Meetings, Shows and Auctions

Online and in touch - When you just cannot be there

As technology continues to progress, a number of philatelic organizations are making their online presentations available to a broader audience across the Internet. Among those is a series of discussions called "Stamp Chats" released by the American Philatelic Society. APS Stamp Chat 'live' is available to members and non-members of the APS without charge. If you have not already set-up your computer/tablet to participate in the live sessions, the APS has provided easy to follow set-up instructions. Just click on this link for their guidance:

WESTPEX 2025 - San Francisco, California

WESTPEX has announced that its sixty-fifth annual show will be held from April 25th through the 27th, 2025 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront at 1800 Old Bayshore Highway in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame, conveniently located just one mile south of the San Francisco International Airport.

Our Society will join with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a joint table and meeting at the WESTPEX 2025 Stamp Show.

We encourage your attendance and remind you that the 2024 WESTPEX Show featured hundreds of pages of material in over 250 frames of exhibits, over 70 dealers from around the world and several societies, among them being our friends of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, the Hawaiian Philatelic Society, and the Canal Zone Study Group. Visitors to that show were able to view many items of philatelic importance in the exhibit displays.

More information will follow when available.

Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition 2025 - Sarasota, Florida

The USPPS will have a joint table with the Cuban Philatelic Society of America at the 2025 Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition, being held from January 17th through the 19th, 2025. More details will follow when they are released.

This major philatelic show will be held at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida. Several stamp societies will have representatives at the show, including representatives of the Philatelic Society of Puerto Rico, and the bourse is expected to include national and international dealers.

Be sure to join us for the enjoyment of this coming year's World Series of Philately show in Sarasota.

The Great American Stamp Show 2024 - Hartford, Connecticut

The Great American Stamp Show was held in 2024 from August 15th through the 18th at the Connecticut Convention Center, Hall AB, 100 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford, Connecticut.

Organizers of this event, which was co-hosted by the American Philatelic Society, the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society, advised the Show included over 75 dealers and representatives of many stamp societies and organizations. The show also included hundreds of frames of philatelic exhibits and a philatelic literature competition.

We shared a society table with the International Philippine Philatelic Society and enjoyed talking with members and interested friends.

Our societies held a joint meeting on Saturday, August 17th, which featured a presentation - "The Scott Number 279 Story" including the possessions overprints - by Len McMaster, the long-standing editor of Possessions, the award-winning quarterly journal of the USPPS.

NAPEX 2024 - McLean, Virginia

NAPEX was held in 2024 from June 7th through the 9th at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Virginia.

The USPPS and the International Philippine Philatelic Society shared a table at the event and held a joint meeting on Saturday, June 8th. As always, we welcomed the attendance of members and friends.

WESTPEX 2024 - San Francisco, California

WESTPEX held its sixty-fourth annual show from April 26th through the 28th, 2024 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront at 1800 Old Bayshore Highway in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame, conveniently located just one mile south of the San Francisco International Airport.

Our Society was designated as a "Guest Society" for the 2024 show and shared that honor at this event with the Royal Philatelic Society London, the Colombia-Panama Philatelic Study Group, and the Canal Zone Study Group.

In addition, our friends of the International Philippine Philatelic Society joined us at our table. Our joint meeting with the IPPS was held Saturday afternoon and featured Dr. Tommy C. Sim giving a presentation on "Meet the Lamberts."

As a Guest Society, we had an exhibit frame commitment of 35 frames. The 2024 WESTPEX Show featured hundreds of pages of stunning material in 276 frames of exhibits, over 70 dealers from around the world and several societies, among them being our friends of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, the Hawaiian Philatelic Society, and, as mentioned, the Canal Zone Study Group. Visitors to the show were able to view many items of philatelic importance in the exhibit displays.

Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition 2024 - Sarasota, Florida

The USPPS had a joint table with the Cuban Philatelic Society of America at the 2024 Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition, held from January 19th through the 21st, 2024. The two Societies held a joint meeting on January 20th in the Bayfront room with a presentation by Octavio Cabrera on "The 1 cent Columbus, knife 57 - A new find", followed at 2:00 pm by meeting on the show floor for a walk-through of Fernando Iglesias' exhibit "The British & French POs in Cuba". The show was held at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida. Several other stamp societies had representatives at the show as well, including the Sociedad Filatelica de Puerto Rico (SFPR) (Philatelic Society of Puerto Rico), and the bourse included national and international dealers.

Filatelic Fiesta 2023 - San Jose, California

Filatelic Fiesta 2023 was held from November 18th through the 19th at the Napredak Hall, 770 Montague Expressway, San Jose, California. Filatelic Fiesta is part of the American Philatelic Society’s “World Series of Philately” shows. The San Jose Stamp Club (SJSC) hosted the show and made an effort for everyone to feel welcome. This year's event included twenty-five dealers offering stamps from all over the world and an amazing array of topics.

We joined with our friends of the International Philippine Philatelic Society at the show. A regional meeting was held on Saturday, November 18th, which included two presentations: 1) “The VICTORY First Day Covers of 1945” by James Larot; and 2) “Taal Eruption 1911” by Jan Markels. These were followed by a lively “Show & Tell” which enabled those attending to share their latest treasures or ask questions.

The Great American Stamp Show 2023 - Cleveland, Ohio

The Great American Stamp Show was held in 2023 from August 10th through the 13th at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland (Hall C), 300 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Organizers of this event, which was co-hosted by the American Philatelic Society, the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society, advised the Show included over 75 dealers and representatives of many stamp societies and organizations. The show also included hundreds of frames of philatelic exhibits and a philatelic literature competition. Following the show, the American Philatelic Society released a notification to all that this successful four-day event marked the first time since pre-pandemic days that attendance totals had at last returened to normal.

We had a joint society table with the International Philippine Philatelic Society and enjoyed seeing members and interested friends.

Our societies held a joint meeting on Saturday, August 12th, which featured a presentation by Ronald H. González, MD, on "Military Stations during the Spanish-American War in Puerto Rico".

NAPEX 2023 - McLean, Virginia

NAPEX was held in 2023 from June 2nd through the 4th at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Virginia.

The USPPS and the International Philippine Philatelic Society shared a table at the event and held a joint meeting for members and friends. That meeting featured a presentation by Dick Larkin on "U. S. Possessions Booklet Panes" and was held on Saturday, June 3rd, in the San Francisco Room.

WESTPEX 2023 - San Francisco, California

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the WESTPEX 2023 Stamp Show, held from April 28th through April 30th. The show was held in the beautiful San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront at 1800 Old Bayshore Highway in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame.

The 2023 WESTPEX Show featured hundreds of pages of material in over 250 frames of exhibits, and had over 70 dealers from around the world. WESTPEX hosted several societies, among them being our friends of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, the Hawaiian Philatelic Society, and the Canal Zone Study Group. Visitors to the show were able to view many items of philatelic importance in the exhibit displays.

Our meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society was held on April 29th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the Santa Barbara Room. The meeting of the two Societies featured two speakers. Craig Eggleston, in person, presented “Stamped Envelopes of the Philippines, from Beginning to End”. He was followed by Akira Kaburaki, presenting via ZOOM from Japan, on the subject “1943 Free Philippines Guerrilla Stamp”.

Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition 2023 - Sarasota, Florida

The USPPS had a joint table with the Cuban Philatelic Society of America at the 2023 Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition, a World Series of Philately show, held from January 20th through the 22nd, 2023. During the show, the two Societies held a joint meeting for members and friends, which featured a presentation by Juan Farah on the "Secret Marks of the US Administration Special Design Issue for Cuba." For the record, the Sociedad Filatelica de Puerto Rico (SFPR) was also present at the show. This major philatelic show was held at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida. Several other stamp societies had representatives at the show as well and the bourse included national and international dealers.

The Great American Stamp Show 2022 - Sacramento, California

The Great American Stamp Show was held in 2022 from August 25th through the 28th at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center (Hall C/D), 1400 J Street, Sacramento, California.

Organizers of this event, which was co-hosted by the American Philatelic Society, the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society, advised the Show included some 70 dealers and representatives of 57 stamp societies and organizations. The show also included hundreds of frames of philatelic exhibits and a philatelic literature competition.

We had a joint society table with the International Philippine Philatelic Society and enjoyed talking with members and interested friends.

Our societies held a joint meeting on Saturday, August 27th, from Noon to 2:00 pm. It featured two presentations, "Postal Censorship on Philippine Covers of the U.S. Period" by Christian Preusse and "Alegorias Cubanas" by Juan Farah.

NAPEX 2022 - McLean, Virginia

NAPEX was held in 2022 from June 3rd through the 5th at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Virginia.

The USPPS and the International Philippine Philatelic Society shared a table at the event and held a joint meeting for members and friends in the San Francisco Room on Saturday, June 4th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. The meeting featured a presentation of "Spanish and American Puerto Rico Postal Stationery" by Ronald H. Gonzalez, MD.

WESTPEX 2022 - San Francisco, California

WESTPEX was held in 2022 from April 22nd through the 24th at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront Hotel in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame.

The 2022 WESTPEX Show featured over 250 pages of material on exhibit, as well as over 60 dealers from around the world. WESTPEX hosted several societies, among them being our friends of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, the Hawaiian Philatelic Society, and the Canal Zone Study Group.

A joint meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society was held on April 23rd from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm in the Santa Barbara Room. It includes a Zoom presentation by Nigel Gooding on “Spanish-Philippine Postal Issues - The Unusuals,” which included those back of the book items, such as SPECIMEN overprints, printer’s waste, unusual cancellations, Reintegro & Revisado markings, overprints, business handstamps, and perfins.

Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition 2022 - Sarasota,Florida

The USPPS had a joint table with the Cuban Philatelic Society of America at the 2022 Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition, a World Series of Philately show, which took place from January 21st through the 23rd, 2022. This major philatelic show was held at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida. Several stamp societies had representatives at the show and the bourse included national and international dealers.

During the show, the two Societies held a joint meeting for members and friends on Saturday, January 22nd, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm in the Bayfront Room. The meeting featured a presentation titled "Philatelic Legacy of the Yellow Fever Commission".

Filatelic Fiesta 2021 - San Jose, California

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the Filatelic Fiesta 2021 Show, which was held from November 13th through the 14th in Napredak Hall, 770 Montague Expressway, San Jose, California.

The two Societies hosted a joint regional meeting on Saturday November 13th.

NAPEX 2021 - McLean, Virginia

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the NAPEX 2021 Show, held from October 22nd through the 24th. The show was located in the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, in McLean, Virginia.

A joint meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society was held on Saturday, October 23rd, from 10:00 am to noon in the San Francisco Room. It included a presentation by Henry K. Charles, Jr. titled "The Possession Postage Due Stamps - Interesting Facts and Insights."

The Great American Stamp Show 2021 - Chicago, Illinois

The Great American Stamp Show was held this year from August 12th through the 15th at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 North River Road in Rosemont, Illinois. Rosemont is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois located near Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Organizers of this event, which was co-hosted by the American Philatelic Society, the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society, advised the Show included some 77 dealers and representatives of 50 stamp societies. The show also included over 500 frames of philatelic exhibits. We were there and shared a table with our friends in the International Philippine Philatelic Society. During this event, we enjoyed the opportunity to talk with our members and friends of the Society.

A joint meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society was held on Saturday, August 14th, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

WESTPEX 2021 - San Francisco, California

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the WESTPEX 2021 Stamp Show, held from July 30th through August 1st. The show was held in the beautiful San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront at 1800 Old Bayshore Highway in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame.

The 2021 WESTPEX Show featured hundreds of pages of material on exhibition, as well as dealers from around the world. WESTPEX hosted several societies, among them being our friends of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, the Hawaiian Philatelic Society, and the Canal Zone Study Group. Visitors to the show were able to view many items of philatelic importance in the exhibit displays.

A joint meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society was held on July 31st from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm in the Santa Barbara Room, and included presentations by Dr. Tommy Sims on "Highlights from his Aguinaldo Exhibit" and by Les Lamphear on "Classic US Penalty Clause Mail outside the 48 states”.

The Great American Stamp Show 2020 - Hartford, Connecticut

The Great American Stamp Show Stamp 2020, scheduled to be held from August 20th to 23rd, was CANCELLED due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.

Organizers of this co-hosted event, which was to be held by the American Philatelic Society, the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society, look forward to their show returning in 2021.

WESTPEX 2020 - San Francisco, California

The WESTPEX 2020 Stamp Show, scheduled to be held from April 24th through the 26th, was CANCELLED due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.

WESTPEX organizers look forward to their show returning in 2021.

Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition 2020 - Sarasota, Florida

The USPPS and the Cuban Philatelic Society of America shared a table at the 2020 Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition, a World Series of Philately show, which ran from February 7th through February 9th, 2020. During the show, the two Societies held a joint meeting for members and friends on Saturday, February 8th. The meeting included a presentation by Octavio Cabrera on "Cuba's Special Request Envelopes" (personalized envelopes printed by the U.S. government's contractor). This major philatelic show occurred at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium in Sarasota, Florida.

Several stamp societies had representatives at the show and the bourse included forty national and international dealers.

BALPEX 2019 - Hunt Valley, Maryland

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the BALPEX 2019 Show, which was held from August 30th through September 1st. The show was located in the Hunt Valley Inn, 245 Shawan Road, Hunt Valley, Maryland.

The two Societies held a joint meeting on August 31st, which was enjoyed by members and friends.

APS StampShow 2019 - Omaha, Nebraska

The 2019 APS StampShow was held from August 1st through the 4th at the CHI Health Center Omaha, 455 North 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska. This was a major philatelic show, as once again the APS and the American Topical Association joined forces to present the philatelic event of the year. We shared a society booth with our friends of the International Philippines Philatelic Society and enjoyed many opportunities to talk with Society members and other collectors interested in the Possessions.

On August 3rd, the two societies held a joint meeting which included a presentation entitled "The Postal History of the Spanish-Cuban/American War (1895-1898)" by Yamil Kouri, author of the new 792 page Collectors Club of Chicago publication "Under Three Flags - The Postal History of the Spanish-Cuban/American War (1895-1899)".

Collectors of Possessions material attending the show also found representatives on hand from the Canal Zone Study Group and numerous other societies. With some 75 dealers and over 800 frames of outstanding exhibits, this year's event provided a good opportunity to learn more about areas of interest and share in the social aspects of collecting.

NAPEX 2019 - McLean, Virginia

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the NAPEX 2019 Show, held from June 7th through the 9th. The show was located in the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, in McLean, Virginia.

Over 80 dealers attended this year's event and offered a variety of choice philatelic material.

The joint meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society was held on June 8th at 1:00 pm and featured a presentation by Dr. Erwin Tiongson titled "Philippine President Quezon in the White House During World War II".

WESTPEX 2019 - San Francisco, California

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the WESTPEX 2019 Stamp Show, held from April 26th through the 28th. The show was located in the beautiful San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront at 1800 Old Bayshore Highway in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame.

This was the 59th annual WESTPEX Show and featured hundreds of pages of material on exhibition, as well as dealers from around the world. This WESTPEX hosted several societies, among them being our friends of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, the Hawaiian Philatelic Society, and the Canal Zone Study Group. Visitors were able to view many items of philatelic importance in the exhibit displays.

The joint meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society was held on April 27th from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm in the Newport Beach Room, and included a presentation by Don Peterson on "Proofs of the Spanish Philippines, 1871-1898”.

The USPPS had a joint table with the International Philippine Philatelic Society at the AmeriStamp Expo 2019 show, which ran from February 15th through February 17th, 2019. Held in conjunction with the World Series of Philately ARIPEX show, this major philatelic event occurred at the Mesa Convention Center, in Mesa, Arizona. The USPPS and the IPPS held a joint meeting on Saturday the 16th, which featured a talk on "Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands" by former USPPS Director William Woytowich.

The USPPS had a joint table with the Cuban Philatelic Society of America at the 2019 Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition, a World Series of Philately show, which ran from February 1st through February 3rd, 2019. During the show, the two Societies held a joint meeting for members and friends on Saturday, February 2nd, at 1:00 pm in the "Bay Front Center". The meeting included a program by Juan Farah titled "The Special Design - U.S. Administration Issues for Cuba (Alegorias Cubanas)". This major philatelic show occurred at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium in Sarasota, Florida.

The 2018 APS StampShow in Columbus, Ohio was held from August 9th through the 12th at the Greater Columbus Center in downtown Columbus. This major philatelic event was quite a show as the result of the APS and the American Topical Association joining forces to present the philatelic event of the year. We shared a society booth with our friends of the International Philippines Philatelic Society and had an opportunity to talk with Society members and other collectors interested in the Possessions. On August 11th, we had a presentation on "Puerto Rico During the Spanish American War 1898-1900" by Bill DiPaolo. Immediately following our meeting, the IPPS held their meeting which included a presentation on "Philippine Booklet Stamps and Panes on Cover during WWII" by Richard Larkin. A great event!

The USPPS had a joint table with the Cuban Philatelic Society of America at the Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition from February 2nd through the 4th. The two societies had a joint meeting on Saturday at 2:00 pm in the Bay Front Center of the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, where Octavio Cabrera gave a talk on “Cuba's UPSS 3b, The allure of the double overprints.” We had copies available of our NY Show Special Issue ("Introduction to Collecting U.S. Possessions’ Stamps and Postal History") as well as Geoff Brewster’s book "Plating the [PI] Legislative Palace Issue of 1926".

StampShow 2017, the 131st annual convention of the American Philatelic Society, was held in Richmond, Virginia, from August 3rd through August 6th. The 2017 show featured 100+ dealers, societies, live auctions, literature and philatelic exhibits, more than 100 meetings and seminars, and first-day-of-issue ceremonies for new stamps.

On Saturday, August 5th, the International Philippines Philatelic Society and the USPPS held a joint meeting from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm, which included a presentation by Craig Eggleston entitled "Uncle Sam's Post Office in the Philippines, the Initial Year".

Collectors of Possessions material attending the show also found representatives on hand from the Canal Zone Study Group and the Cuban Philatelic Society of America. As always, this year's event provided a good opportunity to learn more about areas of interest and share in the social aspects of collecting!

The Society joined with members of the International Philippine Philatelic Society for a meeting at the WESTPEX 2017 Stamp Show, held from April 28th through the 30th. The show was located in the beautiful San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront at 1800 Old Bayshore Highway in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame.

This was the 57th annual WESTPEX Show and featured some 300+ pages of material on exhibition, as well as 75 dealers from around the world. The exhibits included five Philippine exhibits occupying 17 frames by IPPS members James Larot, Richard Miggins, Nestor Nunez (2), and Tommy Sim.

The International Philippine Philatelic Society held its Annual Meeting, including the presentation of the IPPS Lifetime Achievement Award to Ron and Barbara (recently deceased) Maineri. The meeting also featured a presentation by Jan Markels entitled "Taal Volcano".

Attendees were able to learn more about key Philippine philatelic items during an Exhibitors' Tour of International Philippine Philatelic Society member exhibits on the final day of the show.

The USPPS had a joint table with the Cuban Philatelic Society of America and the Canal Zone Study Group at the Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition from February 3rd-5th, 2017. The CPSA and USPPS had a joint meeting on Saturday at noon, while the CZSG met at 1:00 pm, both in the Bay Front Center of the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium. The Society had copies available of our NY Show Special Issue ("Introduction to Collecting U.S. Possessions’ Stamps and Postal History") as well as Geoff Brewster’s new book "Plating the [PI] Legislative Palace Issue of 1926".

APS StampShow 2016 - Portland, Oregon

While we did not have a table at APS StampShow 2016 in Portland, Oregon, we had a joint meeting with the International Philippine Philatelic Society where Craig Eggleston gave a talk entitled “1898 U.S. Postal Cards (Philippine Military Postal Stations)” .

Booths 875/877 at the World Stamp Show in New York were the hub of activities for the USPPS along with the International Philippine Philatelic Society (IPPS), the Allied Military Government Collectors Club (AMGCC), the Haiti Philatelic Society, and the International Cuban Philatelic Society (ICPS). While not listed in the program, we also had literature from the Sociedad Filatélica de Puerto Rico, the Ryúkyú Philatelic Specialist Society and the Hawaiian Philatelic Society.

Over 30 people attended the joint USPPS - IPPS meeting on Monday, May 30th, where Dr. Ron González gave a talk on "Puerto Rico Stationery under the U.S. Administration 1898-1900," and Rich Pederson gave a talk on "Collecting Allied Military Government Stamps and Covers."

The USPPS had a table and meeting at ARIPEX, which was held February 19th-21st at the Mesa Convention Center, in Mesa, Arizona. The meeting was held Saturday at noon in the Pomeroy Room. USPPS director Bill Woytowich gave a presentation entitled "Guam and Saipan in post WWII Recovery.".

The USPPS multi-frame exhibit award was presented to Tom Brougham for his Gold medal exhibit “CANAL ZONE Overprints on Panama’s 1909 ABN Co. Portrait Design.” Bill Woytowich received a Silver Bronze medal for his single-frame exhibit “GUAM, 1941-45, the War years.”

Attending our meeting in Hartford at the 2014 APS StampShow included Dick Bates, Roger Brody, Ray Cavanaugh, David Chiong, Elliott Coleman, Craig Eggleston, Jim Forte, Ron González, Darrell Kinzler, Yamil Kouri, Al Kugel, Les Lanphear, Doug Lehmann, Bill Matthews, Len McMaster, John Morrison, Joe Napp, Don Peterson, Rich Small, David Steidley, Gary Weiss, and David Zemer

Members attending our meeting at the 2014 Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition. Pictured left to right, Arturo Codina, Len McMaster, Silvia Garcia-Fritos, Alex Blanco, Octavio Cabrera, Ed Carney, Fernando Iglesias, and Cristóbal Martínez. Others attending, but not pictured included Les Lanphear, Richard Livingston, and Phil Stager.

The USPPS had a Society table and meeting at ARIPEX 2013, held April 19–21 in Mesa, AZ. At the meeting Geoff Brewster presented several items as part of the "show and tell" format and we briefly discussed the reprint of his Philippine Flights series the Society is releasing on CD. While there were no U.S. possessions competitive exhibits, Geoff had an 11-frame non-competitive exhibit of all the U.S. possessions stamps, an excellent display of our collecting interests. We had several individuals stop and talk to us at our table, signing up seven new members, including James Green (CA), Steve Gross (AZ), Larry Weinstock (OR), John Wynns (AZ), Max Schwartz (TN), Bill Woytowich (AZ), and Jon Krupnick (FL).

At the ARIPEX awards banquet Saturday evening, I had the honor of presenting Geoff Brewster with a USPPS Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1978 Gil Plass started the USPPS by himself, and was editor of our journal, Possessions, for 14 years, 1978–1992, producing Whole Nos. 1–56. Geoff Brewster was appointed our first president by Gil and served 8 years from 1978–1986. With Gil and Ken Koller, he wrote the USPPS constitution and aggressively promoted our new society, publicizing it in the general philatelic press, arranging for USPPS meetings at stamp shows, and serving as our representative to the APS (Affiliate #99), a position he still holds today.

Soon after the show I received the following note from Geoff: "I wish to thank the USPPS for the award it recently gave me, not so much for the item itself—which is certainly attractive and of fine quality—as for the sentiment behind it. I only wish our founder Gilbert N. Plass was still here so that the USPPS could honor him at least similarly, for having firmly established our base and by excellent example having blazed our path for the future."

We plan to have a joint table and meeting with the IPPS at the 2013 APS StampShow being held August 8–11, at the Delta Center, 200 West Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI . Craig Eggleston will give a talk on "American censorship of civilian mail during World War One: new research from the censorship office in Manila" at our meeting. We also hope to present both single- and multi-frame exhibit awards for the best U.S. possessions exhibits.

The Sacramento APS show, August 16-19th, 2012 was a great show for us. We had over 20 members and others sign the guest list, and we signed up two new members. We also had several members winning awards.

Richard Malmgren: World Series of Philately Prix d'Honneur for his exhibit "Hawaiian Foreign Mail"

Fred Gregory: Literature Grand and Gold for his book Hawaii Foreign Mail to 1870

Possessions: Literature Vermeil for Volume 32 (2011)

Doug Lehmann: Gold for his exhibit "Maintaining the Tax System During the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines (1942–45) with No Paper Imports or Operating Paper Mills Available"

Rick Miggins: Gold for his exhibit "Philippines: 1954–1963 Documentary Overprints on 1947 Internal Revenue Stamps"

Jack Thompson: Gold and USPPS Multi-Frame Award for his exhibit "The Spanish American War and the U.S. Administration in Cuba"

Rick Miggins: Single Frame Grand, Gold, Errors, Freaks & Oddities Collectors Club, United States Postal Stationery Society, and USPPS awards for his exhibit " Philippines: 1948 Embossed Postal Envelope - From Model to Final Die"

At the Philadelphia National Stamp Exhibition (PNSE), in March at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa., member Richard Malmgren won not only our first award (along with a PNSE gold) for his Hawaii Postal History exhibit, but also won the Postal History Society Award and the PNSE Grand Award. Congratulations to Richard!