The American Philatelist May 2018

EDUCATION ...........................................................................................................................
BY DAVID MCKINNEY YPLF Fellow - Guest Columnist
Guiding Our Next Generation
Looking Back at 10 Years of the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship
I
was a 17-year-old high school student in August
2010 when I visited the American Philatelic Society’s
StampShow in Richmond, Virginia. While perusing
a sales booth, I was unexpectedly introduced to a group of
young stamp collectors. I had been collecting for less than
a year but immediately felt welcomed by this group of philatelists
who were all my age and were members of a group
called the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship (YPLF). At the
time I had no idea that a year later I would also be a YPLF
Fellow. It was a group that would help transition me from
a part-time stamp collector into a serious philatelist, lead to
philatelic trips around the country and the world and shape
friendships over a shared love for philately.
The YPLF story doesn’t begin here, though. In fact, by the
time I entered the program in 2011 there had already been
two classes of successful Fellows. The idea of an organization
in the APS specifically catered to mentoring and developing
young leaders began in February 2008. Alex Haimann was
asked to speak at the Tiffany dinner in Charlotte, North Carolina,
specifically on the topic of how to make stamp collecting
more interesting to young people. There was an obvious
lack of younger people in the hobby.
At the time, Alex was 21 years old and only knew two
other people in his age range that were actively involved in
the larger hobby. Alex’s initial motivation for creating a philatelic
youth program was to help grow the hobby, specifically
future leaders. While traveling to various shows, he had met
enthusiastic young collectors. Alex noticed a trend of youth
in philately. The traditional means of attracting young collectors,
for example, the Boy Scout Merit Badge or youth tables
at shows, work at exposing the hobby. But after initially being
introduced, most young people generally become disinterested
without support of a larger group. A program for young
collectors could follow-up and support young people in collecting.
It would also need to create a network able to stay in
touch with young collectors to help them continue collecting
into adulthood. The solution was a program that Alex named
the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship. This is the idea he
presented at the Tiffany Dinner.
There had never been a program that was specifically designed
to mentor and develop future leaders in the hobby.
The goal of the Fellowship, according to Alex, would be to
“seek out and include the most enthusiastic and best minds
among the young generation of philately.” Philatelists between
the ages of 10 and 25 could submit applications. Once
selected, Fellows would choose between an author, dealer
or exhibitor track. Each of these tracks would teach Fellows
about the philatelic field and require them to complete a specific
project.
The Fellowship would begin at the APS Summer show
and end a year later at the same show. The YPLF would grant
unprecedented access to the hobby. Fellows would be paired
with an expert in their field of interest and would also have
the opportunity to travel to shows and philatelic locations.
Finally, Alex wanted the program to be offered at no expense
to the Fellow.
Following the speech, Alex, with the help of APS Education
Director Gretchen Moody, began working on making
the program a reality. Alex began looking for sponsors while
Gretchen reached out to possible applicants. In August 2009
at the APS Summer Show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the
first class of Fellows began.
The first class of Fellows each chose a different track and
attended the APS Winter Show as well as a trip to the American
Philatelic Center and the Smithsonian National Postal
Museum. At the 2010 APS Summer show in Richmond, Virginia,
the first class of Fellows graduated. The first year of the
Fellowship had been a success and three more Fellows began
the Fellowship at that show.
456 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / MAY 2018