The Board of Governors awarded Wallace Cleland, #6470, the Century of Service award at the 80th Anniversary banquet held at the National Postal Museum, May 30, 2006. The award, recently named in honor of George W. Brett, is given to a member for outstanding service to the Society.
The citation read at the presentation ceremony stated:
This award honors Wallace Cleland for his extraordinary dedication to United States Stamp Society.
Since the earliest day of his membership in 1966, he has been a leader in the research and study of plate numbers and plate markings. For forty years Wallace has been one of the most prolific contributors to The United States Specialist on a wide variety of topics from plate numbers and markings, coil production, production of the Series of 1922 to the Washington Franklin Series Coil Waste Issue. He is notably recognized for original research on revenue stamps and revenue plate markings.
Wallace Cleland served as Chairman of the Plate Number Check List Service for many years, and in 1989 he was elected to the Board of Governors. In 1992, Wallace was elected to the Chairmanship of the Board of Governors and in August of that year also served the Society as its twelfth President through the remainder of that year. He served with distinction as the Society’s Board Chairman though 1997, continuing his contribution to plate number studies.
Wallace Cleland is a two time recipient of the Society’s highest award for research published in The United States Specialist, having garnered the Hopkinson Memorial Literature Award in 1986 and 2002. He was also co-editor of the 2005 edition of the Durland Standard Plate Number Catalog, one of the Society’s most important contributions to philately.
The Board of Governors recognizes member number 6470, Wallace Cleland, as the recipient of the United States Stamp Society’s Century of Service Award.