During StampShow in Grand Rapids, two issues surfaced that need to be addressed. The first is way down the road but calls for action in the next year; a site for the 2016 international show. The second deals with the resume required for the next executive director of the APS.

Why Not Columbus?

The organizing committee for Columbus 2016 (I would like to think of it as Ameripex2 in keeping with a Midwestern theme) made a pitch to the APS board, in Grand Rapids, to host the next international show to be held here in the United States. My sources tell me they put forth a fairly strong blueprint for the show. A second sketched out proposal was put forward calling for New York City to host the show. The board did not make a decision. Instead they asked additional questions of both parties to be answered at some time this fall.

I think most people, given a choice between Columbus, Ohio and New York City, would choose New York City hands down. After all New York is a premier world class city. However before you pull out your cell phone or fire off an email to the Match Factory in favor of New York lets take a look at some of the facts. Remember we are talking about an international stamp show, the super bowl of philately, not the world series of shopping or gastronomic overindulgence.

I have done shows in New York and throughout the country for over 15 years. From a dealers perspective I would prefer Columbus over New York and here's why. First, the venue in New York would be the Jacob Javits Convention Center which is located in a no man's land. It is not convenient to hotels. Sure you can take a cab there but try to get one at 6 PM after the show closes for the day. Other than the diner across the street there a very few restaurants within walking distance. The facility is not user friendly to dealers. Collectors don't like the venue because it is so far removed from New York's transportation hubs. The ASDA finally got the message and moved the Fall and Spring Mega Events back to Madison Square Garden. Attendance at the Garden is on the rise over the Javits venue. Unfortunately the Garden does not have the exposition space to host an international show.

Second, Columbus has the venue, the convention center served as the site for StampShow 2003. There are two hotels adjacent to the convention center. There are any number of great restaurants within walking distance of the hotels. My wife, Melanie didn't have any problem finding high quality shopping in and around Columbus. It is a major airline hub. International attendees will have no problem coming through New York, Chicago or the west coast to get to Columbus. I just don't buy the argument that international attendees would come to New York but not Columbus.

Fourth, Columbus has an organizing committee in place. The group is young enough to pull this off in ten years. They have plenty of show organizing experience. I understand that they have been and plan to continue shadowing the 2006 committee.

Fifth, the cost of a show in Columbus would be considerably less than one in New York. My total costs for Pacific 97 ran about $12,000.00 for 11 days ($1,100.00 per day). I project the cost of Washington 2006 to run about $16,000.00 for eight days ($2,000.00 per day). I would prefer to not have to pay $20,000.00 to $24,000.00 to do a show in 2016.

Finally, how can you not support a city that boasts of being both the home of The Ohio State University (always wondered about the "The") and that epicurean master Dave Thomas.

I have heard, but not confirmed, that Bob Lamb plans to retire after Washington 2006. Whether this is true or not his reign is nearing a close. Our next executive director must be a Certified Association Executive (C.A.E.) and here is why.

For to long we have settled for insider choices and have gotten just what we paid for. We are an association of just over 44,000 strong (eight years ago we were pushing 60,000 members) and deserve to have the best talent at the top we can find and pay for.

In my former life, in the printing industry, I witnessed first hand, for 14 years, the benefits of having a C.A.E. running our trade association. This person was worth their weight in gold when it came to growing the size and influence of our association. The funny thing is he didn't know the first thing about printing when he started. His expertise was building and growing associations.

We need a person, woman or man, who has the capacity to come in and grasp the concept of our product and apply their skills toward building membership and raising the money necessary to grow and expand the reach and influence of our association.

We have lost nearly 25% of our membership over the past eight years. I don't buy the mantra that we are an aging hobby with members dying off and no one to replace them. This has become an accepted unchallenged fact and it is flat out not true. There has been tremendous growth in our hobby. Just look at the number of people involved in eBay today. It didn't exist ten years ago. Look at the growth of the publicly traded Greg Manning Company. I look at the source of my own growth over the past 15 years. I get one or two new clients every week via my website. The internet was just a pup eight years ago. We need someone savvy enough to recognize the changes in the marketplace as they occur and make the necessary adjustments to capitalize on them.

We have an amazing hobby that can be of benefit to most anyone. Our potential for growth is unlimited. A search committee needs to be formed now to find the right person for the job. We must think beyond the hobby for this person. No prior philatelic experience necessary should be required. This woman or man needs to excel at four things. First, ability to grasp and understand our product; second, a track record building membership; third, a track record of raising money from within the association; and fourth, strong management skills and ability to attract the right additional staff as required.