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2008 Conflagration
at NAPEX on June 6-8
 The
VFP will hold its Second Annual National CONFLAGRATION
at the Washington, D.C. area's bigtime World Series of
Philately exhibition. Watch for information that will be
sent to all members in the mail. The highlight, of
course, is our big annual DINNER! Also, don't forget to
attend our annual meeting on Saturday! More on this in
our mailing coming to you.
Meanwhile,
you can sign up right now for the annual dinner
(which will be shared with the members of the
American Revenue Association)at the fabulous JR's
Stockyards Inn very near our hotel.
Here's
the scoop on the dinner: Choice of appetizer:
French Onion soup or She Crab soup. Choice of entree:
Prime Rib or Fresh Fish. Choice of dessert: grasshopper
pie or ice cream. The cost is just $47.00...and you can
reserve your spot(s) (spouses and companions invited,
too!) by sending in your check and specifying your meal
choices.
Send
to: Battalion Chief Eric Jackson, P.O. Box 728, Leesport
PA 19533.
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NAPEX
Hotel Info |
The
McLean Hilton Hotel at Tyson's Corner is a
wonderful hotel, very, VERY nice...with an attractive
$120 per night rate. Call the number below and ask for
the special NAPEX rate. Phone: 703-761-5111 or FAX at
703-761-5100. This is one of the finest hotels among all
World Series of Philately shows. Free parking, too!
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B.R.
McIntyre was the Fire Plug of the Visiting Firemen of Philately
when, as secretary of the organization, he issued this
membership card to W.F.Page in August of 1934. |
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Membership Benefits |
- A
special distinctive Gold Cloisonne Lapel Pin
given to each Fireman upon joining. See the VFP logo above
for the design of the pin.
- Colorful
Membership Card
- The
VFP Annual Conflagration held at a major
national stamp show. (First Annual: The Sarasota National
Stamp Show, Sarasota, Fla., in February 2007)
- Quarterly
Fire Drill Newsletter
-
Nominating Privileges for the Annual VFP National
Sparkplug Awards
- Camp Fires, Bonfires, and
other such warm activities when and wherever Firemen
gather. Wear your pin always!
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|
Wherever
two of more Visiting Firemen are together, it's a campfire! |
-
Herman "Pat" Herst was an original Visiting
Fireman and wrote about it in his books. In its early
days, the chief purpose of the VFP was simply to have some
plain old fun!
-
Originally founded as an organization of collectors and
dealers who frequently attended stamp shows,
the VFP began in 1933 as a social organization.
- The
membership dues were simple: If you were
invited to join the VFP, all you had to do was pick up the
dinner tab for all the other Firemen on the night you
joined.
- Things will be a bit
different with the new VFP, but the main purpose remains
the same: Philately is meant to be fun and, wherever
Firemen gather, wear your VFP pin proudly and build your
own CampFire with fellow Firemen you meet.
- Where the 21st Century VFP
differs from the old is in our KEY PURPOSE: to preserve
and study our hobby's heritage and to encourage
development of its emerging leaders.
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There's
More! |
Watch this
website for more news about impending VFP activities and how
you can not only participate, but help us further develop
this great new organization.
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Contact
Us... |
Need more info?
Well, there's no reason why we can't provide it! Just drop
us a message at
FireChief@visitingfiremen.org and we'll respond.
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Site designed &
managed by
 |
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| After 60 years,
the Visiting Firemen of Philately Is Reborn in the Spring of
2006... |
After
months of careful behind-the-scenes planning, six hobby leaders
have organized a Founding Council to create the rebirth of The
Visiting Firemen of Philately, an
organization originally founded in 1933 as an association of
collectors and stamp dealers who frequently attended stamp shows
across America. The early VFP, which existed for less than 20
years, included members from all walks of philately, from local
stamp club members to respected philatelic leaders like Lester
Brookman, ASDA Executive Secretary Peter G. Keller and Herman
Herst Jr.
The NEW
Visiting Firemen of Philately will begin accepting members
during the WASHINGTON 2006 International Exhibition over the
week of May 27-June 3.
The VFP’s purpose: to foster
the preservation of the history, heritage and artifacts of the
hobby, to encourage the development of philately’s future
leaders and to just plain have some good old-fashioned fun.
Numerous events, including an annual Conflagration, a
newsletter, and website, are being planned. Dues are a
once-in-a-lifetime fee of $50.00. For more information, see
below or Email us at
FireChief@visitingfiremen.org.
|
Philatelic
Leaders form the
VFP Founding Council... |
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Six of
American philately's best known leaders have joined together to
become the Founding Council of the Visiting Firemen of
Philately.
The six members of the
Council are APS president Janet Klug, APS past presidents Randy
L. Neil, John M. Hotchner and Dr. Peter P. McCann, American
Philatelic Congress president Stephen D. Schumann, and prominent
philatelic literature dealer and publisher James E. Lee.
The council's chief
responsibilities are to create the VFP By-Laws and initiate the
original governance of the organization---as well as formulate
and begin the initial meetings and activities.
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| How you can join
the VFP... |
| Every
philatelist devoted to our hobby's best interests---its history,
its wonderful heritage and engendering its future---is warmly
invited to join the VISITING FIREMEN OF PHILATELY. (And wait,
the word, "Firemen," in this case, has nothin' to do with
gender, by the way; it's an ancient term redeployed here.)
Joining is easy. Our dues are a once-in-a-lifetime payment of
$50.00. You can pay your dues in three ways: |
- Send your check for $50.00 to:
The Visiting Firemen of Philately, P.O. Box 6552,
Leawood, KS 66206-0552. Please send the bucks...as we're not
set up to accept credit cards.
- See any member of the VFP
Founding Council on the floor of WASHINGTON 2006
(or anywhere else) and ask her or him for a membership
application. Sometimes, you can even write your check for 50
clams right on the spot...and get your lapel pin just as
quickly!
- Ask any Fireman you see at a
stamp show. Most well-intentioned and upright
Firemen will carry with them a membership application or two.
|
Subscribe to the neatest stamp magazine
ever published (Hyperbole? You be the judge!)
This great new national magazine for both stamp collectors and
dealers featured the Visiting Firemen
of Philately in its very first issue last May.
The American Stamp Dealer
is issued ten times per year with a low introductory
subscription price of only $14.95.
Check out their
website...and see what all the hype is about. |
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