The APF has awarded its 2008 Award for Services to Philately at the National Level to Marinus Meyles for his immense contribution to youth philately in its many facets at national and state levels.

For the past 25 years Mick has devoted a considerable amount of his time to promoting stamp collecting amongst children, commencing with a junior club at Risdon Vale in the eastern suburbs of Hobart. As a member of the Glenorchy Stamp Club he also ran stamp activities at the Glenorchy Library and several local schools eventually establishing a network of clubs holding monthly meetings in schools and libraries on both sides of the Derwent River, most of which are still running today.

Following the Modified National and State Exhibition held in Hobart in June 1989, Mick joined the Tasmanian Philatelic Society and then the Tasmanian Stamp Council as G.P.S. representative and soon afterwards became State Youth Officer. His youth involvement expanded to include promotions at exhibitions and shopping centres, schools in many parts of Tasmania, and the Glenorchy, Rosny, Hobart and Kingston Libraries. He was instrumental in establishing a long term presence at the annual Life Be in It Expos held in Hobart to promote children's activities, indeed when this function ceased to run 2 years ago Mick was the only original participant still involved. He was often interviewed by the media about his junior stamp club activities.

Mick contributed to the development of the APF's Youth Leader activity packs, exhibition manuals and The Young Collector Magazine, where he is best known as the prize distributor for our competitions. He also organised the Federation Stamp Design competition in Tasmania where the numbers of entries judged and prizes distributed to all participants surpassed expectations. All the school groups in southern Tasmania participating were visited and prizes distributed at their assemblies.