Please see the medals page for old news regarding BECC medals.

Jim Payne Award! Congratulations to Bruce Coggins (left), winner of the annual Jim Payne Memorial Service Award, seen receiving his award from 2011 JP award winner John Enges (right). This award is given to the club member who embodies the character and principles that endeared Jim Payne to everyone who met him. Bruce unflaggingly supports club activities in any way he can and he volunteers to help with set up and tear down of each meeting, of the banquet, and of the coin show. For years Bruce has served the club as the auction chair.

July BBQ! In Lieu of the standard monthly meeting format July has become a tradition of a club picnic complete with a BBQ menu. Members were given a BU 2012 Jefferson Nickel as a door prize for signing in. The photo shows club members gathering at the picnic shelter at the Tukwila Community Center. The grill was going and the food assortment was good! There were choices in all categories and colors! In the chocolate category we had chips and brownies! Remember we need to enjoy life once in awhile!

It's Over! Hope you enjoyed the show, and we'll see you again next year!
BECC annual coin show was held January 21-22, 2012 at Kent Commons.
See 2012 coin show flyer.
See coin show page for complete information including YN and Scout activities.
See 2012 exhibit awards (including photos). See more 2012 coin show photos.
Photo: John Enges and Jesse Torres at their bourse tables.

BECC Library inventory added (PDF file), as compiled by BECC Librarian Michael Nau. Items in the library may be borrowed by club members subject to the rules established by the board of directors.

2012 medal design - See the medals page.

John Enges (left) receives the Jim Payne Memorial Service Award from Terry Kamm (right). John has served the club in an number of capacities including preparation of banquet food! The award was presented at the October 26, 2011 annual banquet. See the full banquet report.

Theft reported! The BECC regrets to report that a number of items were recently stolen from a club member. The items include Boy Scout silver anniversary coins, silver ingots and silver serving pieces. If you have information or are offered this material for sale, please contact Greg Smith at 253-737-6268.

January 15-16, 2011 BECC Coin Show at Kent Commons —
Photo at left: BECC members John Enges and Jesse Torres at their bourse table;
Del Cushing in the background (right). Photo at right: BECC volunteers at the club table.

As reported by bourse chairman Greg Smith, "The BECC Coin Show was well attended with 73 dealers and 80 dealer assistants operating 175 tables of everything from ancients to tokens. The general admissions topped 1,000. We also had 31 BECC members that did the set up, took care of general admission and walked the floor to aid anyone as necessary. Overall the show was a success, and feedback was generally very positive. The exhibits were light with only six entrants in four categories (see 2011 exhibit awards). The show is a nationally recognized show with dealers and buyers coming from across the nation and down the west coast."

Scholarships! The BECC provided scholarships for four current BECC members to attend the seminar "Introduction to Counterfeit Detection of United States Coins," held January 22-23, 2011 in Tukwila, WA. The BECC paid $99 of the tuition cost of $198 per person. The members who took advantage of this opportunity will report on their experiences at an upcoming club meeting. Photos: Group including instructor Mary Sauvain; Alan Van Horn; Grant Knutson; Jesse Torres.

In Memoriam – We are saddened to report that Michael Pepka, longtime BECC Coin Show Chairperson, passed away on October 8, 2010 after a brief battle with cancer of the esophagus. Mike was a wonderful individual and loved managing the coin shows in January. We already miss him. A memorial service arranged by Mike's wife and family was held on October 15 in Issaquah. Mike had known this was coming in time to make sure that the coin show would go off as smoothly as possible. Please direct all future concerns with the BECC annual coin show to Greg Smith at 253-737-6268, e-mail smithgd11@comcast.net. See tribute to Michael read at the October BECC banquet.

Congratulations, Terry! Terry Kamm (right) receives the 2010 Jim Payne Memorial Service Award from 2009 recipient David Buehler (left), at the October banquet. Terry has served as past President, Vice President, Secretary, Membership Clerk, Newspaper Editor and helped with many volunteer activities. See the Jim Payne award page. | See banquet report and photos (PDF)!

Survey! BECC members were encouraged to complete the 2010 Boeing Recreation Survey by November 1. Please contact David Buehler or the Boeing recreation office for more information.

Boeing Family Days – The BECC had a table at the Duwamish event on August 25, 2010, and at the Auburn event on August 15, 2010.

Greg and Dave step up to new coin show positions – Greg Smith (left behind BECC table in photo) and David Buehler (at right behind table) have stepped up to new positions with the BECC annual coin show committee. Greg is the new bourse chairman and Dave is the new general show chairman. See the BECC officers page for contact information. The club would like to thank the previous show chairman, Michael Pepka, for his many years of excellent service. Michael, who is unfortunately now deceased (see story above), was the recipient of the club's 2008
Jim Payne Memorial Service Award.

Boeing Employees Coin Show – January 16-17, 2010, Kent Commons, 525 4th Ave, Kent, WA. Photo: Along with 65 dealers and hundreds of buyers at the 2010 BECC Coin Show, Young Numismatists could venture a guess at how many foreign coins were in a large jar. Our winner was a young local area lad by the name of John W., who guessed 2000 coins. Greg Smith (left) met up with John (right) and his family and presented a "30th Anniversary of Numismatic News Lincoln Cent Set" dating 1952-1982, all in Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) condition. Along with the set John received a Boeing Employees' Club T-Shirt, a partial set of Lincoln cents dating back to 1910, a copy of Coins magazine and another BU "Wheatie" starter set. Oh, the number of coins actually in the jar ... 2010, of course!

Congratulations to 2009 Jim Payne Memorial Service Award winner David Buehler! Photo: David Buehler (left) receives the BECC's Jim Payne Memorial Service Award from 2008 recipient Michael Pepka (right). The award was presented at the club's 2009 annual banquet. (Please see this page for additional banquet/award photos.) Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2010 award.

Yosh turns 80! On July 11, 2009, Yoshio "Yosh" celebrated his 80th birthday with family and a few friends. As some of you know, Yosh is a club celebrity. Not only is he a long time member, but Yosh was one of the many Japanese Americans that was interned during World War II. Yosh seldom misses a club meeting, and is ready to swap quips with anyone that knows him. Happy Birthday, Yosh! Photo: Yosh, his daughter Leslie, and lovely wife Betty.

Hamm Creek Project! On Saturday, February 7, 2009, five BECC members participated in the Hamm Creek clean-up community service project. Hamm Creek is down the Duwamish about another mile toward Seattle from the Oxbow. According to Greg Smith, "The day was nippy, but once we started hacking and pulling blackberry bush stalks it warmed up." Greg also pointed out that beavers live near the creek, although none were sighted during the clean-up. Photo: BECC Members Jesse Torres, Grant Knutsen, Greg Smith, Ken Dang and Daryle Hawkins. Thanks to the volunteers!!

The Boeing Employees Coin Show, the club's big annual show, was held January 17-18, 2009 at Kent Commons. If you missed it, see the info about next year's show, attend a regular club meeting instead, or see the PNNA calendar for other local coin shows. Photo: bourse activity at the 2009 coin show. Behind the tables with dealer badges are BECC members Greg Smith and John Enges.

Nominations Sought for 2009 BECC Executive Board – Nominations are being sought for the club's Executive Board. Open positions include President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Retirees can serve in any of these positions except Treasurer. The last opportunity to make nominations is usually in December (when the election is held), however due to the cancellation of the December 2008 meeting, the election and installation of officers is expected to occur at the January 2009 club meeting.

Congratulations, Mike!! Michael Pepka was awarded the Jim Payne Memorial Service Award for all his extraordinary help as Coin Show Bourse Chairman, Banquet Coordinator, Past President and all around great guy! The award was presented at the annual banquet.

Meetings in Burien! After trying the Tukwila Community Center for the February 2008 monthly meeting, the March-September BECC regular monthly meetings were back at the Burien Community Center. The remaining 2008 BECC monthly meetings will also be held in Burien (except for the October banquet) unless otherwise announced.

PNNA Convention! The Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association annual convention was held April 4-6, 2008 at the Tukwila Community Center. This is the biggest coin show of the year in the Seattle area (even a little bigger than our own BECC show), so we hope you didn't miss the action!

The Boeing Employees Coin Show was held January 19-20, 2008 at Kent Commons, 525 4th Ave., Kent, WA. As usual, this was one of the best coin shows of the year in the Northwest.

New Location!! Beginning in December 2007, most BECC regular monthly meetings will be held at the Burien Community Center. We met there on Wednesday, December 19 (one week early due to the holiday), and we'll meet there again on January 23. Happy Holidays!!

Oxbow Open House – The BECC participated in the October 24, 2007 open house at Oxbow.

BECC Annual Banquet was held Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at Oxbow! See banquet page for more info.
At the banquet, BECC President Greg Smith received the 3rd annual Jim Payne Memorial Service Award. Congratulations, Greg!

Boeing Family Days – The BECC participated in the following Boeing Family Days this summer: SeaTac, Renton, Auburn, Frederickson, Everett. If you couldn't attend but want info about the club, please let us know, or come to our next regular meeting. Thank you for your interest in the BECC!

Oxbow Open House – Thanks to those of you who visited us at the Oxbow Activity Center Open House, Wednesday, April 25, 2007. If you couldn't attend but want info about the club, please let us know!

April was Big (and No Fooling)!! – See the PNNA website for details. There were several important events, including the Washington State Quarter launch ceremony, PNNA Tukwila convention, and National Coin Week.

The Boeing Employees Coin Show was held January 20-21, 2007 at Kent Commons, 525 4th Ave., Kent, WA. As usual, this was one of the best coin shows of the year in the Northwest.

Jim Bell named as Jim Payne Memorial Service Award winner – At the October 2006 banquet, BECC medals chairman Jim Bell was announced as the second annual winner of the club's Jim Payne Memorial Service Award. Congratulations, Jim, and thanks for your many hours of hard work on the medals program!

Annual Banquet at Burien Elks – The BECC annual banquet was held Wednesday, October 25, 2006 at 5:30 PM at Burien Elks Lodge No. 2143, 14006 1st Ave S, Burien, WA 98168. Advance reservations were required.

It's Over! Puyallup Fair – Members of the BECC and other local coin clubs assisted the Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association in staffing the coin table at the Puyallup Fair Hobby Hall, 10 AM to 10 PM from September 8-24, 2006. Handouts were available including magazines, wooden nickels, and Lincoln cents and foreign coins for junior collectors! If you have a numismatic question that wasn't answered at the Fair, please e-mail info@pnna.org or attend a club meeting.

Stolen Medals Recovered! – The Renton Police Department reported the recovery of stolen firearms and "collector coins" (including BECC medals) from a local suspect. The BECC medals are 5 E3A AWACS, 2 B-29's and 2 75th Anniversary medals.

The Boeing Employees Coin Show was held January 21-22, 2006 at Kent Commons!

In Memoriam: Jim Payne, 1926-2005 – We are saddened to report that a good friend passed away on September 22. Jim Payne was perhaps the most influential and respected member of the Boeing Employees Coin Club (BECC). He served the club in many capacities over approximately a 35-year time period. In recent years he was best known as the largest dealer in BECC medals, although he also supplied many other numismatic items to the club and its members. Jim was also the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association's Bob Everett Memorial Award. Jim will be greatly missed, and his shoes will be hard to fill, as they say. The club has established its own memorial award in his honor (the first winner was Del Cushing).

BECC Medals ... Commemorating the Boeing Legacy of Flight – Left: Photo composition of past BECC medals and B-50 airplane featured on 2005 medal. (Click on image to enlarge.) Right: 2005-dated B-50 silver medal. The deadline to order from the club was November 30, 2004. Silver and pewter 2005 medals were available through the Boeing Employee Discount Program.