Letter details changes at World Stamp Show-NY 2016

The bourse chair for World Stamp Show-NY 2016, Tami Jackson, sent the following letter to dealers on March 22 with additional information about the recent departure of the show's executive director, Donna Richardson, and the current state of the international stamp show and exhibition.

"I am writing to bring you up to date on what has been happening behind the scenes of World Stamp Show-NY 2016.

"On Friday March 13, President Wade Saadi and Vice President Steven Rod met with Donna Richardson, our Executive Director. They reported to her that there were a number of concerns they had, and after some discussion, it became apparent that they were irreconcilable differences.

"She was asked to resign, effective April 15 and spend the month together helping to effect a smooth transition. A fair transition package was offered, addressing the usual matters. Donna refused them, and chose instead, to be terminated immediately.

"It has come to our attention that since then, she has been contacting many of our clients and customers. Our general counsel has notified her that she no longer has any authority to conduct any business on behalf of the Exhibition, or to contact any such party in relation to such business, or to affect any of the business relationships or negotiations of the Exhibition.

"[World Stamp Show president] Wade [Saadi] and I want you to know that all aspects of the show are clearing on target and on schedule. Here is an overview status:

"1. Personnel. Donna Richardson has left but we are very fortunate that Steven Rod is our VP and actively involved. Steve was our original Executive Director when all of the relationships with Javits, Experient, Freeman and the Marriot chain were put in place. We could not be in a better position with these most major vendors. We will address this more specifically at the April 6th Organizing Committee meeting.

"2. Javits [Center in New York City, the venue for the show]. To date, we are on schedule with Javits in all aspects and Jim Hamilton (Sales Manager for Special Events), whom Steven Rod and Wade Saadi met at their first Javits meeting, is still there. Marilyn Gonzalez, Senior Events Solutions Manager, is our operating contact.

"3. Experient. We have been in touch with the folks at Experient, our conference management firm, and all of the arrangements they are responsible for: a) booking our hotel room block, b) managing our relationship with Freeman Decorating, c) creating and managing our pre-registration system, and d) day to day security management for the length of the show, are all on schedule. Our Experient contract calls for a senior manager who will be running our show from 5 days prior to opening to after we close, as well the two other full time on site managers for which our contract calls.

"4. Bourse. Regarding the bourse, our booth sales are proceeding on schedule and I am in the midst of selling the booth openings that we have available. Wade and I will be attending London 2015 in May and plan to meet with many European dealers and show goers. Stay tuned for more on this…

"5. Development. Our Development effort, led by Charles Shreve, has raised $200,000 for the Leadership Circle and another $25,000 from the most generous folks at WESTPEX. Alex Haimann is engaged in a major push to surpass our goal for Liberty Club support. We are so pleased at the community's response to our appeals.

"6. Frames. Around 2,000 'A' frames (4,000 exhibit sides) are being manufactured by Vince King in Denton, Texas. He owns an engineering company and has been kind enough to volunteer to manufacture the frames at an off-site location, just leased. The designs are complete and material selection is underway. Vince showed Wade the prototype of the newly designed frames at TEXPEX.

"7. USPS. Wade is working daily with the leadership of the USPS and he anticipates having a formal announcement of our partnership with them by our April 6th meeting.

"World Stamp Show-NY 2016 is on track to be a great exhibition. Feel free to contact me if you have any question."