Friday, January 12, 2024
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s latest employee video message is now available
He discusses the organization’s holiday performance, Delivering for America and other topics
In his latest video message for employees, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy discusses the Postal Service’s performance during the holiday season.
He also updates employees on the organization’s efforts to become a high-performing logistics and delivery provider under the Delivering for America plan.
Additionally, DeJoy talks about the Postal Service’s plans for the next 18 months and thanks employees for their commitment to the organization.
The video, released Jan. 11, is available on Link and other postal websites and will be shown to employees throughout the organization this week and next.
The new Love stamp has arrived
This year’s release shows a bird in flight
The Postal Service will release its latest Love stamp on Friday, Jan. 12.
The stamp is the newest addition to the popular Love series that began in 1973.
This year’s stamp depicts a pink, heart-sealed envelope delivered by a bird in flight. The word “forever” appears in pink cursive in the upper left corner.
Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp from an illustration by artist Katie Kirk.
Love stamps will be available at Post Offices and usps.com.
No national dedication ceremony is planned for the release.
Heroes
‘This day will forever be with me’
An employee performed CPR on a pedestrian struck by a car
City Carrier Assistant Darian Bolton was making a delivery in Amarillo, TX, last fall when she witnessed an accident involving an automobile and a pedestrian.
Bolton called 911 as she rushed to aid the 69-year-old man, who had been hit by a car while attempting to cross a nearby intersection. She reported the details of the incident and the man’s condition: He was not breathing and did not have a detectable pulse.
The Postal Service employee performed CPR on the man until emergency responders arrived and took over. The man was transported to a hospital.
Bolton later learned that he had died.
“This day will forever be with me,” she said.
People
Best of the West, bar none
A California clerk marks his long run and a Minnesota retiree honors letter carriers
Leroy Brown, a general clerk at the Los Angeles International Service Center, recently marked 70 years of federal service — 68 of them with USPS.
At a celebration in his honor held late last year, the Western Division processing operations team presented Brown with a certificate and special service coin, and family, friends and colleagues shared stories about him.
“Going to work keeps me busy and lively. I like being around the people I work with,” Brown said.
What’s the secret of his longevity?
Retiree Tracie Hill-Sandifer, the center’s former plant manager, said it may have something to do with his daily dose of a certain candy bar.
“If you want to live to be 90-plus, eat Snickers,” she told the crowd.
A statue with no limitations
A new statue in Mankato, MN, honors letter carriers.
The 6-foot bronze rendering of a smiling carrier delivering mail was commissioned by Harold Weed, a retired letter carrier who told The Free Press he and his wife, Alice, wanted to “give back” to the community.
Weed, who worked for USPS for 30 years, said he hopes the statue makes passersby appreciate carriers.
“What I’m thinking is that people, as they drive by and walk by, and see it … maybe they’ll realize how much of a service the letter carriers give them,” Weed said.
“People” appears regularly in Link. Got news to share? Email us.
History
Happy birthday, Mr. Franklin
The first postmaster general was born 318 years ago
Perhaps it’s fitting that the Postal Service, an organization that has touched every corner of American life, can trace its roots to the most quintessential American.
Benjamin Franklin, the nation’s first postmaster general, was born 318 years ago on Jan. 17, 1706.
He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution and an ambassador to France. He was also a newspaper publisher, volunteer firefighter, bookstore owner, cartoonist and the inventor of bifocals, swim fins and the lightning rod.
That ingenuity and flexibility served him well as the nation’s first postmaster general, a monumental and crucially important undertaking.
Secure communications were essential to the Revolutionary cause. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress chose Franklin to lead the wartime postal effort.
The year before, Franklin had been dismissed as the British Crown-appointed joint postmaster general for his sympathies to the Colonies.
He had served the Crown successfully for years and his improvements helped its post turn its first North American profit.
The Crown’s loss was the Colonies’ gain: Franklin would use the experience he gained toiling for the Crown in the fight against it.
His tenure as postmaster general was brief — he served only until November 1776 — but transformative.
“America’s present Postal Service descends from the system Franklin placed in operation,” wrote the authors of Publication 100, The United States Postal Service: An American History.
Franklin lived up to his own aphorism, which he penned under the nom de plume Poor Richard: “Hide not your Talents, they for Use were made. What’s a Sun-Dial in the shade?”
The “History” column appears occasionally in Link.
Postal Bulletin covers passports process
Postal Bulletin’s latest edition, published Jan. 11, features an overview of passports, including instructions on how to obtain or renew a passport through USPS.
The latest updates to the organization’s policies, procedures and forms are also included.
Employees can go to usps.com to read and download the latest Postal Bulletin, along with past issues.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
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Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s latest employee video message is now available
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The new Love stamp has arrived
This year’s release shows a bird in flight
-
Heroes
‘This day will forever be with me’
An employee performed CPR on a pedestrian struck by a car
-
People
Best of the West, bar none
A California clerk marks his long run and a Minnesota retiree honors letter carriers
-
History
Happy birthday, Mr. Franklin
The first postmaster general was born 318 years ago
-
Brief
Postal Bulletin covers passports process