Retired teacher and long-time collector Irving Osterer, of Ottawa, has been nominated for a Chatty Award by the American Philatelic Society (APS).
Unveiled earlier this month, the Chatty Awards “celebrate our community’s ability to overcome the social challenges presented by COVID-19,” according to APS community specialist Heidi Rhoades. The awards centre on the more than 80 “Stamp Chats” produced by the APS since the pandemic began last March.
Collectors are invited to watch and vote for their favourite Stamp Chats in seven categories, including:
- “Connecting Philately with the Professional World”;
- “Stamps Teach”;
- “Creative Philately”;
- “Digital Philately”;
- “Cultural Philately”;
- “Destination Philately”; and
- “Philatelic Storytelling.”
Osterer is nominated in the “Stamps Teach” category for his Jan. 5 presentation, “Secondary School Design Process: A Philatelic Focus.”
In his presentation, Osterer thanked CSN, which he called “Canada’s philatelic voice,” for promoting the philatelic design projects he did with his art students. “I will also say that Canadian Stamp News really did a great job on those previous projects,” added Osterer. “They published all the results – students love to see their work in print – and they also awarded prizes for the ones that were the contest winners.”
Voting opened on Jan. 11 and will close on Jan. 31, with the winners revealed during a live-streamed event on Feb. 4.
To vote, visit stamps.org/news/chattys.