New Member Introduction from Rochester, NY

Hi.  My name is Tom Fortunato from Rochester, NY.  Here's a little about myself, having been a worldwide stamp collector since the age of 6. I’m very active in philately with my local club, the Rochester Philatelic Association in upstate New York, and have run its web site since the mid-1990s. I am a life member of the American Philatelic Society and American Topical Association, and accredited as a national exhibits judge for both since 2000. There are lots of other groups I belong to as well.

Among my interests are auxiliary markings, Dear Doctor postcards at www.deardoctorpostcards.com, Titanic mail that “missed the boat” at www.titaniccovers.com, wrestling and summer Olympics thematics, 19th century European numeral cancels and local Rochester postal history. I’ve been the Public Relations Chair for America’s international exhibitions--Washington 2006, New York 2016 and the upcoming 2026 Boston World Expo. Most recently I’m on the organizing committee of a new free philatelic group, Learning About Stamps Online (LASO for short) at learningaboutstamps.org.