John Hyatt, San Diego, CA
The “23 for 23” article highlights some great stamps planned for next year. I love the variety. […]
Katie Howard
Posts by Katie Howard
The heat is on
James Lange, a rural carrier associate, was delivering mail on a scorching July day in Omaha, AR, when he spotted a customer in distress in a yard outside a residence. Lange rushed to check on the man, called 911 and comforted him until emergency responders arrived. The customer was hospitalized for treatment of a heart […]
High achievers
Here’s a look at Postal Service employees who received appointments or recognition recently: • Joy M. Hawkins, the Central Massachusetts Processing and Distribution Center plant manager, was named the Northwest Rochester, NY, Processing and Distribution Center acting plant manager. • Earl L. Johnson Jr. was named addressing and geospatial technology director. He previously served as […]
Opening soon
Open season, the annual period when Postal Service employees can change their health benefits or enroll in a new plan, begins Monday, Nov. 14. A variety of health, vision and dental coverage is available through the following plans and programs: • Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program; • USPS Health Benefits Plan (USPSHBP), for noncareer […]
What floats your boat?
Tammy Braley, a complaints and inquiry clerk at the Charleston, WV, Post Office, was recognized in the fall issue of The Eagle magazine for her volunteer work. Braley lives in the nearby community of St. Albans, where she organized the Keep It Beautiful Walk, in which volunteers pick up litter, pull weeds, plant flowers and […]
Scam stopper
Do you know colleagues like Bobby Broder, a retail associate from Wisconsin who prevented an older customer from being victimized in a sweepstakes scam? We want to know about them, too. USPS is seeking nominees for the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program, which honors employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. The program […]
Meal ticket
A sales lead from a mail handler in California has resulted in a marketing deal worth more than $80,000 for the Postal Service. Manuel Villavicencio, an equipment operator at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center, was having dinner with his daughter, who works at a local college. She told him that the school was […]
Political prohibition
Like it does every election season, the Postal Service is reminding employees about the Hatch Act’s rules on misusing their government positions. The Hatch Act is a law that prohibits postal and other federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty, while wearing a uniform, while on federal property, or while inside […]
Home alone
Rural Carrier Michael Elkins was making deliveries on a recent Monday in Mount Gilead, NC, when he grew concerned about an 86-year-old customer who lives alone and had not picked up her Saturday mail as usual. As Elkins approached her house to check on the woman, he heard her normally quiet dog barking in distress. […]
Rising to the top
Here’s a look at Postal Service employees who received appointments or recognition recently: • Jay L. Smith was named new business acquisition director. He previously served as enterprise and key accounts director, a role now held by Michael J. McInturf, who previously served as retail and healthcare accounts director. Mark W. Worrall was named the […]
Keeping the flame alive
The Postal Service dedicated its latest Forever stamp, a celebration of Hanukkah, on Oct. 20 at Temple Emanu El in Chagrin Falls, OH. The eight-day Jewish observance commemorates the reclamation of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in the second century B.C. after its desecration by soldiers. Oil was needed to resanctify the temple, but only […]
Runaway pride
Do you know colleagues like Allen Dix, a rural carrier from Virginia who rescued a farmer critically injured by a runaway tractor? We want to know about them, too. USPS is seeking nominees for the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program, which honors employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. The program is based […]
Seeding the ground
A sales lead from a letter carrier in California has resulted in a local shipping deal worth almost $18,000 for the Postal Service. While delivering mail on his route, Raymundo Ortiz, who works at the Gilroy Post Office, took an opportunity to talk with the owner of a seed warehouse who was looking to save […]
The beacon’s call
Sophia Torres saw the light. The rural carrier was so taken by her experience filling in on a vacant route in Montauk, NY — whose 18th-century lighthouse was commemorated in a stamp last year — that she filed for a permanent transfer. “It may seem like the end of the world,” Torres said of the […]
Ditch switch
Rural Carrier Associate Keith Cooper was recently delivering mail in Point, TX, when he came upon an 83-year-old customer sprawled out in a ditch near her mailbox. Cooper rushed to aid the woman, who had fallen two hours earlier while gathering kindling for the winter. He safely helped her stand up, at which point her […]
R. Chris Rosenberg, Neenah, WI
“When disaster strikes” shows how the Postal Service is uniquely equipped to respond to emergencies. USPS employees don’t get the recognition they deserve for helping communities recover from disasters. […]
FEHB and Medicare
Postal Service employees can participate in an upcoming webinar to learn about the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and Medicare. The session, “Medicare and FEHB,” will be held Oct. 25 at noon EDT. Representatives from GEHA, a not-for-profit provider of health plans for federal employees, will conduct the webinar and explain how Medicare works […]
New gigs
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the Postal Service leadership ranks: • Jake R. Campbell, letter and flat planning and implementation executive manager, was named to a special assignment in the facility modernization effort. James N. Dale Jr. was named acting letter and flat planning and implementation executive manager. • Naples, FL, Postmaster […]
Building bridges
The Postal Service dedicated its new Kwanzaa stamp Oct. 13 during a ceremony in St. Louis. “USPS is honored to continue in the celebration of Kwanzaa — a communal tradition that has grown to hold special meaning to millions of people,” said Eddie Banner, the organization’s Kansas-Missouri District manager, who spoke at the event. The […]
In a heartbeat
Do you know colleagues like Robin Bailey and Bonnie Przybocki, rural carriers from Gainesville, VA, who performed lifesaving CPR on a co-worker experiencing cardiac arrest? We want to know about them, too. USPS is seeking nominees for the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program, which honors employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. The […]
Martha Carson, Guysville, OH
“A route through history” was enjoyable. I looked up some of the notable sites mentioned in the story and learned a lot about Revolutionary War history. […]
Life’s challenges
The Postal Service wants employees to know about professionals who are available to provide confidential counseling, consultation and coaching services to help manage life’s challenges. The USPS Employee Assistance Program is a free, voluntary program that offers assessment, referral, short-term counseling and more to postal employees and their families. EAP provides 24/7 access to licensed […]
Know before you go
The Postal Service wants employees and contractors to follow the rules when using USPS-issued devices to conduct business abroad. Employees and contractors must take these steps: • Complete the CyberSafe International Traveler course (course code 2020ITEC4579SS01) before traveling. • Request authorization for international business travel at least 21 days before the trip. • Request access […]
Long on beauty
Dushore, PA, with a population of 552, is tiny by most standards. But in Sullivan County — which is also known as the “Gem of Endless Mountains” — the town is a humming metropolis. For starters, it has the traffic light — that’s right, there’s one light in the entire county. And on good days, […]
Karen Meehan, Washington, DC
The headlines “Pickup line,” “Who’s the Ross” and “Display of affection” were so clever. Good journalistic technique! […]
Destination: Danger
Terry Curry, a rural carrier in Jeffersonville, GA, was recently delivering mail when she came upon an older customer walking along a dirt road on a day with triple-digit temperatures. Curry stopped to check on the woman, who said she was on her way to her son’s home but didn’t feel well and didn’t think […]
Sending out an SOS
The Combined Federal Campaign’s cause of the week is disaster response. According to a 2021 report by the World Meteorological Organization, during the past 50 years: • The number of weather-related disasters increased by a factor of five. • A disaster related to weather, climate or water hazard occurred every day, killing 115 people and […]
Climbing the ranks
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the Postal Service leadership ranks: • DeAngela L. Mayes was named integration and support specialist in Corporate Affairs. She previously served as a consumer relations specialist. • Wisconsin District Manager Samarn S. Reed was named to a special assignment for Central Area. St. Louis Postmaster Jeff A. […]
Conversation starter
The Postal Service wants to remind employees about the Hatch Act’s rules on political conversations on the job. The Hatch Act prohibits postal employees from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty, in a postal building, while wearing a postal uniform or badge or while in a postal vehicle. Political activity is any activity […]
Breast cancer awareness
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to learn more about the disease and efforts to cure it. Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women in the United States. Men can have breast cancer, too, though it is rare. Breast cancer begins in the tissue of the breast. […]