CITY/REGION: Los Angeles/ Westwood, CA
MEETUP PLACE: Ceremony: Pauley Pavilion/ UCLA Campus
Pauley Pavilion: 301 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles CA 90095
Pro Tip: On Google Maps type in “UCLA Parking Structure 7 - Underground” as the above address in GPS will not take you to a parking lot.
Meetup Location: Ackerman Union AU 2412, 2:00pm No Vacancies - See Below
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 2024
TIME: 1:00-2:00pm (FDOI Ceremony); 2:00-4:00pm (Signing Cards/ Socializing)
MEETUP PLAN:
Hello… again! I honestly did not think I would be hosting a THIRD meetup in the month of February, but USPS recently announced that the John Wooden stamp’s First Day of Issue (FDOI) ceremony would be held at none other than the UCLA campus, which just happens to be my alma mater. Go Bruins!!! 
John Wooden was the UCLA men’s basketball coach between 1949 and 1975. During that time, the Bruins won 10 NCAA MBB titles.
The USPS FDOI ceremony will start at 1pm and be held at Pauley Pavilion - East Plaza. Note that this is an outdoor “atrium” and not actually inside the Pauley Pavilion. (Although – if for some reason there is inclement weather, I could see this being moved indoors.)
If you plan on attending the First Day of Issue ceremony, please RSVP at the USPS website here. Here’s the press release with additional details.
**If you’re driving:
Per USPS, you will want to park in Parking Structure 7, which is accessible from Sunset Blvd. and goes underneath the soccer field, putting you relatively close to Pauley. Hourly parking is available for $4 first hour, $8 for two hours, $12 for three, and $15 for all day. I strongly recommend you plan for 3+ hour parking as we are going to be meeting as a group shortly after the event ends, for card signatures and possibly grabbing some grub either on campus or in Westwood Village.
PART 1: First Day of Issue Ceremony - USPS/ UCLA
The first 30-45 minutes is just that… a ceremony with speakers from USPS, and in this case, likely UCLA dignitaries and John Wooden’s family as well. The ceremony concludes with the “curtain pull” debuting the stamp image on an oversized poster (cue OOHs and aahs).
After the ceremony concludes, the audience will have the opportunity to purchase a variety of philatelic products, including John Wooden stamps, FDOI covers, and the coveted FDOI pictorial postmark. You are welcome to bring your own covers and postcards for postmarking at the booth. Of course, since this is the first day of issue, you won’t be able to purchase John Wooden stamps ahead of time. So make sure you bring cash (I’d have to assume they have a credit card reader but you never know). The UCLA student union (Ackerman Union) nearby has ATMs for Wells Fargo, Chase, Bank of America, and University Credit Union (CO-OP Network).
**Our Event Postcard!
Our friend Yunyi @cookiedoe has created this amazing design for our meetup card!
We had a maxicard design in mind, meaning that there is space above the image of Joe Bruin to place the John Wooden stamp and have it cancelled. I know what you’re thinking… “how do we get our postcards prior to going to the booth for purchasing stamps and getting cancellations?” Great question! I will be at the event at latest, 12:45pm and sticking around for the ceremony and the meetup of course.
PART 2: MEETUP AT ACKERMAN UNION
Update 2.22.24 - We are at CAPACITY. If your name is not listed on “Card Reserves” below and you are interested in joining the meetup, please PM me. Thanks!
By sheer luck, I was able to book a room inside the Ackerman Union which is a short walk from the Pauley Pavilion. The room number is AU 2412. Please note that I will need to collect a door fee of $10.00 for each person participating. This is to offset the cost of renting the room. I know that this is a little bit on the steep side, but I thought it better to prepare for possible rain and stick to an indoor venue which did not come with a food/ drink contingency. (More than likely many of us will grab something to eat after the meetup.)
You can Venmo/ Zelle me or pay cash the day of. I appreciate your understanding!
**NOTE: Space for Plus-Ones is subject to availability – we will do our best to fit them in the room – if there is space for them, they would not need to pay the $10. However, priority goes to those who are participating in card signing.
As before, please kindly hit that “Going” box at the top and comment below if you’re interested in joining us! Thanks 
Sorry for the lengthy post 
Thanks for making it this far and I hope you can make it out to Westwood on 2/24! I think it will be a blast! 
P.S. Here is a nice article / crash course on what to expect at an FDOI ceremony 
because I am another “kid” and I don’t meet others often. I read your profile and understand your name. Mine is a little more obscure. Started using it 20+ years ago- a song by Tricky- a friend loaned me a tape(!) of the album in the late 1990s. Just liked the sound of it. 
Totally agree with you on the maxicards. Although if I’m being brutally honest, the inspiration came from 
Thanks for offering 
