The 2004 Annual Meeting of the USSS in New Jersey is fast approaching. The United States Stamp Society meeting will be held in conjunction with NOJEX, the annual stamp show sponsored by the North Jersey Federated Stamp Clubs.

The USSS will gather during the Memorial Day weekend, from Saturday, May 29th through Monday, May 31st, at the Meadowlands Crowne Plaza Hotel, Two Harmon Plaza, Secaucus, New Jersey.

The show will include an American Philatelic Society World Series of Philately exhibit competition, which will include more than 100 frames of United States and related material presented by USSS members. The bourse will be made up of 40 dealers from across the country offering a wide range of U.S. material.

The exhibit entries will cover a wide range of subjects such as the 1893 Columbian envelopes, the first day covers of the 1929 George Rogers Clark issue, the second airmail issue of the Canal Zone and U.S. private vending coils. A number of usage exhibits will also be displayed including the Washington-Franklin Series and the Liberty Series. In addition to the competitive exhibits, USSS members will find a special treat from the Philatelic Foundation. The PF will present a two-frame exhibit showing how it conducted its analysis of the famous 3¢ Orangeburg coil stamp (Scott #389), showing both genuine and faked copies. In conjunction with this exhibit, a member of the Foundation’s expertising staff will present a lecture about the Foundation’s experiences in analyzing this rare issue.

We anticipate that those members attending the show will be able to purchase the latest U.S. Stamp Society publication, U.S. Booklets and Booklet Panes, 1900-1978, Volume 1: Flat Plate Regular Issues by Donald B. Littlefield and Sam Frank. The Board recently approved a motion to send the final draft of this long awaited book to the printer and we should have the initial supply on hand at the show. The special member price will be $19.00 ($24.00 for non-members). I certainly recommend that every member add this volume to his or her library.

There will be a number of presentations and meetings throughout the weekend that are sure to be of interest to collectors of U.S. stamps. At 1 PM on Saturday there will be a meeting of the Second Bureau Issue Committee. Anyone with an interest in this issue, the 1902 Series, is welcome to stop in. Following this, at 2:00 PM, Rod Juell, our Project Manager coordinating the writing of The Encyclopedia of United States Stamp Collecting, will hold a workshop meeting for members who are writing, and those who would like to write, sections of this book. Even if you’ve never written an article before, stop by and talk to Rod. You’ll be surprised at what you probably have to offer to this very worthwhile project. Rounding out the day at 3:00 PM, Jeffery Shapiro, Chairman of the Presidential Issue Committee, will present a program titled “The Prexies: Common Stamps – Uncommon Usages.” Jeff always gives an interesting presentation and this should be no exception.

We will conclude Saturday’s activities with a Society tradition, the annual fellowship dinner. This Dutch treat dinner is always one of the highlights of our annual meeting and a good time is had by all. We will gather the troops as the show closes at 6:00 PM and head out for an enjoyable dinner and evening of fellowship. At the time of this writing, the location of the dinner is not yet confirmed but details will be available at the Society table.

On Sunday, the Board Meeting for Governors, Officers, employees of the Society and Committee Chairmen will be held prior to the opening of the show from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM. Our annual General Membership meeting is scheduled for 1:00-2:00 PM that afternoon. However, at 11:00 AM, Eliot Landau, Chairman of the newly formed U.S. Registered Mail Study Group, will hold a meeting for all those interested in this fascinating area and give a presentation built around a walk-through of a registry exhibit.

The American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors will hold host a seminar at 2:00 PM and the Judges Critique of the exhibits will follow at 3:00 PM. Immediately after the critique, there will be a Judging Seminar on a topic to be determined. The Sunday night awards banquet will be held at the hotel beginning with a Dutch treat cocktail hour at 6:30 PM.

The show and all of the aforementioned activities will take place on-site at the hotel. The hotel is offering special rates of $99 for a single room and $109 for a double room. To obtain these room rates contact the hotel at (201) 348-6900 and request the special the NOJEX rates. A special reservation form can also be obtained by contacting me at P.O. Box 1005, Mountainside, NJ 07092 or via email. Parking at the hotel is free. Although there is a $2 admission fee to the show, we have free passes available which I can provide.

The Society will have a booth at the show for the purposes of selling our publications, promoting the Society, recruiting new members and socializing with fellow U.S. collectors. Please contact me if you are willing to help staff the table. We could really use the help and any time you could spare will be greatly appreciated. In addition to those who volunteer, we will also have our officers, Board members, committee chairs and authors helping out. This will be the place to meet old friends and make new ones.

We look forward to seeing a large contingent of our members at this New Jersey show. A good time is sure to be had by all.

– Nick Lombardi
President