Joseph J. Geraci for his exceptional index of the Chronicle Annotated Cumulative Subject Index to the Chronicle of the U.S. Classics Postal Issues, Journal of the U.S. PHILATELIC CLASSICS Society for Issued 1 - 200. Research is soon forgotten unless it can be utilized and this CD makes innumerable word searches now realistic.

Joseph Geraci was born in 1934 at Newark, New Jersey. He attended Clifton, N.J. public schools and holds BS and MS degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University. His Master's thesis was "An Economic History of the Development of the United States Post Office, 1639-1789". Joe's business career was in accounting and financial planning and analysis. In 1985, he joined the National Philatelic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, and worked there until his retirement in 1999.

While working at the National Philatelic Collection, he researched, wrote and was curator for a number of exhibits, including:

Joe acquired a number of objects for the National Collection, including:

Joe began collecting stamps about the age of 10 and later joined the Clifton Stamp Society and the West Essex Philatelic Society, of Montclair, N.J. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the North Jersey Federated Stamp Clubs in 1962, and later served as Treasurer for nine years. He has interest in and expertise in transatlantic mail between Italy and U.S.

He began indexing The Chronicle in 1988 and published his results last year. Over the years he has written many articles for National Postal Museum publications, edited Mare Nostrum, an Italy & Colonies publication, and published more than 40 other articles, mostly for Italian postal history publications. His current project is a feature for the Postal History Journal entitled "Foreign Postal History in Other Journals", which he has been working on continuously since 1990.

Joe is currently a member of the Accademia Italiana di Filatelia e Storie Postale (Italian Academy of Philately and Postal History), and is of course a valued member of the Classics Society.

James N. Drummond for his continuing studies of back of the book material, such as College and School Stamps and also Official Seals of the World. Both areas have received little research.

Jim's mother and father both collected stamps when they were young. Jim discovered their forgotten albums in a closet when he was about ten. Neither album contained much of anything that was particularly rare or unusual, but the silent challenge of filling each box on each page with a stamp greatly appealed to Jim. The interest grew slowly until he was 14, at which time he received a giant worldwide album for Christmas. He then began weekly visits to the local drug store to purchase cloth bags of used stamp mixtures, and, much later, regular trips to local stamp stores, all in the pursuit of obtaining a "complete" collection. He has filled many albums since then.

Jim is now primarily interested in material that has previously been rarely, if ever, written about: the back-of-the-book stamps. In many cases they are "stamps" only in the sense that they are small squares of paper with ink on them, but they are otherwise far removed from "normal" postage stamps. For him, obtaining an exotic nineteenth century odd-ball stamp is as thrilling as another collector finally acquiring a similarly dated, perfectly centered postage stamp (though he will have paid a great deal less for his stamp).

Jim hopes to document some of these strange items by combining what he has with material from other collectors, and presenting the information in the form of a well illustrated book.. In 2007 he published the noteworthy and well-received "College and School Stamps" and also "Official Seals of the World". These works of scholarship are major contributions to the hobby. Jim plans plan to release at least three more books in the years ahead.

During normal hours Jim is a Local Area Network specialist for a major cosmetic manufacturer in Los Angeles. He has a patient wife and two beautiful daughters, both of which he hopes to one day introduce to the hobby of stamp collecting. We hope he is as successful in that venture as he has been with his research and publishing.

Hugh V. Feldman for his new book U.S. Contract Mail Routes by Water (Star Routes 1834-1875) which contributes much needed major new research in the field.

Hugh Feldman was born in London in 1943 and qualified in Pure & Applied Physics, working initially on research into sintered high temperature alloys and early compact computer wiring systems. From there he moved into sales and marketing and ultimately a director and board member for a leading British instrument maker.

Hugh has been married to Susan for 38 years and they have two sons; Konrad lives in San Francisco and Gideon in London.

His philatelic interest started at an early age and he sold his first collection at the age of 15. In the 1970's he became interested in the British surface-printed issues of the 19th century, in the 1980's it became Postal History. In addition to having published numerous articles, he received many major awards for his exhibits and published works. In 1998 his magnificent two-volume work, Letter Receivers of London 1652-1857 was published in conjunction with the Stuart Rossiter Trust and The Postal History Society.

His original work on U.S. contract routes by water based was published in 2008 by the Collectors Club of Chicago as U.S. Contract Mail Routes by Water, Star Routes 1824-1875, a spectacular volume by any measure. The research for this book required his searching of archival records in Washington spanning 326 volumes and over 190,000 manuscript pages.

Hugh's current philatelic activities are much taken up with preparations for the next London International Stamp Show in 2010 as the team leader for Finance. Despite a hectic business and philatelic schedule, Hugh always has time to help fellow students and to share what he has learned.

The Brookman Cup citation reads, "Awarded to a Member of The U. S. Philatelic Classics Society for Outstanding Service to the Society". This year's recipient is outstanding in many ways.

A person should be judged by his or her deeds and accomplishments, not by their rhetoric. Rob has completed many such assignments and is modest about all he does. He never says "no" to a request for help.

He serves as Membership Chair, Assistant Secretary and is the booth coordinator for shows. These efforts require many hours of hard work and sacrifice on Rob's part. We want him to know we appreciate it.

Rob is a soft-spoken gentleman, who works diligently for the betterment of the Society. He has helped us immensely with his unselfish devotion to our cause.

It is my honor to work with Rob and my pleasure to present him with the Brookman Cup award for 2007.

Mortimer L. Neinken Award, awarded by the Section Editors of the Chronicle, for the best stamp article in the 2007 Chronicles:

Matthew Kewriga: "The United States 1870 2¢ Jackson: From Conception to Finished Die," Chronicle 213.

This is a detailed and well-illustrated examination of the development of the 2¢ Andrew Jackson large Bank Note stamp of 1870, tracing the evolution of the design from the initial models to the completed die. Based on a study of all known essay varieties (11 types in all) and new archival information, Kewriga's article corrects the Scott catalog listings, adds new paper and color varieties, and shows in great detail how the National Bank Note Company fulfilled its contract obligation in creating this stamp. Crisp and well-explained illustrations help tell the story: A first-rate piece of stamp research.

Susan M. McDonald Award, awarded by the Section Editors of the Chronicle, for the best postal history article in the 2007 Chronicles:

Stephen B. Pacetti: "The Leeds Patent Envelope: A Review and a Possible New Earliest Known Use" Chronicle 214.

This is a well-illustrated overview of one of the earliest and best-known patent envelopes. Written in an engaging narrative style, with photos showing in great detail the intricacies of the various Leeds patent designs, this article traces the evolution of the Leeds envelopes, provides a useful summary of previous scholarship and adds much new information to the philatelic record.

Tony Wawrukiewicz is probably best known for his seminal references on U.S. postal rates, beginning with U.S. Domestic Postal Rates, 1872-1993, which he co-authored with the great Henry W. Beecher. Beecher died before the book went to press, leaving the responsibility to Wawrukiewicz to see it through to publication and to its warm reception by U.S. collectors. He subsequently completed and published the equally significant U.S. International Postal Rates, 1872-1996, also co-authored with Beecher, and a second, revised, edition of the domestic rate book bringing it up to date through 1999.

In 2000, he produced Canada: Domestic and International Postal Rates and Fees 1870-1999 (abridged rates), and a similarly titled book for Great Britain, giving abridged treatment of the rates and fees 1871-1999. By no means as comprehensive as the two volumes on U.S. rates, they still served as useful references for the general collector.

His next major work appeared in 1993, Redirected Mail: The Redirecting System of the US Post Office for First Class Mail, 1799-present, which was totally revised and updated as The Forwarding of Mail by the U.S. Post Office Department, 1792-2001 (published 2001). This is the definitive work on the subject, indispensable for the collector and student of U.S. postal history.

2007 saw APS publication of The Liberty Series, a book co-authored by Ken Lawrence, David Eeles and Tony Wawrukiewicz, another major publication and one for which his keen awareness of rates and usages was critical.

In addition to his books, Tony Wawrukiewicz has authored a continuing stream of articles on U.S. postal rates, markings and services, in such key journals as the U.S. Specialist, The American Philatelist, The Meter Stamp Society Quarterly Bulletin and Modern Postal History Journal. For the past four years he has written a monthly column on "Modern U.S. Postal History" for Linn's Stamp News. He has also served as editor of Auxiliary Markings since 2003 and has also contributed articles to that journal.

Given the extent of his publications on U.S. postal history, it is interesting to note that he also specialized in Australian stamps and markings, and his research articles have been published in the Australasian Informer; he is a co-author, with R.F. Parsons and J.M. Sandy, on the work-in-progress second edition of Commonwealth of Australia: The George V Twopence Die I.

Tony Wawrukiewicz is an accredited APS judge. His own exhibits include the postal history of the 1954 Liberty series (a Grand Award recipient), as well as national gold medal winning exhibits on the forwarding of U.S. domestic mail, the history of development of computer-generated meter postage, and "The Sun" (topical).

In addition to his activity in local and state philatelic events, he has served on the board of the Auxiliary Markings Club (2003 - present), was exhibits chair for the PIPEX Show Committee in 1983, 1991, 1991 and 2005, and has taught classes at the APS Summer Seminar in three different years. Tony Wawrukiewicz has been honored by receipt of the Diane D. Boehret Award of the American Philatelic Congress (1998), The US Philatelic Classics Society's Elliott Perry Cup (1999), and the Society's Stanley Ashbrook Cup (2001). In 2002, he was awarded the APS Luff Award (for philatelic research).

In recognition of the breadth and significance of his philatelic contributions, the USPCS is pleased to recognize Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz as a Distinguished Philatelist.