Southeastern Stamp Expo 2026
Our Show Theme for the 2026 Expo was the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
2026 Rowland Hill Award Winner - Raymond J. Pietruszka
The Board of Directors of the Southeast Federation of Stamp Clubs is pleased to announce its winner of the 2026 Rowland Hill Award. This recognition is a lifetime achievement award for the honoree’s activity in the philatelic hobby and demonstrating an outstanding contribution to philately in the southeastern United States.
For 2026, the Board proudly honored Raymond J. Pietruszka of Madison, Alabama.
Ray has collected stamps since he was a child but became re-engaged with the hobby in the early 1980s. Ray’s primary interest and research area is Russian Stamps and Postal History. He has assembled a strong collection in this area and began exhibiting his material in 1987.
Since then, Ray has won many national-level awards for his exhibits. Of particular note are his exhibits Type 1 St. Petersburg Surcharges, the Romanov Jubilee Issue 1913, and RSFSR 1917-1923, with each of these exhibits winning gold at national shows.
More recently, Ray has tackled the very challenging area of modern Russian philately, with his popular The Disunion of the Soviet Union also receiving gold at the national level and his one frame exhibit, Use of the 1992 St. Petersburg Local Stamps which won an international Vermeil medal.
Ray’s exhibiting achievements are rivalled by his philatelic writing, where Ray has authored twelve articles for the Rossica Society’s Journal and the Polonus Society’s Journal. In 2016, Ray completed the American Philatelic Society’s Philatelic Judging apprenticeship and became a fully accredited Philatelic Judge. Today, Ray typically judges three to four times a year.
Ray has also taken leadership positions in organized philately. He has served as the President of the Rossica Society since 2013 and is a past-Executive Vice-president of the Polonus Society.Despite these national recognitions, Ray is active at the local level as well, supporting the Huntsville Philatelic Club in a variety of roles, including service as President from 2013-2015, Vice President 2023-2024, and the Exhibits Chair of HUNTSPEX for several years.
“Ray is a key contributor to our hobby here in the Southeast,” said Charles O’Brien, President of the SEFSC. “I’m delighted to learn that his contributions at the local, regional and national level are being recognized with the with the 2026 Rowland Hill Award.”
Southeastern Stamp Expo 2026 Exhibit Jury Darrell Ertzberger, Chief Judge Tim Bartshe Robert Henak Regis Hoffman Ken Nilsestuen Philip Leber, Apprentice |
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