2010 Officers Elected

The Board of Directors of the American First Day Cover Society, the largest not-for-profit organization of FDC collectors in the world, has re-elected Chris Lazaroff of Elkton, Md., to another term as president.

Sabrina Curtis of Falls Church, Va., moves from First Vice President to Recording Secretary, while Todd Ronnei of Minneapolis, Minn., becomes First Vice President.

Executive Vice President Michael Litvak of Pasadena, Calif.; Treasurer Elliot M. Fischer of San Mateo, Calif., and Chairman of the Board of Directors Lloyd de Vries were re-elected.

The AFDCS Executive Committee consists of the president, executive vice president, first vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, immediate past president, and four members appointed by the president: membership chair, education chair, general counsel and executive director.

All officers serve one-year terms, beginning Jan. 1.

Ronnei recently completed the very-successful revamp of the AFDCS Web site, including its auction section and the ability to accept credit cards online via a secure server.

Curtis succeeds Cynthia Scott of Columbus, Ind., as Recording Secretary. Scott, however, will continue to serve as Complaints Chair and on the Americover (convention) committee.

"Cynthia continues to be a key player in the operation of the AFDCS," said de Vries. "When she has taken on a job for the AFDCS, we knew it would get done, with a minimum of fuss."

Lazaroff was first elected president in 2006. He is an award-winning cachetmaker and, professionally, works in the materials sciences industry.

The AFDCS publishes its award-winning journal First Days eight times a year and has members as far away as Australia. It was founded in 1955.

Board Election Results

The American First Day Cover Society, the largest not-for-profit organization in the world specifically for FDC collectors, has elected five people to its board of directors for three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

Douglas A. Kelsey of Arizona was re-elected for his second term on the board. The other four winners in the election will all be serving their first terms. Ralph Nafziger of Oregon was the top vote-getter, with 122 votes, followed by John Leszak of New York, Kelsey, Bob Lewin of California, and Thomas Peluso of New York.

Here are the vote totals:

Candidate Votes
Ralph Nafziger 122
John Leszak 118
Douglas Kelsey 113
Bob Lewin 101
Thomas Peluso 98
John Hayner 90

There were also two write-in candidates, Richard Sandowski and Doug Weisz, who each received one vote.

Kelsey is also the executive director of the AFDCS. Nafziger, a gold-medal winning exhibitor, is a retired research chemist. Leszak is a cover dealer and editor of Mekeel's/Stamps magazine. Lewin is an attorney specializing in business litigation. Peluso is an award-winning cachetmaker.

"I welcome this diverse group of exhibitors, collectors and dealers to our board," said the chairman of the board of directors, Lloyd A. de Vries. "They will help represent all segments of our Society."

De Vries also thanked Fred Levantrosser and Barbara Morris of the Motor City Stamp and Cover Club (AFDCS Chapter 5) for their work in counting the ballots in this year's election, and the nominating committee of Mary Kay Fisher, Helen Fowler and John Cropper for recruiting the candidates in an election where four of the five incumbents chose not to run for re-election.

Five seats on the AFDCS Board of Directors are elected each year for three-year terms, beginning Jan. 1 of the following year. In addition to the 15 elected directors, the president, the editor of the official journal, First Days, and the general counsel serve on the board ex officio, if not elected to the board themselves.

AFDCS directors are not compensated, nor reimbursed for their travel expenses. The board meets annually at AMERICOVER, the society's annual show and convention, which next year is being held Aug. 6-8 in Oak Brook, Ill., and via mail ballots as needed.

Site redesign

Welcome to the new AFDCS.org! This is the first redesign of the American First Day Cover Society's site in six years. We hope you find our new design pleasing to the eye and easy to use. In addition to the new look, we've got a few new features as well, such as winners of the Cachetmakers Contest going back to 2003. And more new features are on the way.

One of the more significant upgrades is the ability to pay dues and purchase AFDCS merchandise via credit card in a secure environment. Our payment pages are powered by servers that are McAfee Secure, certified as providing the highest level of protection for their shoppers. So use your credit card on our site with confidence.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Contact the Webmaster at webmaster@afdcs.org.

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