Gratitude & More Good News
I thought it would be appropriate in this month’s column to give thanks to those who have helped the APS during 2009. This has been a year of change for the Society, and in no area has that been more apparent than in the fiscal adjustments that have been put in place in order to get the Society onto a more solid financial footing. I will talk more on that at the end of my column.
Thank you…
…Staff — The APS staff has been instrumental in shaping this new paradigm and has made personal sacrifices to help implement it. Foregoing raises, matching pension contributions and bonuses through 2010, the staff has led by example their concern and willingness to pitch in. This has also required that they take on more responsibilities, as reductions of staff were necessary to achieve a balanced operating budget. The staff never ceases to amaze me with all they give of themselves to make the APS stronger.
…The Membership, Chapters, and Affiliates — You, the APS membership, continue to be very supportive of our Society; members are generous with their donations; your volunteerism helps to strengthen the APS and the hobby in general; you champion the Society’s objectives and goals and act as its ambassadors.
 …Boards, Committees, Judges, and Volunteers — All of the APS/APRL board members, their respective committee members, and volunteers serve without compensation for the betterment of the Society. Countless hours are spent in service of our organization in a myriad of ways; from volunteers working at the American Philatelic Center, in the library with the Education department or sorting mixtures for youth, to judges traveling on assignments, and other committees (for a complete list of APS committees, go to www.stamps.org/APS-Committees).
Volunteering to help the APS/APRL is an easy decision, but many people do not know how to begin. To that, I offer this quote on volunteerism from Elie Wiesel: “But where was I to start? The world is so vast. I shall start with the country I know best, my own. But my country is so very large. I had better start with my town. But my town too is large. I had better start with my street. No, my home. No, my family. Never mind. I shall start with myself.” If you want to volunteer to help the APS, please contact the APS Interim Executive Director Ken Martin.
Fiscal Adjustments — Phase II — APS Operating Budget
There is more good news on the APS operating budget. The APS Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt a plan that could generate additional income of $300,000 (most recurring annually). Kathryn Johnson, long-time APS member (since 1976) and former president of the Junior Philatelists of America, has had extensive professional experience in optimizing business unit margins. Kathy volunteered to spend the first week of September in Bellefonte with Ken Martin, and met with the department directors and some staff and evaluated ways to increase margins on undervalued services. Each evening, after conducting all-day meetings, Kathryn and Ken held briefing sessions with the Long-Range Planning Committee and volunteer David Hull, where the current department results were discussed. These individual brainstorming sessions appear to have been immensely successful; many thanks to the directors and staff for coming up with business-savvy solutions and embracing them, and kudos to all involved in this segment of Phase II (for Phase I info, please see President’s Column for June 2009). By the end of 2010, with only Phase I and this part of Phase II in place, the APS should have affected approximately a $600,000 difference (mostly recurring) from the original 2009 operating budget.
Yet there will be a lot more to accomplish in Phase II, where we will look to propose what the APS of 2030 might look like, largely by the services it will be asked to provide to its membership twenty years from now and how it will deliver those services. Based on these projections, this exercise could mandate how we proceed with these services and the assets owned by the APS/APRL. Immediate Past President Janet Klug is leading this effort in the Long-Range Planning Committee.
To be unassuming of the changes facing our Society, both sociologically and technologically over these next twenty years, would be irresponsible of the APS/APRL boards, so they, in unison, have agreed to this long-range study. We feel it better to face the future with an understanding of what is possible, probable and improbable, rather than the alternative, which is to fly by the seat of our pants. Necessary anticipation can prevent unnecessary perspiration. We look to draw from the smartest business and technology minds amongst our members, and to fashion a document without a preconceived notion of what should or shouldn’t be in our future, just what is best for the Society and its membership.
The APS staff, board and committees envision great things for our Society in its future and are appreciative of the support we receive from you. This trust can be only be earned, and we hope that over the past year we have demonstrated to you our sincerity to accomplish the goals we have set and by the paths we have chosen. For this, I again thank you.
 Staff Spotlight
Mercer Bristow, Director of Expertizing (APEX)
When I was eleven, my dad started placing used postage stamps in a small wooden butter mold (it still sits on my desk) and said if I ever wanted to collect stamps, there was my start.
When I graduated high school in 1969, I followed in my dad’s footsteps again and started a four-year enlistment with the Navy. After graduating from Towson State University with a business degree in 1977, I was hired by Matthew Bennett as an auction lot describer. On December 1, 1981, I started my first day at work for the APS — headquartered at the time in State College, Pennsylvania.
Soon I got involved with local community efforts (township planning commission) and then ran for public office as a Patton Township supervisor for a six-year term. Our meetings were telecast live and I enjoyed the spotlight. After my term ended in 2001, I discovered that Penn State University’s College of Communications was always looking for actors to appear in student film productions. Usually playing grumpy old men, I’ve since appeared in fourteen films, plus an annual role in a State College Community Theatre production.
The day job remains constant though, and after twenty-eight years in the APS Expertizing Department (APEX), I think I’ve got the hang of it. Krystal Harter and I have worked together for almost as many years to serve our APEX clients. I’ve have also enjoyed the opportunity to travel this job provides: taking in stamp shows around the country; doing some camping out west in years past (now hotels are preferred); visiting Rome, Berlin, London; participating in the annual APS StampCruises; and going as far away as Tahiti and New Delhi, India. But I always come home.
I don’t collect personally much anymore (Finland was a specialty), but I have continued an on-going education process by establishing and maintaining the APS Philatelic Collections of genuine and forged material. That and what I have accomplished as Director of Expertizing are what I hope to be my legacy to the hobby. I couldn’t find a better group of people to be associated with than those in philately. |
