Roger Barnes, Omaha, NE
Congratulations to Harris London for almost 43 years of service as a telephone operator at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. She must hold the record for the longest-lasting summer job in history! […]
Shawn Selby
Posts by Shawn Selby
Very special delivery
Trenton, NJ, Rural Carrier Margot Townsend was recently making deliveries when she grew concerned about an older customer whose mail was piling up. Townsend knocked on the woman’s front door and heard her faintly calling out for help, but both the front and back doors were locked. The Postal Service employee immediately alerted neighbors, who […]
Retirement ready
It’s never too soon to start planning for retirement — and that means thinking about your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account. The TSP is a retirement savings program for federal workers. On average, 7 out of 8 Postal Service employees contribute to the TSP. You can’t control your Social Security benefits and you can’t control […]
Do yourself proud
Behind the Eagle, the latest #PostalProud initiative to showcase USPS employees, began April 1. #PostalProud, an ongoing effort to celebrate workers and their efforts to serve customers, is part of the organization’s core strategies to engage, equip and empower employees and to deliver world-class customer experiences. Like Peek into Peak and Inside Blue, two recent initiatives […]
Painted love
Not every Post Office has a mural, but every Post Office will soon have Post Office Murals stamps. The 10-stamp pane showcasing five classic works of art will be released Wednesday, April 10. Each stamp features a detail from one of five murals that were designed to help boost the public’s morale during the Great […]
What’s going on
To help mark the release of the Marvin Gaye stamp last week, here are five facts about the influential singer: 1. Marvin added the “e” to his last name. Gaye was born Marvin Pentz Gay (with no “e”) Jr. in Washington, DC, in 1939. When he became an adult, he added the vowel to his […]
Plane view
A mural in the Piggott, AR, Post Office is one of five from across the nation to be featured in the new Post Office Murals stamp release. The “Air Mail” mural was painted in 1941 by Dan Rhodes (1911-1989). The painting shows a customer handing a letter to a Postmaster, who then helps load mailbags […]
Luz Quintero, Meriden, CT
I’m a supervisor in Hartford, CT, and my employees often are confused about their advanced annual leave. Link’s recent article on this topic helped me and my team to better understand the policy. […]
Eight is enough
Eight employees at the Hawkeye District office in Des Moines, IA, were recently recognized for coming to the aid of a colleague, Western Area Mailpiece Design Analyst Kirk Petty, when he experienced a life-threatening medical emergency in February. Address Management System Technician Kelly Snyder and Health and Resource Management Specialist Jody Paullin discovered Petty in […]
Flight to safety
Employees at the Fremont, NE, Post Office arrived at work on a Friday morning last month expecting business as usual. The town of about 26,000 residents had recently been slammed by a major snowfall, followed by rising temperatures that caused widespread thawing. Still, no one expected disaster was imminent. Then the levee that protected Fremont […]
Frogs, dogs and more
The Postal Service has announced dates for four stamp releases, along with the cities where the stamps will be dedicated. The releases are: Frogs, Tuesday, July 9, Boise, ID 1969: First Moon Landing, Friday, July 19, Cape Canaveral, FL State and County Fairs, Thursday, July 25, Minot, ND Military Working Dogs, Thursday, Aug. 1, Omaha, […]
Safety in numbers
Here’s Link’s latest “News Quiz,” a weekly feature that invites readers to test their knowledge of recent stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. Fill in the blank: Since Portland District introduced its Safety Happens program last year, workplace accidents have fallen (blank). a) 14 percent b) 16 percent c) 22 percent d) […]
Herd mentality
A mural in the Florence, CO, Post Office is one of five from across the nation to be featured in the new Post Office Murals stamp release. The “Antelope” mural was painted in 1939 by Olive Rush (1873-1966). The painting, which hangs in the Post Office’s lobby, features a herd of pronghorn, which are often […]
Navneet Makhani, Greensboro, NC
Two thumbs up to Link for keeping me in touch with USPS. It’s good to know about organizational changes and updates. […]
Shop, stop, go
Medford, OR, Letter Carrier Clifford Maris III was enjoying a day off last December when a car crashed into the grocery store where he and his wife were shopping. Maris, a former Air Force combat medic, rushed to check on the driver, who was unconscious after going into cardiac arrest while behind the wheel. The […]
Center stage
It’s showtime for the Postal Service’s new stamp honoring Marvin Gaye, the singing icon who was one of the most influential performers of his generation. USPS released the stamp April 2. Known as the “Prince of Soul,” Gaye (1939-1984) helped shape the Motown sound in the late 1960s and broadened the reach of R&B music […]
Hiring improvements
The Postal Service is streamlining the hiring process for most entry-level bargaining positions. The organization has introduced the Virtual Entry Assessment (VEA), a process that all applicants — including current non-career bargaining unit employees — must complete when applying for these positions. The VEA is a set of four online assessments that each align to […]
First-class facts
To help mark the release of this year’s edition of Postal Facts, here are 12 tidbits from the popular digital and print publication. 1. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses. The organization relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. 2. USPS is all heart. The […]
FOIA focus
The Postal Service recently honored several employees for their efforts to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests. These employees received recognition: Tyrone Dash, a Postal Police sergeant with the Inspection Service’s Charlotte, NC, Division Jeannette Grant, a project management analyst in Accounting Services at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC Anthony Kessler, a computer operations […]
Box populi
Information Technology wants you to know about My App Box, an online tool that allows you to access more than 430 applications, including PostalEASE and the TACS Help Desk. To access the tool from a postal computer, click the Windows icon in the lower left-hand corner of your screen and select “All Apps,” followed by […]
Rising Star
Star Ribbon, the Postal Service’s latest stamp, was dedicated last week. “This beautiful stamp features the five-pointed star, one of America’s most enduring symbols,” said Michael Elston, acting secretary of the Postal Service Board of Governors, who led the dedication ceremony. “The Star Ribbon Forever stamp is a modern take on patriotic stamps and evokes […]
Coral history
To help you get ready for this week’s release of the Coral Reefs postcard stamps, here are some facts about underwater ecosystems. 1. Coral reefs are home to an estimated 25 percent of all marine life. Although the total area of the world’s coral reefs amounts to less than 1 percent of the entire marine […]
‘Know your body’
Jay Overy was surprised to learn he had colorectal cancer after undergoing a routine colonoscopy in 2017. The Bay Village, OH, retail associate was told that because the cancer was in stage 2, there was a high chance for successful treatment. “Early detection is critical,” said Overy, a 31-year USPS employee. “I put off my […]
Double duty
Postal support employees Sheri Finke and Mee Lee were on the job one day last summer when a co-worker collapsed and stopped breathing. While 911 was called, Finke and Lee rushed to the man’s aid and performed CPR on him until emergency responders arrived and took him to a hospital. Paramedics credited the pair with […]
Star Ribbon
The Postal Service will release its Star Ribbon stamp Friday, March 22. The stamp features a digital illustration of a star made from a single red, white and blue ribbon. Aaron Draplin, who designed the tri-colored ribbon and folded it into a patriotic symbol, created the artwork first by sketching the design by hand, then […]
Board nomination
Board nomination. President Trump has nominated John McLeod Barger to be a member of the USPS Board of Governors. Barger, a California resident, is nominated for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring Dec. 8, 2021. The U.S. Senate must confirm nominees before they join the board. The governors are the principal officers of the […]
Taxing times
Here’s Link’s latest “News Quiz,” a weekly feature that invites readers to test their knowledge of recent stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. True or false: If your earned annual leave balance is negative, you’ll receive a bill for “overdrawn leave,” which means you’ve used more annual leave than you’ve earned. a) […]
Action figure
Letter Carrier Xaviar Morris was recently delivering mail to an older veteran in Daytona Beach, FL, when she heard him yelling for help. The customer asked Morris to contact his sister, calling out her phone number, which she immediately dialed. The man’s sister, Edna Bell, rushed to the scene, where she discovered that he was […]
Still on the case
Michael Carroll’s work fighting crime didn’t end when he retired from the Postal Inspection Service several years ago. The former inspector returned to the agency in 2014 as a contractor, a role that allows him to use the expertise he gained from 29 years on the job, mainly investigating financial crimes. “It makes me feel […]
Nice and neat
The Carol Stream, IL, Vehicle Maintenance Facility looks — and functions — better than ever these days. Employees recently cleaned the shop from top to bottom and reorganized the equipment, supplies and other materials to make them easier to find. “Before you might have an oil can here one day, and the next day it’s […]