On Saturday, the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, Ga. hosted the US Postal Service for the reveal of the President Jimmy Carter Forever stamp, kicking off a weekend that also included events honoring former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
Jimmy Carter, who served as governor of Georgia and the 39th president of the United States, died at home in Plains on Dec. 29, 2024, at the age of 100.
The Postal Service plans to release the stamp for purchase on Oct. 1 in Atlanta, on what would have been former President Carter’s 101st birthday.
The Jimmy Carter stamp is a “forever” stamp because it will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price (currently 78 cents per stamp).
According to a press statement about the event at Plains High School, the stamp was designed by USPS art director Ethel Kessler and features a 1982 oil-on-linen life study of Carter by Herbert E. Abrams.
“The stamp program celebrates the best in American culture, places and people, and it is difficult to consider a more fitting honoree than former President Jimmy Carter,” USPS VP Peter Pastre said.
“In his support and leadership of his beloved community, state, and nation, he lent his quiet, thoughtful and deliberate energy around causes he believed in, and most certainly in his conduct and accomplishments as a former President, Jimmy Carter truly personified the best in America. I am honored to participate in the reveal of this stamp art, which fully evokes his humanity,” Pastre said.
Kim Carter Fuller, niece of Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter and executive director of the Friends of Jimmy Carter said, “The Carter family and the Friends of Jimmy Carter are honored to be able to take part in revealing the design for President Carter’s Forever stamp. Together we’ve had the distinct privilege of a front row seat to his life and legacy, and today’s reveal gives the world an opportunity to share his legacy with others on a daily basis.”
Rosalynn Carter died in November 2023, and today (Aug. 18) marks what would have been her 98th birthday. After the stamp unveiling, the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park held a panel discussion in her honor featuring descendants of Presidents Monroe, Eisenhower, and Carter. Butterfly Daze also hosted garden events in Plains throughout the weekend to remember the first lady’s love for flowers and the fluttering insects.
“It was a privilege to be part of an historic Rosalynn Carter tribute panel moderated by Andrew Greer at the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park,” presidential historian Larry Cook wrote in a Facebook post.
In its own post, the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park shared, “What resonated most wasn’t just the history itself, but the reminder that legacies aren’t only shaped by grand moments. They’re built in the quiet, everyday choices we make. Sometimes, the kindest thing you do today may become the part of you that’s remembered tomorrow.”
This article comes to Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
