About This Stamp
With the issuance of the Special Olympics stamp in 2003, the U.S. Postal Service continued its tradition of honoring the competitors, coaches, and volunteers whose joy and dedication have changed the world. The stamp was issued to coincide with the 11th Special Olympics World Summer Games, which were held June 21–29 in Dublin, Ireland.
Featuring a computer-generated design by Lance Hidy of Merrimac, Massachusetts, the stamp art captures the enthusiastic and communal spirit of Special Olympics. In the center of the stamp, an athlete wearing a medal celebrates by grasping the hands of his fellow competitors and raising them high in the air. The Special Olympics logo is depicted above the athlete’s head.
This is Hidy’s second project for the Postal Service; he also designed the Mentoring A Child stamp issued in 2002.
Stamp Art Director
Derry Noyes
For more than 40 years Derry Noyes has designed and provided art direction for close to 800 United States postage stamps and stamp products. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Noyes worked as a graphics designer at Beveridge and Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, until 1979 when she established her own design firm, Derry Noyes Graphics. Her clients have included museums, corporations, foundations, and architectural and educational institutions. Her work has been honored by American Illustration, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts, Critique magazine, Graphis, Creativity International, and the Society of Illustrators.
Before becoming an art director for the U.S. Postal Service, she served as a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 1981 to 1983.
Noyes is a resident of Washington, D.C.