Two siblings who work as letter carriers at the Southwest Station in St. Louis recently marked 25 years of keeping it all in the family at work.
Bill Brodtrick and Karen Bomarito took the postal exam together at a local boys and girls club in 1998. After being placed on a waiting list, they were each hired as part-time flexible employees in September 2000.
The siblings initially worked at different stations, but eventually both joined Southwest Station.
“We’ve been together ever since,” Brodtrick said.
The family ties don’t end there: Their father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great uncle were letter carriers as well, and a cousin — Kim Nolan — is also a letter carrier at the station.
“It’s funny. While most family functions are usually on Saturdays, our birthday parties and events are always on Sundays because our family works for the Post Office,” Bomarito said.
Fifty years in the making
Two women who became pen pals as 11-year-olds in the 1970s recently met for the first time in person.
Debbie Houschild, who grew up in New Jersey, and Jane Bean from Kent, England, began writing to each other after they were paired by “Big Blue Marble,” an international children’s TV series that encouraged kids to connect across cultures.
“We would tell each other about what was going on in our lives at the time,” Houschild told the People website. “Over all the years, that changed from teenage types of things to getting married, jobs, having children and how our lives went from there.”
In August, as their golden anniversary approached, Houschild and her daughters traveled to London to meet Bean for the first time.
“To think they’ve been friends for over five decades but have never actually met … it’s crazy!” Kimberly Johnson, one of Houschild’s daughters, told People.
The pen pals spent time together touring London landmarks and local pubs.
“It was a great day,” Houschild said. “I did wonder how we would get along in person, but it truly was like being with an old friend.”
Training the trainers
Two USPS training technicians in Pittsburgh recently received some on-the-job training themselves.
Mitchell Faust and Tomille Jenkins reorganized a storage room in their workplace using the principles of Lean Six Sigma, a business improvement process that emphasizes innovation and efficiency.
As part of their efforts, they received yellow belt certification, a Lean Six Sigma designation for achievement.
Ed Ribar, the local employee development manager, praised the duo for improving the room, which he called “crucial” for keeping training materials organized.
“We now can keep a better inventory of supplies, thus reducing extra costs,” he said.
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