It goes with out saying that 2020 was an unprecedented year. We had high hopes for 2021 but unfortunately the lingering effects of Covid 19 continued to dominate the new year. Our usual trip to the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Show in January was called off due to the cancellation of that event. No new events could be planned due to ongoing Covid concerns. We did manage however, to continually upgrade the performance of our website to make access faster and more compatible with portable devices. We have to thank Craig Grella, our web administrator, for his continued efforts in keeping our website current and up to industry standards. Also, we have to thank Meredith Hoppe who helps with getting our messages posted in a timely manner.
This year we added a new feature to our Newsletter which we call the “Member Profile”. We have many members who have distinguished themselves in one way or another and we would like to honor those members by writing about their notable achievements. The first member we profiled was Tom Uram whose profile can be read here. We will periodically feature more members from time to time.
During the year our membership increased by 9 to 134. Our membership covers 34 states, Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands. Last year I mentioned that plans were under consideration for a conference to coincide with the 400th Anniversary of the loss of the Atocha. The conference, if it occurs, will be in Key West. Efforts have been made throughout the year to organize this conference. However, venue restrictions because of Covid 19 have made it difficult to obtain a location that can accommodate our needs. We will continue to keep everyone updated regarding our efforts. Also, the Society will be publishing our next book featuring Treasures of the Month from January 2017 to December 2021. This publication will be a companion to the book we published in 2017. The release date is Spring of 2022.
Finally, we have some big announcements regarding the future of the Society in January so check our Newsletter for this exciting news.
Ben Costello, Director.
