No one would blame Postal Service employees if they kicked back and put their feet up after a hard day’s work, but as this year’s “Off the Clock” profiles show, “downtime” is just not in many employees’ DNA.
The showbiz contingent includes Konstantin Stoyanov-Casey, an operations specialist in Philadelphia who makes films here and in his native Bulgaria; Donna Graham-DiLacqua, a customer relations manager for Delaware-Pennsylvania 2 District and former Broadway performer who teaches voice to aspiring entertainers; and Dean Davis, a Washington, DC, business project leader who plays starring roles in community theater.
A love of music runs deep, and we profiled three folks who perform in bands: Mike Porter, a Washington, DC, communications specialist and lead vocalist for ’80s tribute band BoomBox; Tim Luce, a rural carrier in Rockford, MI, and bass guitarist for metal band Tombstunner; and Ron Lantz, a now-retired Warrendale, PA, mail processing clerk who performs with the country-western band Honky Tonk Heroes.
Then there’s Brandy Freeman, a Washington, DC, graphic designer whose love of singing spurred her to join a karaoke team, District Karaoke; David Plybon, an equal employment opportunity program manager in Washington who sang at the White House with his choir, the Spotsylvanians Community Chorus; and Thomas and Jonah Alexander, a father-son bell-ringing duo who perform in the Erie Canal Ringers when they’re not working as retail associates in Pennsylvania.
And Abby Martin stays very busy when she’s not on the job as an integration and support manager at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. She performs with a local folk trio and also plays ice hockey with the all-female Washington Wolves.
Other athlete-employees include Dillon Holiday, a Manasota, FL, mail handler and mixed martial artist, and Elizabeth Matthews, a general clerk in Minneapolis and a Deaflympian curler who is training for the 2027 Winter Deaflympics in Austria.
And we featured two employees — Robert Rivera, a customer service support supervisor in Ocala, FL, and Dennis Ford Jr., a complaints and inquiry clerk in Los Angeles — who exemplify sports’ power to inspire: Rivera realized a dream when he became an umpire for the Savannah Bananas barnstorming exhibition baseball team, and Ford helps shape the character of boys as an inspirational coach for the Jaguars, a youth football program in Compton, CA.
Speaking of inspiration, the column also featured two headquarters employees who overcame deep personal challenges to help others. Tarsem Dayal, an IT client support specialist, went from being tongue-tied to being silver-tongued thanks to Toastmasters, the public speaking and leadership group, and Tonia Lott, a strategic integration and communications adviser, took the pain from her son’s death by suicide to create Healing Out Loud, a suicide prevention and mental health support effort.
Finally, we profiled three employees who follow the call of the wild in their off hours. Star, NC, Postmaster Kirk Kern is a beekeeper with 80 hives to look after; Lincoln, NE, Retail Associate Carri Honz helps care for birds of prey, including the world-famous Halsey; and Mary Hulshouser, a retention operations specialist based in Fort Worth, TX, takes award-winning photographs of nature.
“My dream is to have my photos on postage stamps one day,” Hulshouser said.
Check out the “Off the Clock” archive for more stories about Postal Service employees and their after-hours pursuits.
