At the 81st annual meeting of members of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) held in St. Catharines, Ontario, June 12-14, 2009, Charles J.G. Verge, Secretary to The RPSC Fellows, announced four new candidates had been invited to sign the Roll of Fellows of the Society.

To qualify for Fellow status, candidates must meet at least one of the following criteria: they have actively worked for the betterment of the RPSC; they have promoted Canadian philately extensively through writing; and/or have, through a number of activities, made Canadian philately better at the international level. They must also be members of The RPSC.

The four new fellows are Peter Butler, Michael O. Nowlan, William S. (Bill) Pawluk and Margaret Schulzke.

Peter Butler, who spent over 30 years as a school teacher, 28 of which were as an elementary school principal, resides in Toronto where he has been RPSC director at the national office of the Society since January 2006. He holds membership in numerous philatelic societies including The RPSC, the American Philatelic Society (APS), and the British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS). He also has membership in Toronto area stamp clubs and the Greater Toronto Area Philatelic Alliance. He has numerous collecting interests that involve 14 different countries and several thematic topics. He has been involved on planning teams for several shows and exhibitions, writes regularly for Canadian Stamp News and other publications, and he is on the faculty of the APS’s summer seminars.

Michael O. Nowlan, who lives in Oromocto, New Brunswick, has been a stamp collector since he was 10 years old. His collecting interests include Canada, the RCMP, and Beethoven on stamps. He is an accredited RPSC/APS philatelic literature judge and has been a member of six of Canada’s seven National Philatelic Literature Exhibitions. He chaired the organizing committee for The RPSC booth at Capex ‘96 and he was a member of the organizing committee for ROYAL*1999*ROYALE in Fredericton. He has been Public Relations Officer for RPSC since 1998. His writing credits include a regular monthly column on philatelic literature in Canadian Stamp News and articles published in numerous other publications. He has been on the board of The RPSC since 2006.

William S. (Bill) Pawluk of Calgary, Alberta has been a board member of all the major Canadian philatelic organizations and is presently the immediate past president of BNAPS. His contribution to philatelic seminars and stamp conventions is well recognized. He has received Gold and Grand awards at a number of shows with his “Canadian Postal History 1895-1910", and he has co-authored innumerable articles with George Arfken for The Canadian Philatelist and other philatelic publications. He is a national-level RPSC and BNAPS judge.

Margaret Schulzke, who was born in Kent, England and grew up in East Grinstead, Sussex, started a career as a legal secretary, before she “spent a year in Toronto” which became “the rest of my life.” After she raised six sons, she applied for a part-time job at the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation where she was interviewed by Kenneth Rowe and Harry Sutherland. Since she had both shorthand and computer skills, she got the job where “I quickly learned about philately and The Royal.” Some years later when the RPSC moved its headquarters to the Greene Foundation, “I took on an extra day of work each week as executive assistant to The RPSC.” She is also heavily involved in philately at the highest levels in Canada, being Treasurer of TAPE and of Philaprint and managing the office of the Treasurer of the Federation Interamericana de Filatelia (FIAF). Her dedication and contribution to the Society has been immense.

Charles Verge said “the Fellows of the Society have made an important contribution to stamp collecting and philatelic knowledge throughout Canada and the Americas.” The new group “are a credit to the hobby and will serve as wise counsel.” George Pepall, President of the RPSC said “this year’s fellows have wide experience in philately and have given much to the hobby. Their contribution is much appreciated.”

For 2010, Fellows of RPSC will have a new set of guidelines and a nomination form, both of which were approved at the Fellows’ meeting in St. Catharines in June. Fellows of The RPSC are nominated and elected by those who already are Fellows.

Information on The RPSC can be had by e-mail at info@rpsc.org or by visiting the Society's website at www.rpsc.org, or by calling 416-979-8874, toll free 1-888-285-4143.

For more information contact:

Michael O. Nowlan 506-357-2698
Margaret Schulzke 1 888-285-4143