Canadian exhibitor Jane Sodero, a former Halifax resident currently living in Alabama, took home a handful of hardware this February at the Southeastern Stamp Expo in Atlanta, Ga.
Her exhibit was one of seven entries focusing on Canadian material at the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 exhibition, which was organized by the Southeast Federation of Stamp Clubs (SEFSC) and featured more than 140 competitive frames. There were “so many” Canadian exhibits, said Sam Chiu, vice-president of The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC), that the British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS) handed out five special awards.
An internationally accredited judge, Chiu was also one of six members of the jury, which was chaired by Jay Stotts, of Texas.
THREE SODERO EXHIBITS
Sodero’s two-frame exhibit, “The Eskimo Hunter,” received a vermeil medal as well as two special awards. For this entry, she also took home one of two American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors Gold Awards of Honor and the BNAPS Elizabethan Study Group Award.
One of Sodero’s two single-frame entries, “Milford House – A Rustic Resort for Over a Century,” earned a large vermeil medal and two BNAPS special awards – the Best One-Frame British North America (BNA) Exhibit Award and the Best BNA Exhibit Award.
Her other single-frame entry, “The Postal Markings of Guysborough, Nova Scotia, 1838-1937,” earned a vermeil medal.
Sodero, of Dothan, Alabama, is a national-level judge with The RPSC.
A collector since she was a child, Sodero is following in the footsteps of her mother, Elizabeth, who’s also a respected exhibitor specializing in Canadian postal history.
OTHER CANADIAN ENTRIES
Other Canadian exhibits at the 2019 Southeastern Stamp Expo include John Burnett, whose four-frame exhibit “Canada – Usages of the Stamps of 1937-1942 Domestically and to the USA,” earned a large vermeil medal.
Burnett, who calls Vancouver home but is currently living in Madison, Alabama, also took home BNAPS’ Best Two-To-Four-Frame BNA Exhibit Award and the Best Researched BNA Exhibit Award.
A collector since 1945, Burnett specializes in the stamps and postal history of Canada and British North America. He has written more than 30 articles for BNA Topics, the quarterly journal of BNAPS; Maple Leaves, the quarterly journal of the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain; and the PHSC Journal, the quarterly journal of the Postal History Society of Canada.
In 2011, Burnett was elected to the BNAPS fellowship, the Order of the Beaver.
Last year, he accepted the Rowland Hill Award – an annual lifetime achievement award first presented in 2005 for outstanding contributions to stamp collecting in the southeastern U.S. – from the SEFSC.
Richard Wilson also earned a vermeil medal for his five-frame exhibit, “The Federal Inspection Stamps of Canada.”
Clarence Stillions also earned a silver medal for his two-frame exhibit, “Canada’s Embossed Stamps 1974-1981.”
Lastly, Dennis Amos earned a large silver medal for his five-frame exhibit, “Usage of the Last Canadian Issue of King George VI: Domestic and USA.”