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Headline, August 14, 2006
APS Treasurer running for
Society president in 2007.
Dr. Nicholas G. Carter of Bethesda, Maryland, the American
Philatelic Society's Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors
since 2003, has thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate for APS
president. The election will take place in early 2007 with the term
running for two years.
Carter has an extensive management and financial background in both
philatelic and non-philatelic endeavors making him uniquely
qualified to hold the office of APS president.
A graduate of both Harvard and MIT, Carter's 37 year career as an
international economist and management specialist took him to many
part of the world, especially throughout Africa, the Middle East and
Asia. He retired from a senior position with The World Bank in 1998
after 32 years of service, and then spent 5 years as an independent
consultant.
Nick is a 40 year member of the APS and a third-generation stamp
collector. His grandfather was Postmaster of The Gambia in West
Africa. He is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, and
belongs to a number of APS affiliates, including the West Africa
Study Circle, United States Stamp Society, The Classics Society, the
Collectors Club of New York, the American First Day Cover Society
and the Great Britain Collector's Club and a variety of other
societies.
Most recently Carter served as budget director and chair of the
Technology Committee for the Washington 2006 World Philatelic
Exhibition.
He has already held many positions with the APS. As part of an APS
Committee for the Future, he authored a technical study of the
dynamics of APS membership. He presently chairs the APS Finance
Committee and has been a member of that group since 2001.
Nick has been an active director of NAPEX, the annual national World
Series of Philately stamp expo held in the Washington, DC area,
since 1995, serving in the positions of technology chairman,
webmaster (creating the first WSP exhibition web site), budget
director and treasurer.
Carter has been active in several non-profit activities as well,
including 32 years with the Boy Scouts of America; serving as
Scoutmaster, District Commissioner, District Chairman and most
recently as Assistant Council Commissioner. He served as a member of
the board of Kids Aid International and presently heads the Lay
Eucharistic Ministry at his church.
His campaign theme, "Stamps are for everyone," summarizes his
efforts to broaden the appeal of the APS to all facets of the hobby.
As Nick states:
"Our number one goal is to increase APS membership by raising
awareness of the benefits of the Society to casual through
specialized collectors alike," says Carter.
"Traditional stamp collecting is changing from the limiting
'fill-in-the spaces' and fly-speck approach of the past to a broader
appreciation of philately as a whole, including postal history,
cachet making, souvenir program collecting, post cards and ephemera.
Collectors are finding new philatelic niches and we need to meet
their needs while continuing to serve core stamp collectors."
"I have concentrated on 5 pillars, foundation stones if you will, on
which my campaign is based.
"Continuity. As part of the team that has brought the APS into a new
era, with a new building and new management, I will build upon this
foundation and continue the policies and initiatives that have made
the APS successful in recent years.
"Financial Soundness. After the turmoil of the early years of this
decade, we have achieved financial stability. Our budget is now
balanced and shall remain so. Our endowments, while modest, are
safely invested. We have embarked on a ten year capital campaign and
we understand what it takes to deliver quality programs. My record
on responsible financial leadership speaks for itself.
"Spreading the Joy of Philately. Members have a wide variety of
interests, many of which we now address. But, the APS needs to be
thought of as essential to all who engage in philately in any form,
and I will work to make that happen. There are many thousands of
collectors who are not members- primarily because we have not
reached their interests. My vision is to broaden our scope, to reach
these collectors, to have our products be something that
increasingly adds to their collecting enjoyment, and leads them to
join and remain members of the APS.
"Increasing Member Access to Information. We have a wealth of
information in the American Philatelic Center. Yet, for many, the
trip to Bellefonte is not feasible. We need to explore the means of
making information accessible – and certainly using the internet and
other electronic means, CD and DVD come to mind – to give our
membership information that adds to their collecting experience. Our
web site needs to have a members' only portal where the information
we offer is a benefit of membership, and it needs to be easily
accessed. Our Library should enlarge its on-line presence. At the
same time we need to explore making inexpensive printed monographs
available to members.
"Full time commitment to the APS. The Presidency of the APS is a
full time job. I pledge my full efforts to meet this necessity."
Candidate Carter is in the process of scheduling appearances at WSP
national and regional stamp shows across the country in the upcoming
months, and welcomes invitations to meet with interested collectors.
For more information, see the Carter for President web site at
http://www.NickForAPS.com
, email
nick@nickforaps.com
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