Families took the spotlight in the American First Day Cover Society's cachetmaking contest for 2024 issues: The winners included three pairs of mothers and daughters (one with a father, too), a pair of siblings, and a grandfather/granddaughter combo.
Doug George and his sister Jennifer MacLellan, both from Massachusetts, won top honors with their booklet-FDC for the Hank Aaron stamp (Sc. 5908). It also won the Esoteric category. (It is shown on the right here.) George also won first place for Hand-Drawn/Hand-Painted Printed from Original Artwork, Duck Covers and Se-Tenant Covers, as well as several seconds and thirds. MacLellan's cachet for Garden Delights also placed third in Esoteric.
Carolyn Marks' "Bella Cachets" FDC for Shaker Design (Sc. 5896) took first in Miscellaneous Media, while her daughters Annajoy and Katelyn earned second and third, respectively, in the Juniors Ages 11 to 17 category. (in the photo, that's Katelyn, Annajoy and Carolyn.) Tricia Richmond's FDC for the 5-cent Tulip coil stamp (Sc. 5905) was first in Noncommercial cachets, while daughter Darcy Richmond's Autumn Leaves/Boston 2026 cover was third in that category.
The Scolieri family took home a bevy awards: Greg won second and third for Hand-Drawn/Hand-Painted/Hand-Colored, wife Amy was deemed Rookie of the Year, and daughter Genivieve placed second in Juniors Ages 10 and Younger. (Greg won the Rookie award last year.) That's Amy and Genivieve on the right.
Kevin Colton, who won last year's Top Cachet award, was consoled for "only" winning first place in Foreign Covers and second place in that category and in Se-Tenant by granddaughter Marrah Reichert's tie for first place in Juniors Ages 10 and Younger. It is her second win in that category.
There was one other family connection: Arianna Calle, who in the past has won in both the Junior categories, earned several adult-category awards. Her father, Chris, is a past Top Cachet winner.
The annual contest is open to all members of the AFDCS and to cachetmakers under the age of 18 who are "sponsored" by an AFDCS member. Many of the entries are later offered for sale in an AFDCS Fund-Raising Auction.
You can see all the winning entries on the AFDCS website here.
