Daily printout: Feb. 13

When Amanda Rogers joined the Postal Service as a custodian in 2022, her dream was to be an area maintenance technician like her dad, Scott Miller — and he wanted that for her, too.

They both worked at the El Dorado, AR, Post Office, so in between Rogers’s custodial duties, Miller taught her the ins and outs of his job, known as an AMT.

When he heard about an upcoming AMT test, he urged her to take it. She did and she passed.

But soon after, Miller had a heart attack, and he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Rogers’s dream moved to the back burner as she cared for her father through his surgery and chemotherapy.

“Management worked with me to make sure I could be there for him,” she said. “They made sure my days off were dad’s chemo days.”

Colleagues, including Rogers, donated annual leave and sick time to Miller.

Another AMT test was scheduled for April 2025, and Miller urged Rogers to take it — he wanted her to improve her score and better her chances of getting an AMT position.

But the night before the second test, Miller passed away.

“I told my husband I was going to have to deal with the scores I already had. I couldn’t take that test,” Rogers said. “I didn’t want to disappoint my dad — he would want me to do this — but I just couldn’t.”

Her father’s death had created an opening for an AMT in Arkansas-Oklahoma District, though. On May 17, Rogers was hired to replace her father.

“Even now, I still get emotional,” she said. “I got his office, his tools, his van. I remember cleaning out his belongings from the van after he passed, crying, not knowing that this would be my van pretty soon.”

She also inherited a built-in work family thanks to her father’s welcoming co-workers. “I feel like I’m working with a bunch of cool uncles,” she said. “They told me I’m going to make my father proud, and that’s what I try to do every day.” 

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The Postal Service is offering special pictorial postmarks for Valentine’s Day, which is Saturday, Feb. 14.

The love-themed images this year include:

• A sketched image of a 14-century couple with the look of love in honor of William Shakespeare’s tragic couple offered in both Romeo, MI; and Juliette, GA;

• A childlike line drawing of a penguin mailing a valentine in Bliss, NY;

• A big heart from Loveland, CO, also known as “Valentine Station”; and

• Sketches of Valentine’s Day Station in Hadley, MA, as well as Love Station in Valentine, TX.

Since most valentine-senders don’t live in Romeo, Juliette or the other cities with pictorial postmark offerings, a special USPS remailing service is available.

Interested senders are instructed to place preaddressed valentines and letters with the appropriate postage (at least First-Class Mail) in larger envelopes addressed to: Pictorial Postmarks, the name of the chosen station and its address, city, state and ZIP+4 Code. Once there, the station cancels the contents with the special mark, and the love notes are sent on their way to those intended.

Customers can also send stamped envelopes and postcards without addresses for postmark, as long as they supply a larger envelope with adequate postage and their return address. After applying the pictorial postmark, USPS will return the items (with or without addresses) under addressed protective cover.

The service is only available for a range of dates, and no letter can include postage issued after the requested date or those letters will be returned.

More information on the Valentine’s Day pictorial postmark program and other pictorial postmarks can be found in Postal Bulletin’s Feb. 5 edition.

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