Todd Gantzer is a relatively new APS member, joining in fall of 2019. He is a topical collector as well as a collector of the stamps of Signapore and Sudan. APS interviewed Todd to learn more about what his experience in the hobby has been like so far and to find out more about his plans for the future in the hobby.
Read the interview below:
How did you learn about APS? - I learned about the APS during a web search when I first started collecting
What about APS made you want to join? - I needed information, there were no active local groups at that time in my area so if I wanted to learn more about my new hobby I had to start somewhere, I also hoped it would lead to meeting other collectors.
What stamps do you collect? - I collect Singapore, Topical Squirrels and have recently started with the stamps of Sudan.
What membership services do you use the most? - I do read the American Philatelist, but I have not really used most of the other services yet.
What services do you look forward to using/ what new services would you like to see? - I would love to see more web-based content, I believe that the online philatelic community (which I am a part of) is the future of the hobby and I would love to see the APS not just accept that but to be a leader in driving it.
What are you hoping to learn from being an APS member? - Anything! All knowledge is good and I would love to learn more about this hobby from others in it.
Has your knowledge of the hobby changed since joining APS? - Yes, I have matured a bit. I still have a long way to go but I have learned more since joining.
Anything else you would like to add/share? - I could write a book here....I would love to see the APS be a "resource hub" for the world of modern philately. I think the APS could convince local clubs to include an online component to their meetings. If clubs included a video conference link in meeting invites, they may be able to gather more members from the newer collectors that either can't attend meetings in person, or just do not want to. I think that it would also help reach out to the large pool of collectors that due to age or infirmity are no longer comfortable with traveling to an in-person meeting on a biweekly or monthly basis. The APS could build out a resource hub to help folks get set up for video meetings easily, at the cheap end, a cell phone or tablet on the table in the meeting hall could serve as a virtual seat where people remotely could connect, participate and share. I believe that this could also lead to clubs that exists online with no concern for physical location. ( Be on the lookout for Todd's article where he dives deeper into his experience with clubs in a future American Philatelist)
If you want to share your APS story, please send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!