Welcome to our September/October 2021 Issue.

Undoubtedly, most significant is the Board’s decision to begin the process of the Club finding our new home by listing 22 East 35th Street for sale. This topic is covered in depth in a separate article on page X. That detailing is intended to be open, direct, and transparent. Should you have any remaining questions or concerns not otherwise covered please do not hesitate to get in touch with us, you can email me directly.

I am writing this in the brief time between the first major show held since the start of the pandemic, Westpex and prior to the big national show in Rosemont, Ill, the Great American Stamp Show. None of us knows what the future holds, but what was clear from having attended Westpex is that it was wonderful to meet with old friends and to make some new ones. Clearly there was the buzz in the air of friends enjoying our great hobby together. We sponsored two talks at the show. Both Fredrick Lawrence and Gordon Eubanks provided informative and interesting talks. For the first time, we arranged for our talks at a show to be videoed. The videos are available on our website. As to being at Westpex, it was fabulous to see real material in the frames and to visit dealers, sit down at their booths and leaf through packets of material.

Elsewhere in this journal, in the article about the Board’s decision, we set out our mission:

The Collectors Club brings members and friends together, virtually and in person, at its clubhouse in New York and around the country to educate, inspire and support them in pursuit of their philatelic goals.

“Brings members and friends together”. We are not a scholarly society dedicated to the in-depth study of a particular facet of philately. We might have a scholarly journal, but its topics range across the entirety of philately. Really, what we do is bring people together. Due to the pandemic this has been difficult, but our virtual Zoom meetings have worked to fill the void. Many say we have succeeded in that endeavor and have enjoyed our programming from home.

There is a common thread connecting our anniversary events, our presence at Westpex and GASS. It is all part of our mission to bring collectors together.

Back in late June we hosted an open house at the Clubhouse. Although we did not count heads with great precision, more than 50 people attended. It was wonderful to get re-acquainted with friends. Although there was no program, we did place material in the frames thanks to Joan and Keith Harmer. The last time material was in those frames was way back in March 2020. It was truly a delight to see those frames filled once again, it had been far too long.

As we begin the last quarter of 2021 and approach 2022, you can look forward to joining with other Collectors Club members once again. You can join with us at Napex and Chicagopex 2021 for programs and gatherings. Meanwhile, our virtual programming will continue into and throughout 2022, a program every other week.

Back at the Clubhouse, we will resume programs on the second Wednesday of each month. These sessions in the Clubhouse will be streamed live through the internet for you to enjoy in your home.

We have many ways for you to join with members and friends to enjoy our hobby together.

 

–Lawrence Haber