APS Board Suspends Aripex

From an email blast:

APS Board Suspends ARIPEX WSP Accreditation

As an APS Affiliate contact, judge, or exhibitor - we wanted you to be aware of the ARIPEX WSP status.

On Thursday, November 3, 2022, the APS Board of Directors unanimously voted to suspend the World Series of Philately accreditation for ARIPEX ahead of the planned show in 2023. The suspension means the winner of the competitive exhibition will not be eligible for the Champion of Champions.

APS Executive Director Scott English and the Committee on National Exhibitions and Judging (CANEJ) Chair Darrell Ertzberger participated in ARIPEX in February 2022, identifying issues with the show. The APS offered corrective actions and support to make the necessary changes to ARIPEX but found no improvement.

On October 30, 2022, CANEJ met to review reports from English, Ertzberger, and others and determined that ARIPEX failed to comply with WSP rules and recommended the APS Board suspend WSP accreditation for 2023. Specifically, the Committee found ARIPEX violating three provisions of Section E(2) due to late and incomplete reporting, failing to maintain a level of excellence, and violating one or more rules for WSP exhibitions.

In suspending the WSP accreditation, the APS outlined several steps to address the concerns, or it will revoke accreditation. The required actions are:


Rebuild the show's organizational structure to include individuals separate from the Show Chair serving as chairs for the bourse, exhibits, awards, and jury to restore confidence the exhibits can be better managed and preserve the national-level requirements,
The governing body, the Arizona Federation of Stamp Clubs, must rebuild its committee to ensure proper oversight and accountability for the show's operations, and
Commit to the approved rules of the World Series of Philately to include a functioning website, an approved prospectus, and an approved jury no later than August 1, 2023.

"This was not an easy decision, but we have to protect the interests of members who entrust valuable collections to the show committee," said English, "I've heard from members ready, willing, and able to get ARIPEX back on track. We hope the ARIPEX leadership takes the necessary steps to make it happen."

World Series of Philately

A WSP show is an APS World Series of Philately show. These U.S. national-level shows have undergone an accreditation process and must follow standards (WSP Rules/Requirements) to maintain their status. The multi-frame grand award-winning exhibit at each WSP show is invited to compete in the annual Champion of Champions at the Great American Stamp Show for the highest exhibiting honor.

I guess that puts another nail in the coffin of the only decent-sized show in my neck of the woods. The first time I went about 4-5 years back, the bourse was full and lively, and the exhibits filled an entire room. Last winter the show was put on again after the COVID hiatus and there were significantly fewer exhibits, fewer dealers and association tables, and the overall atmosphere was much less energetic. Maybe next year will show some rebound, given that COVID was pretty bad here in AZ. Not being an exhibitor, I'm not sure what the specific details of the issues were, but they must have been pretty significant for the APS to pull the plug.

In all fairness, the title of this thread is completely misleading and should be changed to match the email heading as APS sent it out as:

It reads like issues with a specific person.

This topic reminds me of my disdain for rampant acronym use which makes me need to do extra work to figure out what is actually going on. At least put the full words in parenthesis once so that the follow on text is easier to digest.

Now I am off to the DFAC for lunch followed by a stop at the MWR at FOB Tiger.

At present, the show committee is essentially one person wearing every hat. For the 2022 exhibition, the APS sent out a call for exhibits; most of the show's competitive exhibits were from outside the Phoenix area. Based on reports from the chief judge, our now Chairman of the accreditation committee (CANEJ), and my own, along with a failure to follow the rules of a World Series show, the APS Board voted to suspend accreditation for 2023. Our immediate concern was an assurance that philatelic material sent to the show would be handled, protected, and returned to the exhibitors who sent them in good faith. It is our hope others will be able to step up to better manage competitive exhibiting in the future so that ARIPEX can retain its accreditation.

I understand the bourse and some other activities will proceed as planned for February.

Scott

You can tell I spent too much time in government when I read this and it made complete sense to me.

I was at a MOB but had teams at several FOBs.

We all went to the DFAC more than once a day as well!

MWR, not so much.

I see your MOB and raise you a COB!

"Gesundheit."