The ÉPA at BALPEX 2013

The ÉPA was one of four philatelic societies that had its annual general meeting (AGM) in conjunction with BALPEX 2013 in Hunt Valley Maryland from August 30 through September 1, 2013. The ÉPA meeting of the Board was held on the evening of August 29th with nine members of the Board present.

BALPEX 2013 was well attended, with 59 exhibits, including 9 Irish exhibits composed of 31 frames of Irish material.  All of the Irish exhibits won an award, as is explained in detail in Ray Murphy’s column. The bourse included 60 stamp dealers, many with some very nice Irish material. All of our members found something desirable for their collections. The members of the Baltimore Philatelic Society were gracious hosts and arranged for an awards banquet on Saturday evening.

The Annual General Meeting of the ÉPA

The AGM was held on August 31, at 2:00 pm with 14 members present.  The following business was conducted,
with Richard Kelly presiding at his first AGM.

• A moment of silence was held for three departed members:  Randall Burt, John McKenna, and Richard Crowe.
• Members present introduced themselves.
• The Minutes of the October 12, 2012 AGM were read by Secretary Sharkey and approved.
• The Secretary’s report indicated that there has been a decrease of 16 members since August 2012.
• The Treasurer’s report was read by Treasurer Clancy and indicated we are breaking even with finances.  He indicated that dues do not cover expenses, but contributions; auction revenue and journal ads bring us to about break-even. The report was approved.
• President Kelly reported on the meeting of the Board. There will be no dues increase. He indicated that The Revealer is in good shape under Editor Malone; is in full color with ample ads (please support our advertisers!) He discussed various ways that are being used to increase membership and that all must share their passion for Irish philately. We need more volunteers in order to share the workload and bring in new ideas. Bob Kemper is our new Auction Manager.
• Vice-President Ray Murphy reported on the revisions of Standing Rule 1 – Awards and proceeded to award the John J. Clark Award for outstanding service to the Association to Timothy O’Shea, our Special Offers Manager.
• Old business – none.
• New business – A lengthy discussion followed on ways to try to increase membership. These included the use of PayPal to pay dues; putting our auction online; improving our website and adding a members-only section; preparation of a CD on Irish philately, the use of Facebook and the distribution of stamps, supplies and copies of the Revealer to various stamp clubs.
• The meeting concluded with a presentation by Bob Benninghoff on encouraging our members to put their collections into an exhibit. He offered some generous inducements for members who are both new and and experienced exhibitors who are showing for the first time. Watch for Bob’s article in the Revealer. Bob was thanked for his generosity.
• The meeting was adjourned at 2:55 pm.

The highlight of the day was a presentation by our Treasurer Barney Clancy on Irish Propaganda Material. The display included stamps and labels issued for propaganda purposes prior to the establishment of the Irish State, as well as material or the recent past. Great interest for this material was shown by the audience.