Strategic Communications Specialist Tim Norman of Elgin, IL, died Aug. 31. He was 68.
Norman was with the Postal Service for more than 40 years and started as a letter carrier. He spent the past 20 years in Corporate Communications, during which time he worked as a writer-editor, USPS spokesperson, speechwriter and an award-winning video producer. He most recently served as a strategic communications specialist in Chicago supporting field operations in Illinois 1 and Illinois 2 districts.
One of his last assignments included coordinating a USPS presence at the Original Lowrider Chicago Classic Supershow in August where the local postmaster delivered remarks and attendees purchased Lowriders stamps.
“Tim was a tremendous man and was incredibly respected in the Postal Service and in his community,” said Central Area Strategic Communications Manager Mark Inglett. “He was so much more than a talented and dedicated colleague. Tim was kind, compassionate and a dear friend. Words cannot describe the pain we feel or how much he will be missed.”
“Tim was a valued member of the Corporate Communications team and always willing to lend a hand. We’ll never forget him, his contributions to USPS or the positive impact he had on everyone and everything around him,” said Darleen Reid-DeMeo, field communications director. “He will be missed greatly by his family as well as countless friends and co-workers.”
Her cookies started as a hobby — now they’re on stamps
Greg Breeding, an art director and designer for USPS, wanted a fun twist on a holiday dessert for the newest contemporary Christmas stamps.
After reviewing the latest trends and the work of cookie designers and bakers, Breeding reached out to Kyrie Johnson, a Norfolk, VA, baker and designer with a social media following. He enlisted her to create, bake and decorate the four cookies that are featured on the 2026 stamps.
Johnson took up baking in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I started playing around to figure out recipes, and then it kind of spiraled from there. I ended up with a wall of cookie cutters and an Instagram page. It kind of came out of nowhere,” she said.
She now has almost 35,000 followers.
When Breeding approached Johnson about doing a stamp, she was initially dubious it was a legitimate opportunity. After researching USPS and Breeding, she was convinced — and now finds seeing her work on a stamp “surreal.”
“They sent me the pictures of my cookies on the stamps, I was like ‘Whoa, this is so crazy,’” she said.
Johnson baked replicas of her featured cookies for the stamps’ recent unveiling at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC.
“And to think baking was something I just did on a whim that became this hobby and passion and now it’s on a stamp,” she said.
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