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

Out and About….

 

As noted in prior President’s letters, club board members have been attending various
events throughout the United States as part of our effort to reach out to those who do not get the
chance to visit New York on a regular basis.
 

We appreciate those who take the time to chat, and enjoy listening to how the club is perceived
from an “out-of-town” perspective. Past suggestions have included sending the regular meeting notices
to those residing away from the New York area. Though we realize that physical attendance at the
regular Wednesday meetings can be a challenge due to time and travel realities, an occasional
nonresident member has joined us. One member commented that he had to be in ew York for business,
and that the meeting notice was how he realized that he could partake in club activities.
 

The Collectors Club Philatelist is continuing to evolve under Wayne Youngblood’s editorship.
The journal’s look is being refreshed, and feedback to either Wayne or myself
(info@collectorsclub.org or president@collectorsclub.org) is helpful.
One benefit of attending many events is the opportunity to solicit both future speakers and material
for the CCP. A “Collectors Club Award of Merit” for APS World Series of Philately-level exhibitions
was approved by the board at its January meeting. This token of recognition (usually
a club publication) can be awarded by the show jury to any exhibit (preferably not
the Grand or Reserve Grand award winners) at the jury’s sole discretion. Membership in
The Collectors Club is not a prerequisite to receive this award. It is a continuing form of
outreach, and can even be regifted with our blessings if the recipient so desires.

Congratulations to Jessica Rodriguex, the first winner of the Collectors Club Award
of Merit, for her exhibit, Costa Rica: 1889 Soto Series. Jessica won the award at Sandical
2018, which was held Jan. 26-28 in San Diego, Calif.

Please continue to reach out and let me know how we can continue to enhance your
member experience!

–Mark Banchik

More For Our Members….

 

As I begin my second year as President it is a pleasure to announce that annual dues remain unchanged from last year. However, membership benefits have been greatly enhanced!

First, let me say that many on the Board of Governors have been contributed time, monies, and expertise in order to enhance the value of Collectors Club membership. Without their varied inputs we would not have achieved much of last year’s momentum. A special thanks are made to Irene Bromberg and Andrea Matura, without whom our Club and Library would be lesser entities. Miklos Pinther has taken on the herculean task of cleaning and reordering our lower level periodical archives without any personal expectation of reward except for the Club providing better area lighting.

Debbie Friedman, Alan Hoffman, and others continue to volunteer in various areas with their only reward being betterment of the Club and the sense of satisfaction in knowing that others have benefitted from their efforts.

Schuyler Rumsey has joined with the Club in supporting some of our activities at the upcoming ARIPEX meeting February 16-18 in Mesa, Arizona. There are special social opportunities, and new CCP editor Wayne Youngblood will be present. We hope to see you there! Please remember to thank our sponsors and CCP advertisers when you can. They help make our activities possible.

The Philatelic Foundation has ‘returned home’ to the building in which they got their start. Sharing of expenses and resources will allow both groups to thrive in a continuously changing environment. While enhancing visibility, our historic Clubhouse requires regular ‘loving care’ which is facilitated by our sharing of facilities.

Over the past few months our updated website has gone live, Club presentations are available online for all within a few days of meetings. This issue of the CCP has a new editor who is taking a close look at both visual, and editorial makeup going forward. We have received generous financial support for several projects including digitalization of the complete CCP in the immediate near term.
Please join me in thanking Gene Fricks for his years of service to the Club.

Your Board recognizes that we are in a fluid world with changing expectations for how we can fulfill your expectations. In order to meet the challenge Lawrence Haber (development@collectorsclub.org) has been named Director of Development. He is working with a talented team to identify strengths, and opportunities going forward. Please show your appreciation and support for his efforts on our behalf. Gifts of appreciated securities, sponsorship opportunities, and long term support are all areas in which Larry can work with you for our mutual benefit.

–Mark Banchik

Thank you to all for your support and encouragement going forward. I am honored to serve as incoming President of The Collectors Club, and want to share my thoughts for going forward.

For those who don’t know me personally, I collect and exhibit both US and Mexican postal history with an emphasis on Westward expansion during the 1840’s along with a comprehensive collection of classic Mexico. Other areas are early airmails, revenues, and US precancels. Yes, they are disparate areas which always allow the pleasure of new acquisitions and discoveries!

Over the years I have also authored articles in several journals, contributed to research books, and served on several expert committees. I have also been President, senior officer, or Board member of several societies including the American Philatelic Society, MEPSI, American Airmail Society, American Philatelic Congress, and the Postal History Society. Now I have the honor of being President of my ‘local stamp club’!

As a national and international judge I see firsthand how our hobby is represented around the country and the world. Many good ideas are practiced in various settings, and my mission is to implement some ‘best practices’ at The Collectors Club to enhance the member experience.

Meeting member expectations is essential to maintain relevance going forward. To meet this challenge we as a Board have heard from many members about what they think the Club can be, and also what can be done to enhance the experience. Several key areas have been selected for attention:

1. Recruit and retain depth of leadership and managerial talent: This seems simple on the surface, yet many groups rely on single individuals to carry out key functions. When that person is unable to continue on, there is a crisis which can be devastating for the group. In this vein, The Collectors Club welcomes several new Governors (Lawrence Haber, Matthew Healey, and Robert Gray) who bring a wealth of experience while also providing greater depth of leadership in critical areas such as finance, library, and publications/outreach. Joan Harmer is spearheading our technology buildout and maintaining a coordinated approach as we progress further into electronic outreach.
2. Empower committees and encourage innovative ideas. Board members will have responsibility or ‘ownership’ for specific Committees. This should enhance responsiveness and coordination between various areas of The Club. Some overlap of function is inevitable, and actually desired as the synergy can serve to better the membership experience.
3. Broaden outreach!!! Yes, we are going on the road. The Philatelic Foundation has invited us to share a table at WESTPEX (San Francisco) this April so we can meet and listen to West Coast members. This will be followed by our multi frame exhibit and seminars at NAPEX (Suburban Washington, DC) in June. Fall schedule will be determined soon.
4. Enhance our electronic outreach: we are in the process of beta testing the upgraded web site. Improvements include better access to video and slide presentations for many of the regular meetings. We are enhancing the financial transaction section to make membership dues and publications transactions easier, especially for overseas members. There will also be expanded ability to communicate, so valid email addresses will be a great aid. (Some are hesitant to share primary email addresses, so one thought is to set up an email account only for philatelic matters) We do not share or rent out our address lists!
5. The Collectors Club Philatelist and additional member publications are the focus of ongoing attention.

I want to hear from you, so please do not hesitate to write me care of The Club, email me at President@collectorsClub.org, of meet in person wherever opportunity allows. This first Presidents letter has barely begun to outline the many exciting possibilities going forward. Please allow the governing team and myself the opportunity to meet, or better yet exceed your expectations for what the Collectors Club can be!

See you soon, and please note that Wednesday May 3rd is our annual awards dinner honoring Alfred E. Lichtenstein medal winner Stephen Reinhard.

–Mark Banchik