XIII. Meeting of the PPCP
Lány
Dear readers, philatelists and the website visitors of the Prestige Philately Club Prague (hereinafter referred to as “PPCP” or “Club”), on the 19th of September 2024 the 13th meeting of the PPCP took place in nearby Lány. The first part of the business meeting was held in a cultural spirit thanks to the cooperation with Dr. Carbol, thus the meeting was opened with a short welcome speech by the President of the Club, JUDr. Tomáš Mádl, who informed the present members about the course of the membership meeting and introduced the esteemed guests: Jan Rihak, the CEO of the graphic and design studio Eternia; Ing. Tomáš Hejda, Ph.D., owner and the CEO of PR Mollo; Dušan Martinček, a professional photographer from Prague and finally PhDr. Pavel Carbol, Ph.D., the Chairman of the Edvard Beneš Society. Thanks to the long and successful cooperation with Dr. Carbol, the PPCP had the opportunity to see a place of such significance connected to the Czech national history, namely the official summer residence of the Czechoslovak and Czech presidents.
After all, the Lány castle is particularly associated with the person of the first Czechoslovak president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who was very fond of the castle and considered it his home. He used it not only for rest and relaxation, but also as a quiet place to work. T.G.M. received many state visitors and personalities from the domestic and international cultural and scientific communities at the castle. After his resignation in 1935, he moved there permanently with his family and lived in Lány for 17 years, during which he set up, for example, a cinema in the castle, where he screened movies for local citizens.
After his death, he had wished to be buried in the local cemetery, which is why Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk’s tomb is located in the old part of the municipal cemetery in Lány, where he was buried together with his wife Charlotte and son Jan. Naturally, the first visit of the PPCP members led to the local cemetery to honour the memory of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and his family. For a club that was founded to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia, it was a very logical gesture. Moving on from the memorial, the members took a guided tour of the castle.
Following the cultural part of the meeting, the members settled into the T. G. M. Museum, where the second, working part of the meeting, began. The members debated over the pre-arranged agenda; hence it was not surprising to the present members when the ballot papers started to be distributed allowing them to vote for the absent member of the PPCP Committee and the Exhibition Committee. With an overwhelming majority of votes, the fifth member of the PPCP Committee was JUDr. Tomáš Mádl, who was also elected President of the Association. As expected, the third member of the so-called Exhibition Committee was Ing. Roman Šorejs. At the beginning and at the end of the election, RNDr. Pavol Lazar assessed that the club, or the association, legally operates in compliance with the established interpretation of the Civil Code or the Ministry of Justice’s methodological guidelines in accordance with the legal order of the Czech Republic.
Afterwards, the financial summary of Ing. Martin Němeček followed – PPCP has consistently achieved a stable economic result. While subsidizing or sponsoring external philatelic events, the club should primarily think about its activities so that it is able to pay its financial obligations.
The next item on the agenda was regarding the exhibitions. The first of the expected exhibitions is the Slovak national exhibition Popradfila 2024 with an international scope, which will take place from 31st October to 16th November in Poprad. The PPCP will contribute to this exhibition with a sponsorship donation and will also be exhibiting 5 frames. The second exhibition is Monacophill 2024, which will take place from 5th to 7th December 2024 in the Principality of Monaco. The National Philatelic Exhibition with rich international participation of 1st and 2nd level will take place from 19th to 22nd June 2025 in Liberec, where the Club will present itself through sponsorship with 10–12 frames.
A considerable amount of attention was then attracted by the Kamenice nad Lipou Town Celebrations, which is to take place from 19th to 22nd June 2025. PPCP would present itself to local and “national” philately enthusiasts at the castle; the scenic town of Kamenice in the Vysočina region could also become the location of the next PPCP’ meeting.
Regarding future exhibitions, there was a consensus that the exhibition frames should be somewhat modernised, for example by incorporating QR codes and other technological improvements, so that the concept and the details of the individual exhibits could be presented to the general public in the most accessible form.
The lecture by RNDr. Lazar on the postal history of Slovakia between 1850 and 1867, which concluded the Meeting, was very well-received.
The next Christmas meeting and the 14th Meeting altogether, will be held on the 12th of December at the Café Mozart restaurant.
for the PPCP website Mgr. Petr Jezdinský with notes by Hana Fenclová