The Kehr Award is presented annually by the APS “for enduring contributions that help guarantee the future of the hobby.” The award is named for Life Member Ernest A. Kehr. Established in 1991, the Kehr Award recognizes one living philatelist each year who, for a period of at least five years, has demonstrated one or more of the following:
- Making philately attractive as a hobby to newcomers
- Working directly with newcomers, especially young people
- Developing and administering programs aimed at recruiting newcomers.
2021 Kehr Award - Bill Schultz
Through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), William “Bill” Schultz has been an instructor for many years, teaching courses on philately. Through these courses, Bill has introduced hundreds of retirees to the hobby and the stamp collecting community. He is also a volunteer at Chester County Historical Society in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Through the Society, Bill has researched and published West Chester History: A Review in Post Cards. He has used the forum to provide philatelic material for rotating exhibits over the years. More recently, Bill organized a postal exhibition entitled, "You've Got Mail!" housed at the Society, along with a public lecture series of renowned philatelists presenting on various topics. Besides being an OLLI lecturer, Bill has also taught “Introduction to Exhibiting” for the APS, both at Summer Seminar and as an On the Road course, recruiting more philatelic exhibitors at the local, national, and international level. With his experience building more than 50 exhibits and as an accredited judge for more than 20 years, Bill has mentored students from the class and offered them feedback to improve their exhibiting. As a Board member of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, Bill leads the organization’s mentoring program for new exhibitors. He also routinely volunteers to judge youth exhibits at stamp shows to provide feedback to our youngest exhibitors. Bill also brings the experience to the larger hobby, authoring the monthly Facets of Exhibiting in the American Stamp Collector and Dealer. His columns seek to demystify further exhibiting to the larger collecting community.
Another one of his contributions to philately was creating The Schultz Catalog, the Rattlesnake Island Local Post's first-ever catalog. John Wells later expanded on Bill's work in the seminal book, The History and Local Post of Rattlesnake Island Lake Erie by John Wells. Bill's most recent project is cataloging the 6 ¼ cent postal rate, which involves building a website and going on a speaking tour to find as many examples as possible. Those who know him call him a mentor, a teacher, and, of course, a dear friend.