Philatelic Tidbits

A couple of years ago, I asked at VSC why we couldn’t get some of the American Philatelic Society‘s(APS) summer seminar courses taught at some shows out here on the west coast. I also asked Dennis Gilson personally at the Philatelic Fiesta two years ago. Well, it looks like someone has finally listened and we are going to get some action!! Yahoooo!!! Please see the following press release for more information.

Course at WESTPEX Among
the
Spring Attractions from the Education
Department at the
APS

Hard on the
heels of the recent success of “The Essentials of Aerophilately” — a two-day
course October 17–18 at the American Philatelic Center — the Education
Department of the American Philatelic Society has unveiled the first of its
planned offerings for collectors in the year to come.

Spring 2008
will see the initial APS “traveling tutorial” — an intensive course offered on
the road in conjunction with a World Series of Philately stamp show. Veteran APS
instructor Dennis Gilson will offer a two-day version of his popular Summer
Seminar course on “The Washington-Franklin Issues” on Wednesday, April 23, and
Thursday, April 24, 2008, immediately prior to Westpex 2008 April 25–27 in San
Francisco, California. This course is not just for the expert collector, but for
anyone who has collected or wants to collect these classic issues. A minimum of
eight students is required for the course to be held. Registrants will be given
one month’s notice in order for them to have sufficient time to arrange for transportation and accommodations, which are not included.
The course fee will be $195 for APS members, and $295 for non-members. Details
of “The Washington-Franklin Issues,” including a link for online registration,
are available at www.stamps.org/Education/edu_Courses.htm

The first 2008
weekend courses at the American Philatelic Center will be “Collecting Revenues”
with Ron Lesher and “Collecting First Day Covers” with Lloyd de Vries. Lesher is
past president of the American Revenues Association, former APS Director at
Large, a Director of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors and
longtime revenues columnist online and in the weekly philatelic press. De Vries,
First Vice President of the American First Day Cover Society and a past APS
Secretary and Director-at-Large, has written columns on first day covers for
more than 20 years for the weekly philatelic press. He manages The Virtual Stamp
Club online, and produces a weekly radio stamp collecting report for CBS News.
Since 1983, he has produced his own line of first day of issue cards, and for
about eight years, was a weekend bourse dealer selling FDCs and related
material.

The courses
will be offered Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12, 2008, in Bellefonte,
Pennsylvania.

Planning is
well under way for the 28th Annual Summer Seminar on Philately, June 22–27, at
APS Headquarters. Since 1980, these annual conclaves of like-minded collectors
have become a mainstay of the stamp hobby, spreading philatelic fellowship and imparting the latest thinking and knowledge
through intensive, expert lectures and hands-on workshops.

To learn more
about these and other educational opportunities, contact Gretchen Moody by
e-mail at gretchen@stamps.org
or call 814-933-3810.

APS, stamp collecting, stamp course, stamp education, Washington Franklins, WESTPEX