Mail call has always been a morale-boosting military tradition, but it turns out that mail can do more than improve a service member’s disposition — it can also save their life. Last summer, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched the Caring Letters Program, which mails recurring messages to veterans enrolled in VA health […]
A Texas employee’s chat with a customer has resulted in more than $184,000 in new estimated annualized revenue for the Postal Service. Tracey Quinn, a letter carrier in Carrollton, a city near Dallas, learned that a detergent manufacturer on her route was looking for a cost-saving way to ship its products. She submitted a lead […]
Postal Service employees can participate in an upcoming webinar on a breathing technique that can help reduce stress. The session, “Diaphragmatic Breathing,” will be held Tuesday, April 6, at noon EDT. A representative from GEHA, a not-for-profit provider of health plans for federal employees, will conduct the webinar and explain how breathing deeply from the […]
Letter Carrier Tiffany Lewis was recently delivering mail in a Fort Worth, TX, neighborhood when she spotted a customer lying on the ground. Lewis promptly checked on the woman, who said she thought she was having a heart attack. The Postal Service employee immediately called 911 and comforted the customer, assuring her that help was […]
To encourage more people to wear face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic, Elizabeth Dey started a part-time business last year selling fashionable masks and accessories that she makes herself. The Chevy Chase, MD, resident relies on the Postal Service to help fulfill her orders, including printing labels at home and handing the packages to her […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees that they are required to provide the organization with their current address. This allows USPS to send you communications about health, payroll, benefits and other important matters. You can use the Life Changes LiteBlue page to update your address and other information, including your emergency contacts and beneficiaries, which […]
Here are five facts about the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, which blossom every spring and have been immortalized on stamps several times over the years: 1. The trees represent a gift of friendship. In 1912, Japan sent Washington 3,020 cherry trees to honor a growing friendship between the two nations. […]
Letter Carrier Mark La Due was recently making deliveries in a Rochester, NY, neighborhood when he grew concerned about a customer whose mail was piling up. La Due alerted the man’s neighbor, who requested a wellness check. Emergency responders soon found the customer lying on a bathroom floor, in dire need of medical attention. The […]
I loved “The List” of six facts about butterflies. […]
An Ohio employee’s question to a customer has resulted in more than a quarter of a million dollars in new estimated annualized revenue for the Postal Service. Lisa Hopkins, a lead retail associate at the Akron Main Post Office, noticed a customer who was dropping off a large quantity of packages every day. After asking […]
USPS is offering savings on Visa gift card purchases at select Post Offices this month. From March 20-April 2, customers and employees will receive $3.95 off the purchase fee of Visa gift cards valued at $100 or more. Variable load gift cards are excluded. No coupon is needed. […]
Reading Link’s “Heroes’ Corner” column makes me realize how amazing it is that so many mail carriers assist customers on their routes each day. Kudos to all of them. […]
City Carrier Assistant Ernest Thayer Jr. was delivering mail on a spring day last year in downtown Mount Dora, FL, when two women who’d been shopping together across the street experienced a crisis. Thayer heard one of them yelling for help, so he rushed to their aid, where he found that the other had fainted […]
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the USPS leadership ranks: • Lisa Arcari, commercial payment director at Postal Service headquarters in Washington, DC, was named pricing innovation manager. She succeeded Nan McKenzie, who is now leading a special project examining volumes, revenues and costs for all international products. Jeanette Cook, information technology program […]
Spring has sprung and nature’s prettiest pollinators — such as the Colorado hairstreak, star of the Postal Service’s latest butterfly stamp — are waiting in the wings. Here are six facts about these fragile forces of nature: 1. Butterflies have four wings, not two. They’re also cold-blooded and need temperatures higher than 60 degrees to […]
Letter Carrier Alexis McIntosh was recently making deliveries in an Arlington Heights, IL, neighborhood when she heard someone yelling for help inside a residence. McIntosh entered the home and saw a customer lying on the floor. The man told her he’d been stranded there for four days. The Postal Service employee immediately called 911 and […]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will extend this year’s federal income tax filing deadline from April 15 to May 17 to give people more time to navigate challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. Taxpayers can also delay payment of any money owed the agency until May 17. Those who need more time to submit their […]
A customer services manager’s sales lead has resulted in more than $96,000 in new revenue for the Postal Service. Ana Garza, who works at the South Tyler, TX, Carrier Annex, was assisting a business customer who ships plush stuffed animals, both domestically and internationally. After learning that the customer was interested in saving on shipping […]
The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) has reopened so federal employees can contribute to charities helping people affected by the ice storm that struck Texas and other states this winter. The storm, also known as Winter Storm Shirley, caused widespread power outages and water shortages. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which runs the CFC, is […]
It was great to read that the Postal Service has an advocate such as Kevin Morby, the indie rocker who prefers receiving mail at his P.O. Box. It’s also nice that he celebrated the Postal Service’s value with his special song, “U.S. Mail.” […]
Letter Carrier Joy Cordell was recently making deliveries in an Eaton Rapids, MI, neighborhood when she saw two visibly upset children exit a house. Cordell asked what was wrong and one replied: “My mommy has fallen and isn’t waking up.” The Postal Service employee rushed inside and found a woman on a bathroom floor with […]
The Postal Service has named the directors who’ll oversee its new division structure. The divisions, part of Logistics and Processing Operations, focus on processing and moving mail and packages efficiently to delivery units. Under a plan announced this month, Logistics will be organized into four regions — each geographically aligned to one retail and delivery […]
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the USPS leadership ranks: • Jason R. Beach, the Norfolk, VA, Processing and Distribution Center’s plant manager, was named the Richmond, VA, Processing and Distribution Center’s acting plant manager. Deshon Scott-Hopwood, the Richmond facility’s senior plant manager, left the Postal Service on Feb. 23 after nine years […]
In a tip of the hat to St. Pat, here are five recent stamps released by An Post, Ireland’s postal service. Some of them may surprise you: 1. Failte. Ireland’s newest stamp bears the greeting “failte,” Gaelic for “welcome,” with wavy light gray lines radiating from the greeting to form the background. The fraction “1/100,000” […]
Retail Associate Sheena Dillenburg was on duty recently in Stockton, NY, when a colleague complained of difficulty breathing and a malfunctioning inhaler. Concerned that her colleague was turning blue, Dillenburg immediately called 911. Emergency responders soon arrived and rushed the distressed worker to a hospital. Dillenburg’s colleague, who was treated for pneumonia, recovered from the […]
I loved “Bear necessities,” the article about author Amanda Rose, who credits USPS for the success of her weight-loss book, “Half My Size With the Ridiculously Big Salad.” […]
USPS will release its “Star Wars”-inspired stamps May 4 — a date that nods to the franchise’s most famous line, “May the force be with you.” The stamps, which the Postal Service announced in January, salute beloved droids from the “Star Wars” galaxy. The 20-stamp pane will feature 10 droids: IG-11, R2-D2, K-2SO, D-O, L3-37, […]
Here’s a look at some recent changes in the USPS leadership ranks: • Mary Alt, the Denver Processing and Distribution Center’s senior plant manager, was named the Minneapolis Northland Campus’s acting lead executive. • Jeff Drake, the St. Louis Processing and Distribution Center’s acting plant manager, resumed his regular duties as the Kansas City, MO, […]
The flowers featured on the new Garden Beauty stamps have backgrounds almost as colorful as they are. Here are six examples: 1. Allium. The allium (Latin for “garlic”) is a member of the genus of the same name, a pungent bunch that includes onions, chives and leeks. Indeed, the flower we know as an allium […]
Letter Carrier Kenietra Roberson was recently delivering mail in a Stockton, CA, neighborhood when she grew concerned about unusual noises she heard coming from a customer’s residence. Roberson consulted with a neighbor, who called 911. Emergency responders soon arrived and discovered that the customer had been stranded on the floor for two weeks and was […]