History of APO
Creation
In October 1978, at the initiative of Georges A. Saint-Cyr and a few stamp collectors living in the
Outaouais (Édouard Beaubien, Jacques Collinet, Eugène Dalpé, Paul Sarault and Édouard Schingh), it was decided to create a stamp club that would soon become the Amicale. A board of directors was
formed and Édouard Schingh elected as the first chairman.
The non-profit organization was officially recognized by the City of Hull (now a sector of the City of Gatineau) at the regular meeting of June 19, 1979 (resolution 79-294) under the name Amicale des philatélistes de l’Outaouais (APO). Its mission is to promote and encourage the development of stamp collecting in the Outaouais region.
Exhibitions
In November 1979, just after a little over a year of existence, the APO organized its first philatelic exhibition, named Amphilex. This name was built from the first few letters of the 3 French words Amicale, philatélistes and exposition. From 1980 to 2008, 16 other exhibitions were organized, including one at the provincial level in 1986. In 2013, on its 35th anniversary, the APO organized its 18th and for now last exhibition. All the collections presented at these events were the result of the work of its members.
Quickly active, the Amicale already had more than 40 members only one year after its creation. After having reached a maximum of 70 in the early 1990’s, its membership decreased. In recent years, though, it still brings together some 40 philatelists from both shores of the Ottawa River. Although officially French-speaking, APO has since its origins been open to all: men and women, young and older, French and English-speaking. French is its main communication tool, but English is widely used, especially in its website, and it is not uncommon to hear German, Spanish and even Chinese.
Meetings
From 1978 to May 1994, members of the APO met every Thursday evening in the basement of the
Saint-Benoît church, on Sherbrooke Street in Hull (Gatineau). During the summer of 1994, however, they had to look for new premises, and two difficult years followed. Without a proper place, the
APO could not organize its annual philatelic exhibition. After a stay at Chalet Larocque from September 1994 to mid-1996, the Amicale moved for a few months to the Centre communautaire Tétreau in
the Parc Moussette. Thanks to the goodwill of the municipal authorities, APO went through this period
without major problems before being offered the use of premises much better suited to its needs in September 2006. Since this date, all its meetings have been held at the Centre communautaire
Fontaine, 120 Charlevoix Street, still in the Hull sector of Gatineau.
In September 2003, after meeting every Thursday evening for 25 years, members decide to hold their meetings on Mondays nights instead. And since September 2017, these take place not every Monday but the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month, still from September to May (see the calendar of activities). As always, the doors are wide open to members as well as to visitors and friends. Many of them choose to become members.
The APO is a member of the Fédération québécoise de philatélie (FQP).