Trettin, Stotts, Reinhard receive 2024 APS Luff awards

By Linn’s Staff

The American Philatelic Society has announced the 2024 recipients of the society’s Luff awards. Kenneth H. Trettin is being honored with the Luff award for distinguished philatelic research, Jay Stotts is being recognized with the Luff award for exceptional contributions to philately, and Stephen Reinhard is to receive the Luff award for outstanding service to the APS.

Trettin has been a member of the APS for more than half a century and has been a member for more than 40 years in several other groups, such as the American Revenue Association, Collectors Club, United States Stamp Society and United States Philatelic Classics Society.

He has served on several boards of directors, exhibits revenues and was an early exponent of special studies and display class exhibits.

“Since 1965, Ken has been one of the low-key giants in organized philately, and especially, philatelic literature,” said Hal Vogel, a 2022 Luff award winner who nominated Trettin. “He is not only a prolific prepress advisor and varied author, but he has also been the longtime scholarly editor of several publications, including The American Revenuer and the American Philatelic Congress Book.”

Trettin’s past awards include the Charles J. Peterson Philatelic Literature Lifetime Achievement award (2015); the Chicago Philatelic Society Newbury award for significant contributions to Chicago area philately (2010); the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society Distinguished Philatelist award (2001); and the Diane D. Boehret award (1999) from the American Philatelic Congress. In 1999, he was inducted into the APS Writers Unit 30 Hall of Fame.

“Ken Trettin is well known as a revenue collector, great editor, and outstanding literature judge,” said Cheryl Ganz, a 2016 Luff award winner. “He is smart and fun. But there is another side to Ken’s vast expertise. He brews his own beer and smokes his own sausages.”

“Ken and his wife, Eileen, have hosted many beer tasting evening events at stamp shows,” Ganz said.

Stotts, who joined the APS in 1978, has been a collector since childhood. His involvement in the hobby escalated since his marriage due to his wife, Denise, being equally interested in the hobby.

Stotts joined the Garfield-Perry Stamp Club of Cleveland, Ohio, after the club changed its bylaws in the mid-1980s to allow women as members. He served the club in many capacities, including as a board member (1986-92) and chairman of the club’s March Party stamp show in 1992. In 1992, Jay and Denise were awarded the Garfield-Perry LaGanke award for service to the club.

Stotts is a recognized expert on the U.S. Fourth Bureau Issue and wrote a 13-part series of articles about that popular group of stamps for the United States Specialist, the journal of the United States Stamp Society. He served as the society’s president from 2000 to 2002. He has served on the society’s board ever since.

Stotts has been an avid exhibitor since 1980 and an accredited APS judge since 1989. During 1990-98, he served on the APS committee on accreditation of national exhibitions and judges (CANEJ). He was a contributor to the seventh edition of the Manual for Philatelic Judging and Exhibiting.

Stotts served as editor of The United States Fourth Bureau Issue 1922-1938, published in 2022 by the United States Stamp Society on the occasion of the series’ 100th anniversary. The book earned grand awards in the literature competitions at Chicagopex 2022 and the 2023 Great American Stamp Show.

According to a 2017 article in Linn’s Stamp News, “Reinhard is a longtime researcher and writer, an award-winning international exhibitor, and a philatelic judge. He has fulfilled numerous leadership roles in the stamp hobby while sharing his enthusiasm for his aerophilately specialty and promoting philatelic exhibiting as a foundation of the stamp hobby.”

Reinhard has more than a dozen years of service on the APS board of directors, including serving as president from 2013 to 2016.

Reinhard became an accredited national philatelic judge in 1989 and started judging internationally in the early 2000s. He has served as a judge at approximately 120 national and international exhibitions. He has also served on national and international accreditation committees.

As with all other areas of his involvement, Reinhard has completed several roles for other organizations, particularly the International Federation of Philately (FIP), Collectors Club and American Air Mail Society.

Reinhard’s award-winning exhibits include “United States Pioneer Airmail, 1910-1916”; “United Kingdom Coronation Aerial Post, 1911”; and “Swiss Pioneer Airmail, 1913.”

Reinhard has garnered many of the hobby’s most prestigious honors, which include election to the Aerophilatelic Hall of Fame (2000); becoming a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London (2001); the FIP medal for service (2012); honorary life membership to the American Air Mail Society (2015, one of only seven so honored in the society’s 100-year history); and the Collectors Club’s Lichtenstein medal (2017).

“Steve has given his time and talents to philately his entire adult life,” Ganz said in her Luff award nomination petition for Reinhard. “I have worked with Steve on boards and committees for 40 years. … He puts the good of the hobby first, and is a respected voice. Steve devotes his time and energy to philately out of his passion for this great hobby.”

The Luff award was established in memory of John N. Luff, APS president from 1907 to 1909, who was considered the most prominent American philatelist of his era.

Recipients sign the Luff award scroll and are presented with engraved rings. The 2024 Luff award winners will join a distinguished group of 157 prominent philatelists. The Luff award is the most prestigious recognition presented by the APS to a living philatelist.

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