PENPEX & Sequoia Stamp Club

PENPEX 2011 will be Kristin Patterson’s sixth year as chair. She oversees the smooth running of the show and has done a terrific job. Kristin manages the coordination with the Redwood City Activity Building where the show has been held for the past 30 years. She coordinated the 18 dealers that the show is delighted to have. Starting in June of each year, Kristin writes the dealer contracts, mails them out, and collects the moneys.

Kristin has been utilizing her Photoshop skills by incorporating club member Miriam Thurston’s hand drawn artwork into the show postcards and cachets. With a newly purchased color laser printer, Kristin is now printing in-house all PENPEX show material for a savings of $100 to $300 a year. She also helps with the show program by creating the floor plan diagram with the exhibit layout.

Kristin can be found at the show on Friday night for setup, helping to assemble the tables and place exhibits in their frames. During the show, she is busy making dealer lunches which PENPEX includes as part of the table fee. She then delivers the handmade sandwiches to the dealers and judges. On Sunday, she is a critical element in closing the 550 lot silent auction, as the software program she programmed allows PENPEX to enter all bids and quickly calculates each bidder’s totals and list of sold lots. This has allowed PENPEX bidders to pick up their winning lots within one and half hours of the auction close.

This is Jim Giacomazzi second year as PENPEX Vice-Chairman. For the past 3 years, Jim has been a vital element in promoting the show by contacting local newspapers and philatelic journals with show details. In 2010, he franked all show postcards that were mailed to past show attendees.

He has also overseen the purchase of the snack bar foods and beverages while keeping track of quantities consumed so that PENPEX is not left with an over abundance of food. He has been right on.

Darlene Hickok came back again as PENPEX 2011 Secretary after serving as secretary in 2006, 2007, and 2010. Darlene is the head of the Sequoia youth program, Stamps R Us, which sets up numerous tables at PENPEX. Each table has tons of fun activities for youngsters. She has worked hard to encourage beginning collectors and has offered free stamps to all kids who come to PENPEX.

Eduardo Martino is serving his second year as the PENPEX treasurer. Eduardo has been a crucial PENPEX member as the Setup Chair. He has for the past 5 years managed the show setup on Friday and takedown on Sunday. His responsibilities include setting up of 120 tables, 60 exhibit frames, and hanging of the PENPEX sign.