Linda King, Mineral Point, MO
I’m one of many chicken keepers in my area. We love stamps like the new Heritage Breeds release — especially when they’re in the booklet format. […]
Katie Howard
Posts by Katie Howard
Labor update
The Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) have agreed to extend contract negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. Although the contract with the NRLCA expired at midnight on May 20, USPS and the union have mutually decided to extend the negotiations. The NRLCA represents approximately 133,000 rural carriers nationwide. […]
Stock photography
The chicken came first. Aliza Eliazarov, the photographer whose work graces the new Heritage Breeds stamps, began shooting studio portraits of backyard poultry on a whim in 2011. The photographer, who was then living in New York City, said it was “a way to gain a closer understanding of where my food and fiber come […]
Revenue booster
A Pennsylvania employee’s attention to detail has resulted in a shipping deal worth almost $75,000 for the Postal Service. Skylyn Kopas, an Indiana, PA, letter carrier, spotted a competitor picking up packages from a business on her route. Kopas asked the customer if they would like to speak to someone about how USPS could save […]
Virtual job fair
Retail and Delivery Operations will hold a virtual job fair from May 19-28. The fair will allow Postal Service employees to explore retail and delivery career opportunities as the organization realigns itself to achieve the goals of Delivering for America, its new 10-year plan. During the fair, employees can watch video presentations from the Retail […]
Troubled teen
Letter Carrier Marc Augustus was making deliveries one day last fall at a housing complex in Geneva, NY, when a 13-year-old boy approached him and asked him to call the police. “Why?” Augustus asked. “Because I don’t want to live anymore,” the teen replied. The USPS employee immediately called 911, calmed the boy, gave him […]
New gigs
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the Postal Service leadership ranks: • Maged Aziz was named field operations support director at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. He previously served as the North Houston Processing and Distribution Center’s plant manager. • Jason Hewitt was named retail and delivery continuous improvement executive manager at headquarters. […]
Mental health awareness
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Here are six facts about the observance and its history: 1. It began with a Wall Street financier. Clifford W. Beers had a mental breakdown and spent three years in psychiatric hospitals in the early 1900s, experiencing firsthand the crude, often cruel institutional practices of the day. His ordeal […]
In a scrape
Rural Carrier Sue Christie was recently delivering mail in Crystal, MI, when she spotted a 5-year-old child walking alone in the roadway. Christie stopped to check on the girl, asking her where her parents were. Afraid she was in trouble, the child ran away and fell, scraping her knee and crying when she realized she […]
Smishing alert
Online scams are not limited to suspicious emails or fake websites. If you’ve received an unsolicited text message alerting you to an overdrawn account or unexpected package delivery, you’ve probably experienced smishing. Smishing is the text message version of phishing: emails — purportedly from legitimate firms — designed to con users into providing financial or […]
Climbing the ranks
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the Postal Service’s leadership ranks: • San Diego Postmaster Lisa Baldwin was named San Diego District’s acting manager. Cipriano “Cip” Corona, Santa Ana District’s marketing manager, was named acting San Diego Postmaster. • Michael Lloyd, human resources director for Atlantic and Eastern regions, was named acting strategy […]
Old stock
USPS will unveil its Heritage Breeds stamps May 17 during International Heritage Breeds Week. Here are five facts about these endangered heirlooms: 1. Heritage breeds are pioneers. They include the cattle, sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens and other domesticated animals that were common on preindustrial farms, as opposed to their modern-day factory-farmed counterparts. The latter are […]
Sandra Greene, Waukesha, WI
Not everyone has valor like Christopher Hill, the Edgewater, FL, city carrier assistant who helped an older customer after she fell and sustained a head injury. As a fellow Postal Service employee, I’m proud to work with people like him. […]
Chapman of the hour
Waddington, NY, Rural Carrier Associate Patrick Chapman was delivering mail one day last spring in a nearby hamlet, Chase Mills, when he heard a customer yelling for help inside her residence. Chapman rushed to the woman’s door and she directed him to spare keys. Upon opening it, he found that she was stranded on the […]
USPS finances
The Postal Service has reported its financial results for fiscal year 2021’s second quarter (Jan. 1-March 31). Here are some highlights: • Revenue. Total revenue was approximately $18.9 billion, up 6 percent compared with the same quarter one year earlier. First-Class Mail revenue decreased by 6.1 percent, while Marketing Mail revenue declined 13.7 percent. Revenue […]
Delivery saver
A referral from a Texas Postmaster has led to a shipping deal worth nearly $139,000 for the Postal Service. After talking with a merchant who ships camping, survival and outdoor gear, Roy Russell of Grand Prairie submitted a lead through Business Connect, a program that allows Postmasters, managers and supervisors to alert USPS to customers […]
Health webinar
Postal Service employees can participate in an upcoming webinar to learn about the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program and Medicare. The session, “Medicare + FEHB,” will be held Monday, May 17, at noon EDT. Brian Sperling and Mickey Basi, senior account managers for GEHA, a not-for-profit provider of health plans for federal employees, will […]
Humble lifesaver
Rural Carrier Forrest Bailey III was recently delivering mail in Humble, TX, when he smelled a strong odor of leaking gas at a customer’s residence. Bailey immediately called 911, and emergency responders and utility workers soon arrived on the scene. The customer, an 86-year-old woman who wasn’t there at the time, returned and was advised […]
Aileen Kirts, Potomac, IL
Like Mary Steinbicker, the Minnetonka, MN, resident who sends postcards to different acquaintances, I sent a weekly postcard to my nephew when he served three military tours in Iraq. He still has them all and gives me a big hug every time I see him. […]
Final restructuring phase
The Postal Service is updating employees on its administrative restructuring. In March, the organization announced the second phase of the restructuring, which included the consolidation of districts from 67 to 50, the centralization of marketing functions into the chief customer and marketing officer’s organization and the creation of a 13th division within Logistics and Processing. […]
The droids you’re looking for
Here’s a look at the 10 droids featured on the Postal Service’s recently released “Star Wars”-inspired stamps. 1. IG-11. After beginning life as an assassin droid and dangerous member of the Bounty Hunters Guild, IG was reprogrammed to protect Grogu during the first season of “The Mandalorian” television series in 2019. 2. R2-D2. This fan […]
High achievers
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the Postal Service leadership ranks: • Washington, DC, Postmaster Sherry L. Harper was named acting Postmaster for Raleigh, NC. Milwaukee Postmaster Eddie Masangcay was named acting Postmaster for Washington, DC. • Ashlea Meyer, manager of the USPS Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) in Greensboro, NC, will […]
Up Hill
City Carrier Assistant Christopher Hill was delivering mail one day last summer in Edgewater, FL, when he spotted an older customer who’d fallen outside her home, sustaining a head injury. Hill rushed to aid the woman, safely carrying her inside as he yelled for her brother in the backyard to call 911. Paramedics soon arrived […]
Derest Brown, Dallas
Marlton, NJ, Letter Carrier Nancy Torres, who helps train city carrier assistants, is an employee after my own heart. […]
Quality tips
Two leads from a customer services supervisor have resulted in deals totaling almost $188,000 for the Postal Service. Timothy Rose, of Northport, AL, passed along the tips through Submit a Lead, a program for employees who are not eligible to participate in the organization’s other lead-generation programs. His first tip was about a customer that […]
Sniffles and sneezes
Postal Service employees can participate in an upcoming webinar to learn about seasonal, food and pet allergies. The session, “Allergies and Asthma,” will be held Thursday, May 6, at noon EDT. Representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Virginia Hospital Center will conduct the webinar and explain how the body reacts to foreign-but-not-dangerous “intruders” […]
Brown down
Rural Carrier Penny Clem was delivering mail one day last summer in tiny Broadlands, IL, when she spotted a UPS truck that had overturned on a remote gravel road. Clem immediately stopped to aid the driver, who had crawled out of the vehicle through the shattered windshield. The Postal Service employee called 911, shaded the […]
John Henderson, Cincinnati
I really enjoyed the “Words to the wise,” the article about using letter writing to combat isolation in senior communities. It has inspired me to start a similar campaign in my community. […]
Rising to the top
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the Postal Service’s leadership ranks: • Richard Acker was named field labor relations operations senior director, a newly created position at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. He previously served as contract compliance manager. • Gail Hendrix was named field human resources senior director at headquarters. She previously […]
AAPI Heritage Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month kicks off May 1. Here are five facts about the celebration of this growing demographic: 1. The observance started as a “week” of 10 days. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a joint resolution for an annual Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. Supporters wanted to include the anniversaries […]