Two quick things for you. Okay, maybe 3. Please bear with me. #bruinforlife
As of right now, we are sitting at 24 individuals who either confirmed they would go or expressed “Tentative” at Montclair. That said, if you plan on bringing a plus-1 to the meetup, I will ask that maybe they peruse the student store and other areas of Ackerman Union and maybe come back in 30-60 minutes? I want to make sure we have room for those who are signing cards. Thanks for your understanding
UCLA is asking that everyone sign a liability waiver/ hold harmless agreement as a condition of booking this room. By “everyone” this means everyone in the room. Please feel free to take a look at the document and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Hard copy forms will be made available for you to sign upon arrival.
Finally, I realize some of you have never met me and probably need to know what I look like in case we meet up immediately prior to the FDOI ceremony. So here’s my mugshot below (Officer, I plead guilty only to hosting meetups with amazing people! )
@Angelthepup22 I had someone ask me if the USPS employee working the event would be able to cancel/ service an item and then immediately accept it for posting (mail it off).
What’s your take on this? This is assuming that the cover/ postcard is stamped and cancelled in the usual area (the upper right-hand corner of the item).
Potential follow-up question: Does it make a difference if you cancel the stamp using the “bullseye” postmark as versus the pictorial postmark?
So generally the answer is Yes, they should be able to do that. I’ve been to many stamp dedications and all of them allowed that except for one- the Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit stamp dedication that I hosted a Postcrossing meetup at in San Francisco in January 2023. We found a blue mailbox about a block away from the museum where the dedication was being held and dropped our outgoing postcards in there after they received the first day postmark and they all arrived safely.
So the answer is a strong ‘Maybe’ because we won’t know for sure until we get there. But it should be a yes.
It does not matter what type of postmark you use.
Just a quick heads-up – I was told by UCLA that the room will “officially” open at 1:50pm and I will have to be present for the opening as the point of contact. So please feel free to hang out before then if the FDOI ceremony finishes early and you’ve gotten your stamps taken care of.
Another fantastic meetup… So well organized, and so fun. What a gorgeous day in Westwood as well! Thanks again Mike!! I know you need a break now, but I look forward to another Montclair meetup whenever you have the energy again!
Had an absolute blast today Thank you again @llmike007 for the efforts on making not just this, but 3 consecutive meetups happen! Thank you @cookiedoe for such a beautiful card! - it caught the eyes of everyone at the event!
And thank you everyone always for making the events what they are It’s always great to get to know each other better every time. Looking forward to the next one!
I just had a thought, what do they normally do with the stamps from today’s event? Has anyone just tracked them down at the local post office? I had some more cards that I wanted stamped.
The postage stamps are available for purchase nationwide now.
The first day of issue postmarking devices get returned to the Kansas City facility where anyone can request the postmarks by mail for 90 days after the date of issue. So you will not be able to get your cards postmarked with the first day of issue cancelation in person anymore, only by mail.
Thousand thanks to Mike @llmike007 for daring to host a 3rd February meetup & having the patience to deal with TWO large bureaucracies, and to Yunyi @cookiedoe for the postcard that was the envy of so many at the FDOI event! Was a fabulous day!!
Hello again friends!
I mentioned to some of y’all that there is another stamp dedication event coming up soon in San Francisco. I will be attending that one and just scheduled a meetup, I hope y’all can make it!
Hello again!
I am not hosting meetups at these but there are 2 more upcoming USPS Stamp Dedication ceremonies in California if you are interested in attending more-
First Lady Betty Ford, April 5th, Rancho Mirage, California more details here- Betty Ford Forever® Stamp
Ansel Adams, May 15th, Yosemite National Park, California more details here- USPS Forever Stamp - The Ansel Adams Gallery.
Very cool, thanks for the heads up Trevor!!
Nice to see an event occurring in the Coachella Valley (Betty Ford). I’ll be out of town that day, but I will tag our desert folks here in case they are interested! @sand2sand@deramirezh
#bruinforlife
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Thank you again 
It’s always great to get to know each other better every time. Looking forward to the next one! 
