Extends Thank You to Longtime Chair
There will be some changes to the management of the APS Translation Service after longtime Chairman Bobby Liao stepped down after 15 years. The APS will continue to offer Translation Services, but the management of the program will fall under the Expertizing Department. Ken Martin, Director of Expertizing will become the new point of contact for the Translation Service, working with our all-volunteer committee to continue offering the service to members of the APS and the American Topical Association.
Liao was appointed Chairman of the Translation Committee in August 2008 and served in the role for 15 years. Under his leadership, requests increased from fewer than 100 annually to as many as 600 annual requests. The Translation Committee fulfilled more than 3,700 requests, translating 528,600 words, totaling more than 3,100 volunteer hours. In 2020, the APS Board of Directors recognized Bobby’s contributions to the hobby with the Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Recognition Award for National Service.
“Bobby and the members of the Translation Committee have worked tirelessly to serve our membership over the years with amazing results,” said Scott English, Executive Director, “We’re grateful for Bobby’s long tenure as Chairman and his dedication to the APS membership. He’s an example for all of us in giving time and talent to our community.”
APS members may request up to twelve short translations (250 words or less) to English each year, and ATA members may request up to six translations. Any additional requests after that include a $5 service fee.
The Committee currently comprises 53 members covering 28 languages. Current language offerings include Afrikaans, Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Latvian, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil and Turkish.
“We’re proud to offer this service, but it’s success is dependent on our talented APS members supporting us with their skills,” added English, “We’re calling on APS members able to support translation work to volunteer to serve on the Committee.”
Call to Action
We’re actively seeking volunteers to add to the Translation Committee. A high priority is translators able to read and translate Chinese and Japanese. If you’re able to translate from a language other than those available, please contact Ken Martin, Director Of Experitzing at kpmartin@stamps.org
To Submit a Request
All translation requests should be sent to apstranslations@gmail.com. For more information on our Translation Service, please visit https://stamps.org/services/translations.
Please visit our website for news on the transition in the months ahead.