At the last Council meeting June 12, we discussed what changes to the APS Manual of Philatelic Judging might affect our local stamp shows. This is a concern because the Council shows are judged on APS standards and feedback provided to our exhibitors on the APS Uniform Exhibit Evaluation Form (UEEF).
Effective January 1, 2017, the APS will be using a modified version of the UEEF which will include blanks to enter the point scores under each of the criteria. The APS is also moving to eight medal levels, adding Large Gold, Large Vermeil and Large Silver medals.
First the easy part: Local Council shows are free to decide on the types of medals they want to award. No one is forcing “Large” on anyone.
Currently, one show in the Council does not award “Silver-Bronze” medals, and that is just fine. So if you want to award up to 8 different medals, feel free to do so, but it is not required.
Now the harder part: Local Council shows should continue to provide feedback on the UEEF, unless the exhibitor opts out (there should be a place on the application saying “I do not want written feedback” or the equivalent). Some exhibitors just want to show their stuff for fun, or like several recent shows, show some frames in memorial to one of our members who passed. We want our shows to be available to any and all who wish to exhibit, including those who do not want written feedback. As always, the judge will discuss the exhibitor’s exhibit at the frames, if the exhibitor asks.
The UEEF will not contain points for exhibits at Local Shows unless the exhibitor asks for them. This request should also be done on the application form with a second statement, “Please provide point scores with the feedback” or the like. Many of our judges are APS-trained, and they should be able to handle this request as a normal part of their job. If the jury does not have a properly trained judge for point scoring, then the Council Judges Coordinator has agreed to serve as backup.
The purpose of this is to continue to support an atmosphere of fun and to foster creativity in our local shows. We also want to support those participants who want to get some idea how their exhibit might fare in a WSP national level show, such as WESTPEX.
WESTPEX 2016 — Honors for Many in the Council
Our Council Members received a large number of special awards in addition to a fair share of Gold and Vermeil Medals at WESTPEX, as can be seen by the many ribbons on several Council Members’ exhibits.
WESTPEX hosted several specialist societies, including the annual United Postal Stationery Society’s Champion of Champions event. This year, our own Wayne Menuz won the UPSS Champion of Champions with his exhibit, “Great Britain Compound Embossed Stationery 1855-1902.” Clyde Homen won the President’s Award of Merit of the International Society for Portuguese Philately, and Nigel Moriarty won the President’s Award of Merit from the Portuguese Philatelic Society, the other two hosted societies.
Gold Medals also went to George Krieger, Dennis Hassler, Henry Marquez, and Behruz Nassre-Esfahani. Apologies to any Council Members that are not mentioned.
Roy Teixeira’s exhibit, “US Naval Base 13 Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, Azores,” won a Gold Medal and several Special Awards.