At its recent annual general meeting (AGM), the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) celebrated 11 members who have belonged to the country’s national stamp club for half a century.
The 50-year members include:
- Paul Arcand, of Québec City, Qué.;
- Joe Caplan, of Willowdale, Ont.;
- Ross Gray, of Peterborough, Ont.;
- Lorne James, of Victoria, B.C.;
- Conrad Laubach, of Waterloo, Ont.;
- David Mundy, of Kanata, Ont.;
- Henry Pattiz, of Studio City, Calif.;
- Ray Simrak, of Tecumseh, Ont.;
- Keith Spencer, of Edmonton, Alta.;
- Erling van Dam, of Bridgenorth, Ont.; and
- William Wiles, of Milford, N.S.
“When we informed members they were members of the 50-year club, they were surprised and didn’t know how long it had been,” said RPSC Executive Assistant Lee Ann Stewart, who added a certificate and medallion are usually presented to each 50-year member at the in-person AGM but were instead mailed out before this year’s virtual meeting on Dec. 9.
“A lot of them were quite excited.”