News


Announcements Destroyed In Postal Truck Crash The new show producers got off to a good start with their December 2006 event, but the February 2007 show was undercut by a freak accident, when a postal truck in the Schenectady, NY area crashed and burned, killing the driver, and destroying the contents, including 1,000 postcards being sent to previous show visitors. Damaged remnants of the announcments were returned to John J. Nunes.

Love & Kisses First Day Ceremony January 13 at Washington Metro Expo December 22, 2006 — The January 12-14 show will include a number of innovations of particular interest to collectors, including a first day ceremony for the new U.S. “Love & Kisses” stamp on Saturday, January 13. The official First Day of Issue site is Hershey, PA, and in keeping with the new U.S. Postal Service policy, the stamp also will be available for sale nationwide on that day. Metro Expo’s organizers have created a colorful, chocolate brown, cacheted cover—and are seeking to have the cancellation in chocolate brown as well. Metro Expos spokesman John Dunn says, “We are hoping that by the time we finish with the Chocolate Lovers cachet and cancel designs, collectors will be taking bites out of the cover.” The First Day of Sale ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. in the Metro Expo DC show room at the Washington Hilton at Dulles. Among theexpected guests are John M. Hotchner, past president of the American Philatelic Society, and currently a member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee. Making the opening remarks and introductions will be Show Manager Richard E. Murphy of Northboro, MA. In addition to its participation in the first day ceremony, the USPS will have a sales booth on January 13. With two other USPS new issues being released just days before (January 10, Ella Fitzgerald; January 11, Oklahoma Statehood), as well as a stock of many 2006 issues, the USPS booth will be an important stopping point for collectors visiting the show. How To Order the Cover The cover will be available at the show on January 12 or 13 unserviced for $2.50, and on January 14 serviced with the Love & Kisses stamp and Chocolate Lovers cancel for $3.50. Serviced covers also are available by mail while supplies last for $3.50, plus a #10 self-addressed, stamped envelope, or an additional 50 cents from MetroExpos, 42 Sentry Way, Merrimack, NH 03054, phone/fax 603-424-7556, e-mail stampnews@aol.com. Win a Big Kiss Visitors who register upon arriving at the show will be eligible to win “the World’s Largest Kiss”, a huge, hollow, Hershey’s chocolate Kiss product with more Hershey’s Kisses inside. The drawing will be held at the end of the show and to assure freshness, the “World’s Largest Kiss” will be shipped by Metro Expos directly from Hershey’s to the winner. The show will have more than 40 dealers from across the nation. Metro Expo DC is the first major show of the year in the mid-Atlantic states region. Coming off the late-December/early January holiday season hiatus, participating dealers will be especially well stocked, and eager to meet and greet visiting collectors, offering visitors stamps and postal history from the earliest pieces to modern new issues from the United States and around the world. In addition, while formal appraisals cannot be provided at the show, visitors with collections to sell will be able to obtain appraisal guidance from participating dealers. Collectors will also find important rarities and other interesting individual pieces on display at dealers’ booths. And for adults or youngsters who may want to begin a stamp collection, everything you need to get started including free stamp collecting literature can be obtained at this annual show.

The principals of Metropolitan Expositions LLC are, from left: Elaine and John Dunn, John J. Nunes, and Richard E. Murphy New Group Operating Metro Expo Shows Sept. 1, 2006 — The newly formed Metropolitan Expositions LLC has announced the purchase from Metropolitan Expositions, Inc. of its operating assets as well as the New York and Washington, DC shows run by that organization. The very successful Metro Expo New York and Washington shows have been produced by Michael Stern of Towaco, New Jersey, for more than 18 years. Metropolitan Expositions LLC is the product of a partnership formed by three successful show promoters in their own right, and their acquisition of the New York and Washington shows has been warmly received by participating dealers and collectors. The Partners Richard E. Murphy Richard E. Murphy of Northborough, Massachusetts. has staged his own First Sunday shows in Dedham for more than 20 years, as well as producing the annual NESS/Metro Boston show and managing recent NEASDA shows in Massachusetts. Murphy also operates a stamp business under his own name. John J. Nunes John Nunes of Scotia, New York, operates a number of shows in midstate New York, including Cover Mania, Post Card Mania, the RS shows in Rochester and Capital District Stamp Shows in Albany, as well as the Paper Mania show in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He is a partner in the Tonure Group’s Weekday Stamp Shows held throughout the Northeast. Nunes also operates a stamp and cover business under the name Nunesnook in the United States and Canada. John and Elaine Dunn John and Elaine Dunn of Merrimack, New Hampshire, operate the Connecticut Stamp Collecting Festivals, which began in 1972 as the Second Sunday Stamp Shows. Mr. Dunn also produced three-day Connecticut Festivals in the Hartford Civic Center. The Dunns own Stamp News, which publishes Mekeel’s & Stamps weekly and U.S. Stamp News monthly. Our Pledge In announcing the acquisition, the Metropolitan Expositions LLC principals pledged to continue to work in cooperation with existing organizations and shows, including the ASDA Postage Stamp Mega-Events that are held semi-annually in New York. In a joint statement, they explained, “The goal will be to increase the total number of collectors in areas where Metropolitan Expo shows are conducted. We have all promoted our own shows in the local non-philatelic media as well as through the philatelic media and will carry over to Metro Expos our previous success in recruiting new collectors to organized philately. We seek growth, and invite the participation of any organizations, large or small, local or international, who want to work with us to increase the size of the stamp collecting pie instead of just trying to carve out a larger slice from a shrinking pie.” While the acquisition was finalized in advance of the September New York Metropolitan Stamp Show, the first event that will be operated by the new owners will be the free-admission December 8–10 New York Metro Expo, which will be held at the Midtown Holiday Inn, 440 West 57th Street. The first DC show under the new owners will be held January 12–14, 2007, at the Hilton Washington at Dulles Airport. In addition to all of the features that have made this show popular for more than 18 years, the new owners have plans to increase the size and appeal of the shows by stepping up marketing efforts, and increasing the number of drawing power of the participating dealers. Additional sites and show acquisitions will also be considered on a case by case basis. Get More Information For additional information on the December New York show as well as the complete 2007 Metro Expos schedule, contact John Dunn, 800-635-3351, stampnews@aol.com. For dealer space availability and information, contact Richard E. Murphy, 508-393-9732, DickMurphy@aol.com, or John Nunes, 518-399-8395, NunesNook@aol.com.