It could be said that Electronic Technician Chris Karibian is something of a one-man stamp services department.
Karibian doodles “stamps” to test the postmark of the Advanced Facer Canceler System, or AFCS, at the Charlotte, NC, Local Processing Center.
“Test cards need to be fed into the machine in the proper orientation so that the ID tags, sort codes and cancellation marks all go where they’re supposed to,” he explained.
He started by drawing a box where the stamp would go, then a smiley face — “then it grew into what it is today,” he said.
“I do a set of four cards usually at home in my free time or on my lunch break. Some days I just don’t have the time, so there a few days here and there that haven’t gotten drawings.”
His co-workers seem to enjoy the drawings. “They look forward to seeing them and being surprised at who or what I draw for the day.”
Karibian has been drawing for years and took a cartooning class at Disney World when he was younger and a drawing course at Hofstra University. “I have been drawing for a long as I can remember,” he said.
He completed his route in the Knick of time
If mail delivery was a sport, then Letter Carrier Michael Chan would be MVP.
The 24-year employee of New York City’s Wall Street Station was caught on video recently navigating the fan-filled streets with a packed mail cart before the start of the New York Knicks’ NBA championship victory parade.
They team defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals to capture their first title in 53 years. The championship parade, held on June 18, shares part of the same path as Chan’s delivery route.
“When I was walking through the crowd near Broadway, I had to go through each barrier, and all the Knicks fans helped me lift my cart over the barricades so I could go on to the next spot of my route to deliver. If it was just me, I wouldn’t have been able to because it’s so heavy. The day was total energy,” he said.
Unbeknownst to Chan, his daily delivery went viral and has been shared on social media by news outlets. The fans gathered along the route can be heard and seen cheering for him.
“My friends, family members and customers told me about the video. ‘We saw you on social media,’ they said. I was just doing the job, that’s all and I was just there at the right time,” he said.
Customer Services Manager Stanley Jong had encouraged carriers in the city to start their routes early that day because of road closures. The video was filmed as Chan was headed back to the station.
“As long as everyone got their mail on time — that’s what matters. I came back and I enjoyed the parade on TV,” he said. “I am a big Knicks fan.”
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