(bpp-gg) The current President of the BPP, Christian Geigle, was confirmed in office with only two votes against. This is Geigle’s fourth term and, as he announced at this year’s general meeting in Nuremberg on April 29, “definitely my last”. There are also two new board members: Peter Sem (Vice President) and Josef Bauer (Secretary).
The newly elected Board of Directors: Gunnar Gruber, Josef Bauer, Christian Geigle, Dr. Peter Provinsky, Peter Sem (from left to right) (Photo: Wilhelm van Loo)
The almost eighty participants experienced a calm event characterized by objective discussion.
View of the members’ meeting room (Photo: Wilhelm van Loo)
First of all, two new members were welcomed as examiners for Gdansk (Alexander Gleich) and Vatican (Maximilian Lummer), who had impressed the three-member examination committees the day before with their solid knowledge and now received the unanimous vote of the members.
In his report, President Geigle also critically addressed the undesirable behavior of a few colleagues. Excessively long inspection times and the often lamented lack of communication with clients in this context are an absolute “no-go” in this day and age. “We are experts and as such also take part in business transactions. Leaving emails unanswered, not answering calls or not calling back is not acceptable,” he advised his members. This not only reflects on the individual, but on the entire BPP. In the event of recurrence, the Board would have to consider appropriate sanctions.
Four of the ten existing special examination regulations for certain areas were revised and adopted unanimously. A two-day training seminar is planned for the summer of 2023 in Munich, and the next general meeting will take place in Nuremberg again in 2024.
The Board elections were conducted swiftly by the election committee under the leadership of legal counsel Carsten Brekenfeld. The old and new President is Christian Geigle, who is supported by Vice Presidents Dr. Peter Provinsky and Peter Sem. Gunnar Gruber remains Treasurer, and Josef Bauer, who is also the 1st Chairman of INFLA-Berlin, takes over the office of Secretary.
The name behind the agenda item “13th election of an honorary member” remained a secret until the very end. It was Rolf Tworek (79), a veteran of the BPP. An Infla expertizer since 1983, a long-standing assessor in the Association’s expertising office, Vice President for eight years and BPP trade fair representative for over two decades – he has spent half his life in the BPP and has always been involved, so those present rightly elected him as an honorary member to great applause.
Honorary member Rolf Tworek (r.) with President Christian Geigle (Photo: Wilhelm van Loo)
By late afternoon, the members’ meeting was over and Geigle invited everyone to the festive evening, which was to begin at 7 pm with a surprise. Peter Sem, Chairman of the Köhler Prize Board of Trustees, gave a witty laudatory speech about the philatelic career of the youngest Köhler Prize winner to date, who himself was completely surprised by this honor and could hardly believe his luck: Tobias Huylmans, at the age of 39 already one of the best philatelists in Germany and probably unique in his age group worldwide. He is responsible for numerous expertizing areas, manages the BPP’s expertizing office, administers its website and has built up a worldwide database of philatelic rarities. Tobias Huylmans is a refreshing whirlwind, a “jack-of-all-trades” and tireless provider of ideas in a sometimes not exactly “hip” environment, open-minded, never unfriendly, always in a good mood. The audience gave a long round of applause when the Köhler medal was presented and the young family man was visibly moved as he thanked them.
Köhler Prize winner Tobias Huylmans (2nd from right) with the members of the Board of Trustees Dieter
Michelson, Christian Geigle and Peter Sem (from left to right) (Photo: Wilhelm van Loo)
The Board of Trustees was very satisfied after three busy days in Nuremberg. “Being able to speak to almost two thirds of all members in person during these days is simply fantastic. We received suggestions, criticism and requests that will help shape our work in the coming year,” said Geigle on his departure on Sunday. It will be interesting to see.