(bpp-gg) It was a special moment at the examiners’ conference on May 3 in Nuremberg when Peter Sem explained to the 70 or so people present that, at the age of 75, he would like to hand over his position on the board to younger hands. Sem has been a member of the board for a total of fourteen years since 2007, has been (and remains) the spokesperson for the BPP’s expertization group and Chairman of the Köhler Prize Board of Trustees. The members and guests thanked Sem with a long round of applause and unanimously elected 59-year-old Michael Ehrig as his successor as Vice President of the BPP in a secret ballot. Ehrig has been examining Portugal with subsidiary subjects in the BPP since 2013 and is President of the renowned Berliner Philatelisten-Club von 1888 e. V. BPP President Christian Geigle warmly welcomed the new Board colleague and praised his calm and level-headed manner, with which he is following exactly in the large footsteps of his predecessor.
Michael Ehrig
Prior to this, the members had unanimously accepted two new colleagues into the BPP. At just twenty years of age, Leon Bernhard is the youngest new member ever, but already boasts a wealth of philatelic knowledge and passed his examination, which lasted several hours, with flying colors the day before. Dr. Leif Kramp (44), son of BPP veteran Hans-Ludwig Kramp, passed his entrance examination just as convincingly. He will gradually take over and continue his father’s examination work. The spokesman for his examination board spoke of an “ideal constellation” for the handover. Those present were delighted to hear this.
President Christian Geigle, Leon Bernhard, Dr. Leif Kramp, Peter Sem (from left to right)
In their activity reports, the members of the Executive Board and representatives reported a quiet year. President Geigle once again criticized excessively long processing times, particularly in the case of inspection submissions with deadlines, and the lack of communication between individual colleagues and inspection customers when delays occur. Josef Bauer reported on the packing of the stamp treasure acquired from the Postal Museum in Berlin (in 580 boxes!) and its transportation to the office in Radolfzell. Work will soon begin there on developing an AI-supported process for digitizing the estimated 500,000 to 600,000 postmark cancellations.
Treasurer Gruber was able to present a very successful cash report, which closed with an annual surplus of around 28,000 euros. This enabled a large part of the purchase price for the stamp archive to be covered in the year of acquisition. The report of the two auditors and the applause from the audience were correspondingly positive.
The protection of the registered trademark “BPP” was once again a major issue last year. Representative Dieter Mertens reported on successfully concluded and ongoing proceedings, both in and out of court. He emphasized that the BPP had not yet lost a single case in court. Trademark law is very clear and strict, and the judges are very experienced. Word was obviously getting around in the circles concerned, so that the vast majority of cases could now be settled out of court and thus at comparatively low cost for the trademark infringers. President Geigle thanked Dieter Mertens for his great commitment, which the audience appreciated with a hearty round of applause.
View of the packed meeting room
The second part of the meeting dealt with a number of changes to the BPP’s regulations, an extension of the examination area and the admission of two colleagues as full members after successfully completing the three-year consultation period. As expected, there were no surprises here, nor were there any surprises with regard to the applications of seven older colleagues to extend their auditing activities beyond the standard retirement age of 70.
Last but not least, the date of the general meeting in 2026 has been set for Saturday, April 25. The BPP would like to ask all members, auctioneers and trade fair organizers to make a note of this date and, if possible, not to schedule any events involving BPP members on this weekend.
Another highlight of this year’s general meeting surprised the guests at the festive evening, which is traditionally the highlight and conclusion of the examiners’ conference. Laudator Peter Sem gave a wonderful speech on the recipient of the prestigious Köhler Prize, during which the audience gradually realized who he was: Carsten Brekenfeld, a member of the BPP since 2001, expertizer for German colonies, has accompanied and shaped the fortunes and development of the association from the beginning of his membership as legal advisor. Under presidents Dr. Hans-Karl-Penning and Christian Geigle, he was one of the “master builders” of the BPP as it presents itself today and rightly claims a leading international position.
President Christian Geigle, Tobias Huylmans (Managing Partner of Köhler), award winner Carsten Brekenfeld, Peter Sem (laudator and Chairman of the Board of Trustees), (from left to right)
On Sunday morning, it was time to say goodbye. Numerous members praised the very harmonious weekend and an equally consensual general meeting. Vice President Dr. Provinsky agreed: “We can be proud of our BPP. The Board and members work together, not against each other. It can continue like this!”.