American First Day Cover Society

Michael Lake and James Tatum Jr. are the 2026 recipients of the American First Day Cover Society's Glenn C. Michel Award for Service to the society. 

Mike (right) is currently Chair of the Education Department of the AFDCS, recognized as an educational non-profit by the IRS. Among his accomplishments during his tenure are establishing the AFDCS YouTube Channel and coordinating the video presentations on it, and helping the AFDCS make available the Mellone cachet catalogues. In addition, he writes a regular column in First Days, the AFDCS journal, on ArtCraft cachets, a major influence on the FDC specialty. He is an elected member of the Board of Directors.

Jim (left) recently stepped down as Chair of the Honors & Awards Committee and for many years ensured that as many participants as possible at Americover, the annual convention and exhibition of the AFDCS, signed the envelopes which are placed in the AFDCS Archive. He also has served on the Board.

Most members do not know that as television-film editor Jim edited national television commercials and worked with Rankin/Bass Productions on animated movies such as “The Hobbit” and “The Last Unicorn” plus the “ThunderCats” and “SilversHawks” animated series. Mike was a college sports marketing and production executive at ESPN before opening a Signarama franchise, producing a different kind of communications media.

Steven M. Ripley of Florida has been elected chair of the Board of Directors of the American First Day Cover Society. He succeeds Cynthia Scott of Indiana, who held the position for a number of years. In an interesting development, she replaces Ripley as chair of the Honors and Awards Committee.

Ripley has held many roles in the society, but is best known as the innovative chair of its Americover show and convention. He received the AFDCS Distinguished Service Award, its highest honor, in 2005. In addition to being a Life Member of the AFDCS, he is also a life member of the American Philatelic Society, American Topical Association, and other philatelic organizations. His specialties include the Walt Disney issue of 1968.

Outside philately, he is a supervisor of transportation and parking for major events such as the Super Bowl, NASCAR auto races, the Kentucky Derby and concerts. He also provides management services for non-profit and start-up businesses.

The Chair of the Board is elected by the members of the Board. Neither the chair nor other Directors are compensated in any way for serving on the board, although they may receive reimbursement for expenses not related to serving on the board or attending meetings.

The 1948 Wisconsin Statehood Centennial Issue: Making, Celebrating and Using the Stamp, by John A, Paré and Ralph H. Nafziger, is the 2025 winner of the American First Day Cover Society’s annual Philip H. Ward, Jr., Memorial Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature.

The 154-page book, published by The Collectors Club of Chicago, begins with a short history of Wisconsin, followed by the development of the stamp (Scott 957) from an idea to the finished product. It then traces the activities surrounding the first day in Madison and six cachetmakers whose first or only cachets were for this issue. It also includes a list of all known cachets for this issue and price ranges of their values, biographies of the cachetmakers and color illustrations of most of them.

Nafziger is a retired research chemist/research supervisor at the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines. He lives in Oregon and is Executive Vice President of the AFDCS. Paré is a retired U.S. Navy captain and high school vice principal who lives in Wisconsin.

The book, which won a Vermeil award at the Chicagopex 2025 literature competition, is available from the Collectors Club of Chicago, 1029 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60610 for $45 (hard copy) or $15 (eBook). Visit www.collectorsclubchicago.org The book is also available on Amazon.

Mark Thompson's book Women of the Black Heritage Series: from the Fields of Slavery to the Halls of Congress was the 2025 runner-up for the Ward Award. It is available from Amazon.

Philip Henry Ward, Jr., began servicing first day covers in 1909. An electrical engineer by trade, he wrote on new issues for The American Philatelist, Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News and The Weekly Philatelic Gazette in the early 20th century.

Self-nominations are now open for the Board of Directors of the American First Day Cover Society, the largest not-for-profit FDC organization in the world. Each year, the membership of the AFDCS elects four people to serve on its board for three-year terms.

Those running for the board must be members in good standing and are expected to submit a statement of no more than 300 words and a photo. There is no other "qualifying process" for nominations: No 10-member petitions, minimum tenure in the AFDCS, nor the ability to recite cachet catalogue numbers from memory. Reasonable proficiency with email is expected.

Once elected, Directors are expected to attend the one in-person meeting a year (held the night before the convention, which in 2027 will be held at Great American Stamp Show in Albuquerque, NM) and ad hoc online meetings, participate in email discussions and vote electronically on matters that come before the board. The ballot and the candidates' statements are mailed to members in the fall. The terms begin on January 1.

Bobby Liao of California is chairing the AFDCS 2026 Nominating Committee, aided by Steve Ripley of Florida and Chris Calle of Connecticut. Those wish to run, or who would like more information, should contact Bobby at bottlingcachet@yahoo.com. 

The AFDCS Board of Directors consists of 12 elected members, plus three ex-officio members: the president, editor, and general counsel. (The Society's complete bylaws are available at www.afdcs.org/bylaws). Directors are not compensated in any way for serving on the board, although they may receive reimbursement for expenses not related to serving on the board or attending meetings.

If you're unable to attend, you don't have to miss out on all the fun!

• You can attend the Board meeting via Zoom using https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89063380865?pwd=abele8Xw1TwCZs6UFbQmnZD0suAoEG.1 (If a passcode is required, it's 523655.)
• You can attend the Membership Meeting via Zoom using https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81752575684?pwd=au1V2zlvX3JSRKJRfWjXZKXuzKAlpe.1  (If a passcode is required, it's 492567.)
• The Cachet Contest results should go live on our afdcs.org site shortly after 10 am Saturday.
• You can bid in the Hospitality Suite Silent Auction even if you're not enjoying our hospitality. Details a

Here are some last-minute notes:

• Admission is free.
• There's a Hospitality Suite each night, Thursday through Saturday.
• The Board of Directors meeting is tonight, Thursday, at 8 pm, and open to the public. It's in the Delaware Room.
• Please send your photos of the show to Tony Bard for inclusion in First Days. Use editor.firstdays@gmail.com
• Our annual membership meeting is at 9 am in the Delaware Room, followed at 9:30 am by the Cachet Contest results.
• Are you going to the Sunday night pay-on-your-own post-show dinner? It's at G&M Crabhouse. Let us know so we can give the restaurant a headcount.
• The location for the by-invitation-only Sunday morning Charter and Life Member Breakfast has been changed from the Delaware Room to the Washington/Virginia Rooms, which are next door. The time is still 8:30 am (correct).

The planning and preparation are nearly done, but we need people to help out during the show, which is being held August 7-9 at the BWI Airport Marriott in Maryland. Specific "volunteer opportunities" are:

• AFDCS Promotion/FDC Information (2-hour shifts at the table in the bourse area)
• AFDCS Sales (2-hour shifts at the table in the bourse area)
• Affixing Stamps to Covers (one person for each of the 3 days)
• Hospitality Suite (one person to open, one to close each night, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, with some overlap)
• Silent Auction Closeout (2 needed, Saturday night only, 10 pm to midnight)

The Hospitality Suite opens each evening at 8 pm and closes at midnight. Besides keeping an eye on things, the volunteer will put out additional snacks and supplies as needed. The AFDCS table will be in the bourse area. The Hospitality Suite is just across the hall: No long hikes as at GASS! No need to use GPS as at some other shows!

If you are available to help — just two hours! — please email coordinator Ralph Nafziger now at nafzigerralphh@gmail.com and tell him when and for what you are available.

Now you can participate — and win — in the Americover Silent Auction even if you can't make the 2026 show, which is being held August 7-9 at the BWI Marriott (at Baltimore-Washington Airport) in conjunction with BALPEX 2026. All 105 lots can be seen online by downloading this file and submitting a bid via email.

The lots include FDCs from the 1930s to the present, and cachets ranging from typed to hand-painted. The cachetmakers represented include Dave Bennett, Kendal Bevil, Judith Fogt and many other familiar names. And the minimum bids for all of them is just $5.

Collectors "playing at home" have until Saturday August 8 at 10 p.m. Eastern time to email their bids to dalux2041@gmail.com, putting "silent auction bids" in the subject line. Multiple bids may be listed in a single email, but all bids must include the bidder's name, address, telephone number, and, of course, the lot numbers and amounts of the bids.

The lots will be on display in the American First Day Cover Society Hospitality Suite at Americover/BALPEX, where additional bids likely will be made. The emailed bids will form the basis for the opening bids, and those in the Hospitality Suite will know what the highest at-home bids are, so if you really, really want an item, bid generously.

The Silent Auction operates differently than a traditional auction: The lots are on display, and bidders at Americover write their bids on public lists — silently. Bids are not knocked down to an increment above the next-highest bid, so the winning bids are the actual maximum amounts collectors are willing to pay. Bids must be in even-dollar amounts. (Fractional bids make no cents!)

This is the first year that at-home bidders can see scans of the lots, by downloading the PDF file.

All the lots were donated to the AFDCS and all proceeds will go to help cover Americover expenses.

The contract can be downloaded by clicking here. Tables are $75 each and will be set up in the foyer outside the dealer bourse. American First Day Cover Society or American Philatelic Society membership is required. Space is limited and subject to prior sale. You'll find more details in the contract.

Cachetmakers Bourse dealers are only allowed to sell material they have made themselves.

This will be the top selling opportunity for FDC producers this year, so don't miss out. Sign up today!

New Flag Envelope to Debut at Americover/BALPEX 2026

The Diagonal U.S. Flag Stamped Envelope will have its first-day launch at Americover 2026/BALPEX 2026 on August 7 in Linthicum Heights, MD. The combined show is being held at the BWI Marriott at Baltimore Washington Airport.

The tentative-but-likely design is shown below.