Board Election Results
The Board of Directors has two new members: Michael Moticha and Mick Zais. They were running unopposed, along with incumbents Jim Tatum and Lloyd de Vries. The vote totals were:
| Lloyd de Vries |
236 |
| Michael Moticha |
234 |
| Jim Tatum |
233 |
| Mick Zais |
224 |
In addition, Fred Collins, Mark Gereb, Michael Rosenthal and David Lorms each received one write-in vote. The Election Committee chaired by Otto Thamasett (with Jack Ginsburg and Roy Souther) received 245 ballots, of which four were disqualified.
Four seats on the AFDCS Board of Directors are elected each year for three-year terms, beginning Jan. 1. In addition to the 12 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 in their own right.
AFDCS directors are not compensated for serving on the board nor reimbursed for their travel expenses.
2021 Ward Award; 2022 Nominations
For Works Published In 2022
Nominations will be accepted through May 30, 2023, for the Philip H. Ward Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature, presented annually by the American First Day Cover Society. All works published in 2022 are eligible.
All articles published in First Days, the AFDCS journal, are automatically considered. Others may be submitted to the Ward Award Committee chair, Mark Goodson, 315 East Dewey Street, Ellettsville, IN 47429-1901, bgdsn@comcast.net, either as clippings or .pdf scans of the articles as published.
The award is presented each year at Americover, the annual convention of the AFDCS, which will be held August 10-13, as part of Great American Stamp Show 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. A complete list of past winners can be found here.
The award is named in honor of Philip H. Ward (1890-1963), the distinguished Philadelphia stamp collector, dealer and journalist who was a pioneer in the field of first day covers. The award was instituted by the AFDCS in 1964 largely at the urging of David S. Zubatsky, who won it several times — but his first Ward was not until 2011. He passed away last fall.
David Zubatsky Passes
David Zubatsky lost a battle with cancer and died October 26, 2002 at age 83. He was member 2078 (for over 60 years) and life member 360 of the American First Day Cover Society. He was a prolific collector, researcher, author, and bibliographer in the field of first day covers.
David served AFDCS as regional vice president in the 1970s and on the board of directors 2001-2003. In his early years with the society he chaired the Information Bureau, later renamed the Research & Information Bureau, and at one time was listed in the masthead as Bibliographer. He chaired or served on several committees including the Ward Award, Nominations, Expertising, and Translation.
He suggested that AFDCS present an award annually for the best article on first day covers in the philatelic press, and to name it in honor of Philip H. Ward, Jr., the pioneer FDC servicer and dealer. David received the award himself in 2011, 2013, and 2018. In 2000, he was honored with the Society’s Distinguished Service Award. David also suggested that a research/classic award for exhibitors be sponsored by AFDCS, named the Lawrence S. Fisher Award, to recognize an early collector of classic US FDCs.
David held advanced degrees in library science and was a librarian at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He eventually joined Millersville University near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he became Director of the Ganser Library. His library background enabled him to utilize resources such as newspaper archives and Ancestry.com to ferret out details of cachet makers. He authored the Photo Cachet Catalog of Albert E. Gorham in 1974, later updated in the pages of First Days. His first day ceremony program collection served as the basis for Mellone’s Specialized Catalogue of First Day Ceremony Programs & Events.
In the society’s journal, he wrote profiles of many cachet makers including Henry Diamant, Lewis Haskell, Jr., Frank Ulrich, Sandra Haimerl, Neal Griffith, Abram Bower, Norbert Waldau, and James MacAdam among others. He contributed many article series on earliest known uses, selection of first day cities, the historical significance of first day dates, the disposition of famous FDC collections, prices realized, and bibliographies of articles on United States as well as foreign first day covers.
In addition to the Gorham catalog David authored First Men on the Moon with Victor Tan, the International Bibliography of First Day Cover Literature, and edited and co-authored Moon Landing with Monte Eiserman et al. Outside of the hobby Zubatsky also published many articles and books on bibliography and genealogy.
David Zubatsky was also a mentor to many on first day cover collecting. He was a generous contributor to the American Philatelic Research Library and its AFDCS archive. He was survived by his wife Marie.
—Alan Warren
"Weird" FDCs Presentation Oct. 16
De Vries recently presented some of his collection in an exhibit at the Great American Stamp Show 2022, where it won a large silver medal. It includes FDCs with moving parts, materials seldom used in FDCs, and unusual artistic techniques. Shown on the right is a real cover cover.
The president of the AFDCS, de Vries writes the first day cover column for Linn's Stamp News and manages The Virtual Stamp Club, a philatelic news and information website. Before retirement, he was a writer-producer for network radio, television and website news operations: ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR. He also hosted and produced a nationally-syndicated philatelic radio feature for CBS News from 1997 to 2017.
You can access the Zoom presentation for "Weird Stuff First Day Covers" is via this link or use the meeting ID 885 9482 6222 with a passcode of 724390.
Membership in the AFDCS is not required to attend the seminar.
AFDCS Honors Three for Service
He is shown here receiving the award from Jim Tatum.
Litvak also served on the AFDCS Board of Directors for many years, was president of the American Ceremony Program Society (another AFDCS chapter), and has written dozens of articles for the AFDCS journal, First Days.
At right, Thompson receives the DSA from President Lloyd de Vries.
As advertising manager, he cleared up and collected thousands of dollars in past-due accounts, to the point where, today, no advertisers are in arrears beyond the current cycle. His exhibit "Women of the Black Heritage Series" has won gold medals and proven to be a crowd-favorite with nine most-popular awards at national shows.
"Being the attorney for a stamp society isn't a flashy post, but oh so necessary in this litigious age," said AFDCS president Lloyd. A. de Vries. "Tris has helped keep us out of trouble."
DSA recipients are chosen by a vote of past DSA recipients. Honorary Life Memberships are recommended by the Honors and Awards Committee (currently chaired by James Tatum, Jr.) and confirmed by the Board of Directors.
FDC Teaching Aids Available
AFDCS Makes Free Teaching Aids Available
They were developed by AFDCS director Kris McIntosh, a retired high school social studies teacher with nearly 40 years of experience in education. The lessons cover American and Texas history from the colonization of North America through the Gilded Age and the Great Depression and into Barak Obama's presidency. The e-books McIntosh has prepared include illustrations of FDCs, discussion, quizzes and reviews.
"First day covers are primary sources that can add diversity in a teacher’s tool kit," writes McIntosh.
The lessons can be downloaded on this page. Membership in the AFDCS is not required to use the lesson plans.
AFDCS Donates to Boston 2026
Leaders of Boston 2026, the American Philatelic Society and the AFDCS have been working toward making first day covers a separate class for exhibits at an international show. Currently, FDCs are part of the "Other" catch-all class.
"We want to send a message that the AFDCS is a major player in the hobby, not just another organization," said AFDCS board member Foster Miller, who proposed the donation. "We also want to send a message to the international stamp community that first day covers are important."
Boston 2026 World Expo takes place May 23-30, 2026, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Full show details may be found at boston2026.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Whooping Cranes FDC Presentation
The quickest way to “The Whooping Crane“ and other videos on the American First Day Cover YouTube channel is to click this link.
Jones presented a talk at a virtual meeting of the Claude C. Ries Chapter (Southern California) of the AFDCS in June 2022. In addition to discussing and showing various cachets and postmarks, she also talks about the postmarks and poster stamps associated with the issue, and why it was issued.
AFDCS & ATA Tour Set
The American First Day Cover Society is again hosting a tour of the area in connection with its annual convention, with a few changes. The excursion takes place on Monday, August 29, the day after Great American Stamp Show in Sacramento, Calif. Membership in the AFDCS is not required.
Among the differences: The tour is co-hosted with the American Topical Association and will be held on the day after the show, which runs August 25-28. The AFDCS’s traditional tour day — before the show — is just too full of other events, including board meetings, booth setups and exhibit mounting.
The tour begins at 8 a.m. when the bus leaves the Sheraton Grand Hotel, across the street from the convention center. A short guided tour of the California capital follows. Next, the group goes to the California State Railroad Museum (below).
The afternoon will be spent in Old Sacramento with its shops and restaurants, then with a guided tour at the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park.
The $55 per person includes transportation, admission and the tours. Tickets may be purchased via this link.
The AFDCS and ATA are co-hosts of Great American Stamp Show, along with the American Philatelic Society. The AFDCS has a superbooth at the front of the convention center hall and will have unserviced cachets for the Pony Cars stamps that will be issued at the show, along with serviced FDCs and publications. The AFDCS will also hold its annual membership meeting and banquet at GASS, and has scheduled several seminars.
Bylaws Updated
The AFDCS may now send a separate mailing to its members for its annual board election. Previously, the ballot and other materials had to be included in an issue of the official journal, First Days.
The changes, approved by the Board of Directors, change the name of the rules of order which guide the society's meetings from "the Sturgis Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure" to "the American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure," the current name of the book. "Slide programs" was changed to "audio-visual presentations."
The revisions also assign the AFDCS auctions to the Sales Department, and consolidated responsibility for the Archives to the Recording Secretary. In addition, the reference to the "Journal Department," which has not existed for many years, was removed.
The proposed changes were first reviewed by the AFDCS Bylaws Committee, chaired by Matthew Liebson and including AFDCS General Counsel Tris Fall and Todd Ronnei.
Churchill FDC Exhibit Seminar April 3
Todd Ronnei, whose exhibit on the 1965 Churchill stamp has won top honors on many occasions, will guide a tour of his exhibit live on Zoom on Sunday, April 3, at 8:00 pm EDT. It will be offered afterward on the American First Day Cover Society's YouTube Channel. During the seminar, he will explain what is included and why and provide tips about exhibiting in general.
"The U.S. Winston Churchill Memorial Stamp and Its First Day Covers" has won 13 Gold and Large Gold awards, three of them Reserve Grands. The most recent of those was at the Americover 2021 exhibition at Great American Stamp Show.
Ronnei's exhibit began in 2007 with five frames, and has since grown to ten. It is a traditional FDC exhibit. Reflecting Churchill’s stature on the world stage, Scott 1264 was a five-cent stamp issued less than four months after the British statesman died. A memorial issue for a non-American issued so quickly after death was, and remains today, nearly unprecedented.
Ronnei is a paralegal in Minneapolis. He is also Exhibits Chair of Minnesota Stamp Expo and Exhibiting Chair and webmaster of the AFDCS. Other recent exhibits include first day covers for 1967's Urban Planning (Sc. 1333) and the Fort Snelling stamp of 1970 (Sc. 1409), and stamps and FDCs for Churchill's centenary in 1974. He has also written articles for First Days, Scott Stamp Monthly and others.
The Zoom seminar for the tour of "The U.S. Winston Churchill Memorial Stamp and Its First Day Covers" can be reached VIA THIS LINK or the meeting ID 879 5273 7174 with a passcode of 974882.
Cachetmakers Directory Updated
A new edition of the AFDCS Directory of Current Cachetmakers is now available. The February 2022 version can be downloaded for free by clicking this link. Printed versions are available for $5.00 postpaid from AFDCS Sales, PO Box 44, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 or may be ordered from the AFDCS Marketplace page.
Compiled by John White of North Carolina, the directory seeks to list every individual or company currently producing cacheted first day covers, whether or not they are members of the AFDCS. There is no charge for listings; cachetmakers who wish to be included in a future edition should fill out this online form.
New editions of the directory are published when there are a number of additions or changes, so the next version may be next month or next year. The link to the latest edition — whatever it is — is on the home page. The February 2022 edition adds five cachetmakers, removes four and updates two.
Contest Rules Corrected
To download the corrected rules and entry form, CLICK HERE.
The submission deadline remains April 15, 2022.
Litvak Resigns as Executive VP
"Michael was a dedicated member of our leadership for decades, providing a calm but perceptive influence at our meetings," said AFDCS president Lloyd de Vries. "We will miss him, but wish him well and look forward to his recovery.”
Rooms Available for 2022 Show
The Sheraton Grand Sacramento, the official show hotel for Great American Stamp Show 2022, is now accepting reservations at the special show rate of $150. To book online, visit this page on the American Philatelic Society website.
The American First Day Cover Society is a co-host of the philatelic event, along with the APS and the American Topical Association. GASS is being held August 25-28 in the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center's Halls C and D, on the J Street side of the building. The Sheraton Grand is the closest hotel to the stamp show, right across the street.
GASS will be the biggest stamp collecting show of the year, with top exhibits and dealers and meetings of nearly every major philatelic society. The U.S. Postal Service will issue its Pony Cars stamps at the show, with the California Auto Museum just a mile away. The USPS will also have a fully-stocked sales counter.
The Sheraton Grand itself is a combination of old and new. The front portion, seen above, was originally a public market – a forerunner of today’s modern grocery store and mall. It was a three-story building where fresh produce, baked goods, clothing, and bulk feed were sold, with coffee shops and lunch counters.
Today, that area houses the hotel’s lobby, restaurants and meeting/banquet rooms, while a new 28-story tower houses 503 guest rooms and suites. All those registering with the GASS discount will receive free Wi-Fi in their rooms. Digital check-in, mobile key, room service, a 24-hour fitness center and valet parking are available to all guests.
The "senior" rates for most other hotels in the area start at about $100 more per night; even the nearby Quality Inn is $147. Parking near the convention center for those staying out of town for cheaper hotel rates will soon even the score, at $20+ a day. Staying in the show hotel is also much more convenient, since some meetings and events will be held there.
The AFDCS will hold its open Board of Directors meeting at the Sheraton Grand and likely its President's Banquet, a nightly hospitality suite and a free breakfast for its Life and Charter members. The Monday post-show tour organized by the AFDCS and ATA will depart from the hotel, too.
AFDCS Launches YouTube Channel
The AFDCS is designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization for its educational activities, which also include its award-winning bimonthly journal First Days, handbooks and catalogues, encouraging articles and publications on FDCs, and promoting the philatelic exhibiting of FDCs.
The most-recent Zoom presentation by the AFDCS was Peter McClure's "Computer Cachetmaking 101: The CEC Method."
In addition to its educational activities, the AFDCS also produces first day covers for selected issues, holds several auctions a year of often-unique collectibles, publishes a free directory of current cachetmakers, and runs an annual cachetmaking contest. The society is a co-host of the big annual U.S. philatelic exhibition Great American Stamp Show, which this year will be held August 25-28 in Sacramento, Calif.
Officers Re-elected for 2022
They, along with the editor of the journal First Days, the executive secretary, the immediate past president, the general counsel and the chairs of the Education and Membership departments, comprise the organization's executive committee.
The Board also chose Cynthia Scott of Indiana as its chair for 2022.
AFDCS officers and directors are not compensated nor reimbursed for their travel expenses.
FDC Writing Award for 2021
For Works Published In 2021
Nominations will be accepted through May 30 for the Philip H. Ward Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature, presented annually by the American First Day Cover Society. All works published in 2021 are eligible.
All articles published in First Days, the AFDCS journal, are automatically considered. Others may be submitted to the Ward Award Committee chair, Mark Goodson, 315 East Dewey Street, Ellettsville, IN 47429-1901, bgdsn@comcast.net, either as clippings or .pdf scans of the articles as published.
Past works honored by the AFDCS reflect a wide variety of sources: The winners in both 2020 and 2019 —“The Fight for the Women’s Right to Vote" by Kris McIntosh and "Which Items Franked with 1913 Parcel Post Stamps Are Authentic U.S. First Day Covers?” by Ken Lawrence, respectively — were originally published in American Philatelist. The 2018 award was bestowed for a bibliographic series by David Zubatsky in First Days. The 2015 citation went to a book, Dorothy Knapp: Philately and Family, by Douglas Weisz.
The award is named in honor of Philip H. Ward (1890-1963), pictured above, the distinguished Philadelphia stamp collector, dealer and journalist who was a pioneer in the field of first day covers. The award was instituted by the AFDCS in 1964.
McClure to Present Zoom Seminar
Peter McClure, the designer behind most of the first day covers produced the AFDCS Cachetmakers Series, will tell how he does it, and how you can do it, too, in a free American First Day Cover Society online video presentation, "Computer Cachetmaking 101: The CEC Method." It will be offered live on Zoom on Sunday, January 16, at 8:00 pm EST, and available afterward on an upcoming AFDCS YouTube Channel.
McClure has been making cachets as "CEC" — short for "Cuv Evanson" — since 2011. Although he no longer produces CEC FDCs for commercial sale, he is the "CEC" found on recent AFDCS covers. (The "FM" is AFDCS Sales Chair Foster Miller, who handles the business aspects.) "Cuv Evanson" was a joke used for family business telephone calls.
For his cachets, Peter uses a desktop computer running Windows, a Canon inkjet printer and an obsolete graphics program, "Microsoft Home Publisher 99." All the artwork is found on the internet, books and magazines. In his presentation, he will explain how he finds the material, processes it and, eventually, prints it onto first day covers.
A former high-end retail store manager, McClure has no formal art training, yet his cachets are among the best sellers for many issues. Many of the designs have a touch of whimsy in them. You can see the currently available FDCs he has designed in the AFDCS Marketplace.
To watch the Zoom address for "Computer Cachetmaking 101: The CEC Method,” click this link, or the meeting ID 858 1456 8456 with a passcode of 858603.
Membership in the AFDCS is not required to attend the seminar.