The Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Recognition Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of American Philatelic Society volunteers at the national, regional and local level, and also recognize our younger members whose contributions and abundant talents are crucial to our future.
National Service
David D’Alessandris
David D’Alessandris joined the American Philatelic Society as a junior member and celebrates 40 years as an APS member this year.
He is the immediate past president of the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society (USPCS) and is currently the president of the American Revenue Association. David also serves as the assistant section editor for the “Foreign Mails” section of the USPCS Chronicle, and the coordinator for the Baltimore-Washington USPCS Chapter.
David has published numerous articles on his various collecting interests. He is a three-time winner of the Susan M. McDonald award for the best article in the USPCS Chronicle. He was also a winner of the Collectors Club of Chicago’s Pratt Award, the USPCS Distinguished Philatelist Award, and the USPCS Simpson Cup for service to the society.\
In addition to the USPCS Chronicle, David has published articles in the American Philatelic Society’s American Philatelist, the American Revenue Association’s American Revenuer, the Western Cover Society’s Western Express, the American Philatelic Congress’ Congress Book, and the Postal History Society of Canada PHSC Journal.
David is an occasional exhibitor, most recently showing a single-frame exhibit of Cunard Line Mail between Halifax and the United States at WSS-NY 2016 and CAPEX 22.
H. James Maxwell
Harvey James “Jim” Maxwell started collecting stamps as a young boy. His father made frequent business trips to New York City and brought back many packets for him. Jim’s passion for stamps started his entrepreneurial streak when he started travelling and setting up as a dealer at stamp shows, all before he was able to drive. While initially a worldwide collector, Jim narrowed his interests to Germany, Japan and China.
Jim graduated from the University of Missouri, Kansas City campus in 1972 with a Juris Doctorate. He practiced securities law from 1972 to 1984. His entrepreneurial streak continued when he started his own law firm in 1980. Things were a bit lean at first and the first time he couldn’t make payroll he sold the Germany; the second time, it was the Japan. In 1984, he founded the oil company PANACO where he served as chairman and CEO until 1998.
A lifelong resident of Kansas City, his other passion is the breweries and brewery branches located in Kansas City. He authored Hometown Beer: A History of Kansas City’s Breweries, published in 1999, the seminal work on Kansas City breweries.
Since 2007, Jim has devoted most of his time to the China Stamp Society (CSS), an organization founded in 1936, devoted to Chinese philately. He also serves as the consultant on China for the Smithsonian Postal Museum. Jim has served as a director of the CSS since 2005, president since 2007 and chairman since 1998. From 1999 to 2024 he served as chairman of the CSS Expertization Committee, which ceased operation in 2024 after losing many experts. He is the editor of the China Stamp Society Specialized Catalog of China to 1949, which appeared in editions in 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2021. The next edition is currently in preparation.
Since 2014, Jim has served as editor of The China Clipper, the CSS bimonthly magazine. Over the years, he has prepared more than a dozen exhibits of Chinese stamps and has won several grand awards. He has contributed articles to the AAPE and has helped mentor fellow exhibitors. He is also a member of the Greater KC MO Stamp Club.
You can always find him manning the CSS booth at the Great American Stamp Show.
Larry Rosenblum
Larry Rosenblum began collecting stamps at age 10 at the suggestion of his father. He quickly learned to put aside 16 cents to purchase a plate block of the latest U.S. stamp.
Following the usual hiatus, he resumed collecting and immediately fell in love with Great Britain’s mesmerizing, yet mystifying, Machins. A few years later, having deciphered the delightful definitives, he began to share his knowledge by writing a column, “Machin Mania,” for the quarterly journal of the Great Britain Collectors Club. The column continued, with some changes in emphasis, for 30 years.
In 1992, he joined with his friend and GBCC member, the late Rev. David Alderfer, to write the monthly column “Introduction to Great Britain Philately” for Linn’s Stamp News. In 2004, Linn’s published a revised collection of their columns, Introduction to the Stamps of Great Britain, part of Linn’s Handbook Series. In 2016, he crossed the channel to write the bimonthly column “Philately of France” for Linn’s and later Scott Stamp Monthly.
Rosenblum has written articles for the Booklet Collectors Club, the Graphics Philately Association, the Western Philatelic Library, the Great Britain Philatelic Society, the Modern British Philatelic Circle, and the France and Colonies Philatelic Society. Rosenblum’s writing has always been intended to help beginning and intermediate collectors understand, appreciate, and expand their collections.
In 1998, at the beginning of wide use of the worldwide web, Rosenblum established GBStamps.com as a website for news and articles about Great Britain philately. It was discontinued in 2009. He also contributed more than 200 posts to the Machin Mania blog, which is still available on the web.
Rosenblum has given presentations and workshops at many shows and club meetings. He was the first non-U.K. resident to give a presentation to the Great Britain Philatelic Society. Since the start of the pandemic, he has given numerous virtual presentations to clubs in the U.S. and U.K. He has served as an officer of the Great Britain Collectors Club, the Booklet Collectors Club, the Graphics Philately Association, and the France and Colonies Philatelic Society.
Patrick A. Walters
Patrick Walters’ interest in organized philately started in the 1970s in Michigan. He reestablished the Saginaw Valley Stamp Society and became instrumental in promoting local stamp shows in the Michigan cities of Midland, Bay City and Saginaw. He joined the Tri City Speakers Bureau and spoke to numerous local elementary schools and service organizations on the history of stamps and postal history throughout Michigan.
Walters attended his first international stamp show, Interphil, in 1976. As a result, he decided to join and contribute to several national philatelic organizations, and still does to this day. Since Interphil, he has been a volunteer at every U.S. international FIP exposition.
Walters is a 49-year member of the APS and a life member. He is an accredited APS chief philatelic and chief literature judge and has served on more than 90 juries. He is a life member of the American Air Mail Society and has served on the board as either an officer or member for more than 25 years.
Walters was one of the founding members and directors at Aerophilately 2014 and Aerophilately 2022 held at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He is the United States representative to F.I.S.A. for airmail.
Walters was the editor of the “United States Government Flights” section of the current American Airmail Catalog, 7th Edition. He has written and spoken extensively on Lindbergh flights, with several articles in the Airpost Journal and presentations at WSP stamp shows. His “Kansas Postal History” exhibit has been displayed at Kansas colleges and Universities. In addition, it has been shown and exhibited at several Kansas town special events and historical societies.
Walters is a charter member of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors and served on the American Philatelic Congress Council. He is a long-term member of many national philatelic organizations, including the Collectors Club of New York, the United States Philatelic Classics Society and the United States Stamp Society.
Walters divides his residence time yearly between Florida and Colorado and is an active participant and volunteers in both places with local philatelic clubs. Walters is retired from positions in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. In his last position he was the president and CEO of an international pharmaceutical company.
Local Service
Roy Gelder
Roy Gelder, a third-generation collector on his father’s side, has been collecting since an early age. After a hiatus for school and early career, he resumed the hobby in the mid 1990s. After moving to Chicago, he joined the APS in 2000 and became a life member in 2014. He is a member of the Chicago Philatelic Society, serving as its vice president, and is a member of the Collectors Club of Chicago, serving on its board of directors 2022-2024. At the CCC, he was an early champion of adding zoom access to club meetings to broaden membership participation.
Roy has supported and volunteered at the APRL, becoming a Vooys Fellow in 2022. He is working at the Collectors Club of Chicago’s library, processing prior donations and organizing the collection.
He enjoys helping the Chicago Philatelic Society hold the annual Chicagopex show each November in Itasca. “This show reaches so many people in and out of the hobby, and the members of the show committee are (justifiably) proud of Chicagopex and dedicated to the show’s success,” Gelder said.
Roy strongly urges collectors to volunteer for a local show when, no matter what task needs doing: “You get so much out of helping others and you develop a healthy understanding of the amount of work involved.”
Roy specializes in the 1906 issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the cancels of classic Austria. He is a published author on the Bosnia issues in the journals of the Graphics Philately Association and the Austrian Philatelic Society of Great Britain.
After a 35-year career in the rail industry, Roy and his wife live in Geneva, Illinois.
Gary Danzer
Like many collectors, Gary Danzer started collecting around the age of 10, answering an ad in a local newspaper from an approval dealer for 101 stamps for a dime. He told us, “At the time, I was eager to learn about geography, history and the cultures of different countries from around the world.”
Gary, a U.S. and worldwide collector, has been an APS member since 1979 and is a dealer member, as well. He’s been an officer with several philatelic clubs and groups, including the Northwest Stamp Club, Naperville Area Stamp Club, Glen Ellyn Stamp Club and Germany philatelic clubs. Gary has been a regular volunteer at several stamp shows, with a particular focus on youth collecting.
About 10 years ago, he started volunteering at the beginners' table at Compex and Chicagopex. One of his favorite engagements with children at the shows was that of a 4-year-old girl who attended the show with her parents:
“She was digging through a tub of stamps. At a point, she picked up a U.S. stamp, looked at me with a giant smile and proclaimed, "I found Batman." Well, that was priceless. She returned to Chicagopex the next year looking for the U.S. Wonder Woman stamps. As was the norm, several collectors in the room tried to help find those stamps without success. I knew I had the stamps at home, so I asked her mother for her address. A 5-year-old future collector received a set of the Wonder Woman stamps in the mail a few days after the show.”
Susan B. Jones
Susan B. Jones, of Chicago, is a retired geologist with eclectic collecting interests. Her topical collections and exhibits have included the African coelacanth, illuminated manuscripts, artist and scientist Maria Sibylla Merian, goldfish, and paleontology. She collects and exhibits first day covers for the 1957 U.S. Wildlife Conservation Whooping Cranes stamp. Currently, she is focused on collecting and researching the first day covers of Carol Gordon, for which she published a cachet checklist and illustrated catalog.
Susan belongs to the usual alphabet soup of philatelic societies: the American Topical Association, American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS), American Philatelic Society, American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, and Women Exhibitors; served as a director of the ATA and awards chair for the National Topical Stamp Show; and is vice chair of Women Exhibitors. On the local level, Susan is a member of the Collectors Club of Chicago Board of Directors, a member of the Rockford (Illinois) Stamp Club and past president of the Spring Hill Stamp Club in Dundee, Illinois.
Susan has been an active exhibitor since 2014 at the local, regional and national levels. She exhibits in the general class/display category and first day covers, and her exhibits have ranged in size from a single frame to 10 frames. Susan has earned medals from silver to large gold and occasionally has been chosen Most Popular.
Susan has received numerous exhibiting awards, including the Marge Finger and Fluegel awards from the AFDCS, an American Philatelic Congress Award, APS Research Award, AAPE Creativity Award, Collectors Club of Chicago Award, and a Best First Day Cover Exhibit from the AFDCS.
Susan has published numerous articles and one book. Articles have appeared in the journals First Days, Topical Time, and Yule Log; The American Philatelist and the APS online magazine StampEd. She published her book, Carol Gordon Unconventional Cachetmaker (a cachet catalog), in 2021, which won the 2022 AFDCS Philip H. Ward, Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature.