The Toronto-based Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation announced the retirement of its long-time chairman and president Ted Nixon, plus the election of a new executive, effective Oct. 30.
Ted Nixon has been at the helm of the Greene Foundation since the passing of Harry Sutherland in 2006. He joined the board of directors on April 28, 1998, and served as vice-chair from 2002-06. Over the years, he has also served as treasurer and secretary.
“During his tenure, the Greene Foundation has become a world-class organization which has expanded its outreach to Canada and the world, built an exceptional British North America philatelic library and introduced technology and mechanization to both the library and the expert committee,” said Charles Verge, the Greene Foundation’s longest-serving director.
A Fellow of The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC), Nixon was appointed as chairman emeritus by the Greene Foundation’s board of directors this October. He’s only the second person to hold this position since the foundation was formed in 1975.
Nixon will also continue in his role as chairman of the expert committee.
He will update and streamline the committee’s processes so it can better serve its collector and dealer clients,” reads a statement issued by the Greene Foundation on Oct. 31.
“Additionally, it is planned that the expert committee will make public some of its important findings and work closely with catalogue editors to adjust catalogue listings based on the committee’s discoveries.”
A NEW EXECUTIVE
On Oct. 30, the Greene Foundation’s board of directors met to elect a new executive, whose members include:
- Chair and President Garfield Portch, who’s a Fellow of The RPSC;
- Vice-Chair and Vice-President Charles Verge, who’s a Fellow of The RPSC and Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL); and
- Corporate Secretary and Treasurer Ingo Nessel, who’s also the current president of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada and a Fellow of both The RPSC and RPSL.
“The board feels that the time has come for the Greene Foundation to have a more formal structure that will allow us to better plan the long-term growth and future of the Greene Foundation,” said Portch.
This October, the board also appointed Lee Ann Stewart as recording secretary and executive assistant and reappointed Sheila Moll as chief librarian.
The Greene Foundation’s primary mandates are providing expert services, maintaining a comprehensive library and archives and publishing monographs and studies on British North American philately. It also shares the common responsibility of promoting the hobby with the rest of the philatelic community.