Stamp collecting for over a half century has brought an untold number of hours of pleasure to my life.

About fifteen years ago I made the transition from collector to philatelist - I started researching and documenting my findings. I selected areas that were of special interest to me and began sharing them with others, via writing and exhibiting.

This endeavor has brought rewards beyond my dreams - I'm not talking about just the awards and the recognition, I am talking of the very good friends I have made as the result of exhibiting.

While standing on stage in Pittsburgh at STAMPSHOW with the other Grand Award recipients in competition for the Champion of Champions, I thought it was about time I tried to give something back. I thought I could possibly introduce others to the sport of exhibiting that they may too enjoy some of what this facet of the hobby has to offer.

My main credentials for offering assistance to novice exhibitors is the fact that I have made all of the mistakes. I had no one to guide or mentor me - I had to learn the hard way. The same judge that critiqued my first attempt (which was on black pages with silver lettering and did not even warrant a Bronze) presented me with an APS Grand Award this year. My objective is to make the journey easier for you than it was for me.

I have written a guide titled "Exhibiting 101" intended to be of help for the beginning exhibitor. Instead of trying to reprint it here, I thought I would try the question and answer format. If you desire, your questions can be anonymous and the responses could be beneficial to all who visit this wonderful site.

If you have a special philatelic interest that you would like to document and share - I suggest you give it a shot. Remember an exhibit is not a collection - it is the telling of a story with a beginning, middle and end. This story is illustrated with philatelic and sometimes collateral material.

Give me a try - if I can't answer your questions, chances are that I can find you someone who can.

MUG HUNTER

I can also be reached at  http://www.mughunters.blogspot.com/