committee chairs/volunteers our Club would be a mere shadow of what it now is. There are 15 Governors, and each and every one supports the Club in varied ways. Besides the basic time commitment for meetings and general oversight, each Governor oversees committees which are essential for Club function. As part of their responsibilities they also provide needed financial support at various levels for both routine and special programs.

There are other dedicated members who volunteer their time, efforts, and resources to better the overall experience. Club members are invited to volunteer to help us fulfill our mission, and maintain our historic home. Opportunities exist in many areas such as:

– Youth Stamp Club and Adult Beginners (Debby Friedman)
– House Committee (Larry Hunt)
– Library Committee (Bob Gray)
– Outreach (Wade Saadi)
– Program (Steve Reinhard)
– Meetings and Single Frame (Lou Pataki)
– Development (Larry Haber)
– CCP Editorial Board (Wayne Youngblood)
– Technology Committee (Joan Harmer)
– Membership (Larry Hunt)
– Hospitality (Mark Banchik)

The Club is always seeking to recruit volunteers in various areas. Please consider giving back to the Club so that we can continue to meet, and exceed your expectations! Contact us at info@collectorsclub.org with your thoughts, and desires to contribute going forward. If you perceive a particular need, or can offer assistance not noted above please feel free to explore opportunities with me at your convenience.

I look forward to seeing you at a meeting, NY Holiday reception, on the road (Sarasota, February 1-3, 2019), or wherever we can meet.

Until then,

Respectfully submitted,

–Mark Banchik

Treasurers From the Attic..

 

While relocating library materials from areas now occupied by the Philatelic Foundation we came across several examples of formally issued Collectors Club documents. These engraved Membership, Award, and Presentation certificates printed on heavy stock have a gravitas not often associated with contemporary documents.

Concomitantly with this find a recently elected member contacted Executive Secretary Irene Bromberg to enquire on the status of his membership certificate. Yes, the Club had issued membership certificates upon election to membership in past years. I personally am not sure when this practice faded out, but it is probably more than twenty years ago.

Discovery of these documents combined with an expectation for recognizing the special recognition conferred by Collectors Club membership suggested a course of action: issue updated membership certificates!

There were not enough original documents to satisfy our needs so we decided to have the image scanned, cleaned up, and reproduced on a heavy cream stock. We are proud to announce that all members will be receiving a new personalized membership certificate beginning with the most recent members. Several Governors were instrumental in getting this project off the ground.

In the course of library reorganization we have noted an occasional discrepancy between our library catalog (both books and periodicals) and materials present. Items may have been borrowed, and for various reasons not returned as expected. We would appreciate return of any overdue items either in person or by third party to allow others access to the resource. As cleaning and reshelving of library material progresses we are continuously impressed with the depth of our collections.

Members are our greatest treasures! Our dedicated library volunteers Alan Hoffman (current periodicals), Miklos Pinther (basement archives), and Bob Gray (catalogs) have performed minor miracles on a regular basis. Please visit and explore the library at your convenience.

We continue to receive recognition in the media and from our peers. Local news channel NY1 recently interviewed several Officers, volunteers, and members for an upcoming cable TV broadcast. Debbie Freidman and the Youth Stamp Club feature prominently on page 4 of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors July 2018 issue of ‘The Philatelic Exhibitor’.

Club members are well represented in internationally recognized philatelic awards: Cheryl Ganz (recent program presenter and Lichtenstein Award recipient, now RDP) signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists. John Barwis (recent program presenter) and Wayne Youngblood (CCP editor) along with Denise Stotts received APS Luff Awards this August at their Columbus Ohio annual meeting.

Now that Summer is over we have several exciting events coming up: Besides our regular meetings (see our web site for up to date information) we are participating at NOJEX/ASDA the weekend of October 19-21 with presentations and a dinner. Thanks to Bob Rose and Wade Saadi for extending the invitation and making arrangements. Our Single Frame competition coordinated by Lou Pataki is scheduled for Wednesday, November 7, 2018. Entry information will be released shortly. Our Sarasota, Florida meeting at SNSE is scheduled for February 1-3, 2019. Exhibit space is usually oversubscribed, so early entries are encouraged.

The CCP has been undergoing gradual change under Wayne Youngblood’s editorship. Please let us know what you like, and what you would like to see going forward. Feedback helps us to better serve our readers and advertisers.

Respectfully submitted,

–Mark Banchik

Technology and The Collectors Club..

 

Over the past several months, through the generosity of NY 2016 and other donors, The Collectors Club has upgraded its web site and commenced work on enhancing the membership experience.

While these enhancements are progressing, their pace is slower than initially anticipated. It is almost a given that major projects come with a learning curve, unanticipated conditions, and timeline slippage. The results are worth the wait: Our regular meeting videos are already being posted to the upgraded website within 24-48 hours of the event. Work on and error-checking of the searchable digitalized version of the Collectors Club Philatelist are approaching completion as this is being written, with a planned midsummer 2018 ‘go live’ date.

We are proud to be able to provide meeting and other Club information to all members whether they reside locally or farther from our midtown New York Clubhouse through this upgraded technology. Indeed, some out of town members have been able to attend meetings in New York as part of related travel thanks to our proactive outreach with email meeting notices.

Work continues on the ‘membership only’ area of the website which will allow access to recent issues of the CCP, ability to complete membership transactions and other membership-related functions in a secure environment.

This naturally brings up the twin issues of security and privacy. While our technology team can better state the exact process, we will use a secure interface for financial transactions. We will require an email address for registration/access to the member functions area of the website. However, for those who do not want to share addresses, one suggestion is to create a unique address for Collectors Club functions.

We strive to keep membership information solely for legitimate Collectors Club activities. This includes, but is not limited to, meeting notices and other notifications, membership activities such as special events, dues/financial activity, and website membership area access.

As an example, The Collectors Club was recently approached by another major philatelic organization to share our membership information for recruitment purposes. Though there would have been a slight financial benefit to our Club, we respectfully declined because we feel that members’ privacy overrides any potential benefit.

Technology seems to advance at a greater pace than the social mores which define appropriate behaviors. Our goal is to balance the two to achieve enhanced benefits while maintaining a socially acceptable environment.

Respectfully submitted,

–Mark Banchik

Reaching Out….

 

In January 2018 the Collectors Club Board of Governors approved an Award of Recognition to be presented at World Series of Philately exhibitions. Currently it consists of a selected Collectors Club publication.

To date, three such awards have been presented: at SANDICAL (San Diego, January 2018), ARIPEX (Mesa, AZ, February 2018), and SNSE (Sarasota, February, 2018). Two additional shows have already requested them: WESTPEX (San Francisco, April 2018), and Philatelic Show (Boxborough, MA, May 2018).

Why give another award in an already crowded field? The Award of Recognition is bestowed at the total discretion of the show jury with one proviso: it is not a “best of,” and should not go to a Grand or Reserve Grand exhibit. It is for “merit,” as determined by the jury, however they choose to define it. We actually encourage the recipient to re-gift the award if they want, knowing full well that sharing is what this is all about.

Our first three winners were Jessica Rodriguex for her Costa Rica single-frame exhibit (SANDICAL); Gregory Shoults, Washington & Franklin Coils: Third Bureau Perforated Issue 1908 – 1922 (Sarasota); and Jon Krupnik for his 80c airmail (ARIPEX). Each of these exhibits are outstanding in many ways, a delight to explore, and deserving of recognition! Note how different each exhibit is, and we hope that this continues with future shows.

On May 2nd at our annual Awards Dinner we will also recognize our CCNY Single- and Multi-Frame Award winners, the Best Program and Best CCP Article for 2017 winners, and of course George Jay Kramer, the Lichtenstein Medal recipient.

We will also be awarding President’s Medals to Gene Fricks and Ed Grabowski for their years of service to the Club, and for supporting the hobby over the long term.

Our congratulations to all awardees!

Respectfully submitted,

–Mark Banchik