A Story Of Determination
By Max Cohen, #5453

His name is Benjamin Ladin and he was 97 on July 25, 2008. He started the Boca Raton Stamp & Coin Club as its first president 27 years ago and has held that position to the present. time. He is also a very active member of the Tropical Post Card Club, of Pompano Beach, Fl. and a member of our PMCC, #4908. During the month of April 2008 he envisioned ~ creating a very unique post card and cachet envelope for the 100th anniversary of Pompano Beach, Florida, which was being celebrated in Pompano Beach on ~ July 3.

His idea was to have a first flight from Pompano Beach to Daytona Beach by way of the Goodyear Blimp. The dates were perfect for this venture. On July 3rd, the anniversary of Pompano Beach, the G~odyear Blimp would be flying from Pompano to Daytona. All he had to do was convince the people at Goodyear that by flying his mail they would gain a tremendous amount of publicity. He even proposed having a Goodyear Blimp stamp made by a private company. 1 Was with him when he presented his proposal. Although there was little interest on their part, Ben was determined to pursue his project.

He personally had one hundred 42¢ regular and one hundred 27¢ post card rate stamps printed with a picture of the Goodyear Blimp.

The cachet post cards and covers were brought to the post office and cancelled with the Ppmpano Beach Pictorial on July 3, 2008. At the present time, Ben has the only stamps ever produced with a picture of the Goodyear Blimp that are being used for postage. The set is really an extraordinary vision of an ardent philatelist and would be a priceless addition to add to any collection. They are on sale at $10 for the set, which includes shipping. It can be ordered from:

Tropical Post Card Club
­ % Mr Benjamin Ladin
2043 Newcastle - C
Boca Raton, FL 33433-4634
Telephone# 1-561-483-56010