Friday, March 29, 2024
Delivering courage — and compassion
NALC honored heroic postal employees at its annual awards ceremony
A Postal Service employee who saved a customer being attacked by a dog received the top hero of the year award from the National Association of Letter Carriers this week.
Philip Moon, an Amarillo, TX, letter carrier, was in his delivery vehicle last fall when he saw the woman being attacked. He pulled the customer into his vehicle, called 911 and removed his shirt to use it as a compress on her wounds.
Authorities credited Moon with saving the woman’s life twice — once from the attacking dog and then from bleeding to death from the bite wounds.
“I don’t consider myself a hero. I’m just very grateful, honored and thankful that I was in a place where I could be of some assistance to somebody in need,” said Moon, who was recognized March 27 as the national hero of the year at the union’s annual awards luncheon in Washington, DC.
The union, also known as NALC, also recognized three letter carriers as regional heroes: Timothy Martin of Hamburg, NY, who spotted a fire near a customer’s home and guided the woman and her dog to safety; Dominic Jack of Plaquemine, LA, who helped evacuate the occupants of a burning home; and Randall Fields of Boulder, CO, who used his belt as a tourniquet to aid a customer who was struck by a car.
The Humanitarian of the Year Award went to Harry Bittner, a Riverton, NJ, letter carrier who is a member of a musical group that raises money for families in need.
The Partnership Award was given to Ernest Twomley, David Correa, Heriberto Rodriguez and Daniel Weber, a quartet of New York City letter carriers and city carrier assistants who help children in need during the holidays.
Two letter carriers also received the union’s Vigilant Hero Award: Tommy Howe of Taunton, MA, who aided a customer stung multiple times after his lawnmower struck a beehive, and Kyle Mailman of Wichita, KS, who detected the smell of gas at a residence and alerted the homeowner.
Honorable mentions went to letter carriers Timmye Crowley of Billings, MT, who alerted a sleeping man to a house fire, and Brittany Giles of Port St. Lucie, FL, who helped a child who was being bullied.
A panel of independent judges determined the recipients in each category.
Several of the union’s honorees have also received Postmaster General Heroes’ Awards from USPS.
Heroes
Heimlich hero
This employee rescued a co-worker who was choking on a piece of ice
Customer Services Supervisor Michael Ray Tibbals saw a co-worker experiencing a medical emergency recently in the break room of the Spokane, WA, Processing and Distribution Center.
Daniel Portillo, a custodian, was choking on a piece of ice and was unable to breathe.
Tibbals performed the Heimlich maneuver on Portillo and dislodged the obstruction.
Portillo declined further medical treatment and credited his colleague with saving his life.
Employees featured in “Heroes” receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program. The nomination form is available on Blue
People
First-class teacher
A carrier helps students learn about mail and a postmaster continues a family tradition
You can’t learn about American history without learning about the Postal Service.
Just ask Terri Bertolosso Parker, a Modesto, CA, letter carrier who enjoys spending time in local elementary schools, helping students learn about USPS.
During a recent visit to one school, Parker provided each student with a copy of Publication 100-K, A Kids’ History of the United States Postal Service.
She also promotes the virtue of handwritten correspondence, including starting a pen pal program and helping sixth graders teach kindergarteners how to mail postcards.
“It’s an old-fashioned way to communicate, but an important job. It brings communication to your door,” Parker said.
For Parker, promoting USPS comes naturally: Her father was a letter carrier and one of her brothers was a retail associate.
Long and short of it
Daleville, AL — a city of about 5,000 residents in the southeastern part of the state — has a new postmaster: Nicholas Long, who began his appointment this month.
Long joined USPS as a city carrier assistant 10 years ago. Three years later, he became a customer services supervisor.
With his new job, Long continues a family tradition: His father, Ricky, retired as the postmaster of Nauvoo, AL, while his stepmother, Joyce, is the postmaster in Hackleburg, AL.
“I was looking for stable employment with benefits and upward mobility. My dad’s postal career checked all those boxes,” he said.
“People” appears regularly in Link. Got news to share? Email us.
News Quiz
Conference recall
Can you remember the details of these Link articles?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. Which USPS employees can participate in this year’s career conferences?
a) All employees
b) Career employees
c) Noncareer employees
d) Supervisors
2. What is the name of the spring wellness challenge open to USPS employees?
a) Nosh
b) Nourish
c) Nom nom
d) None of the above
3. True or false: Thomas J. Foti, the USPS product solutions vice president who will retire this week, began his career as a summer intern at Postal Service headquarters in 1988.
a) True
b) False
4. Fill in the blank: Since the current fiscal year began in October, the Postal Inspection Service has made (blank) more arrests for letter carrier robberies than it did in the same period in the prior fiscal year.
a) 19 percent
b) 34 percent
c) 73 percent
d) None of the above
5. Match the date in Column A with the historic postal moment on which it occurred in Column B.
Column A
a) Jan. 17, 1706
b) Feb. 1, 1978
c) Feb. 17, 1893
d) March 21, 1957
Column B
I) Benjamin Franklin is born
II) The Black Heritage stamp series begins
III) The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee is formed
IV) A pneumatic tube system for U.S. Mail debuts
Answers: 1) a. 2) b. 3) a. 4) c. 5) a. I., b. II., c. IV., d. III.
History
It was fast, it didn’t last long but it left a legacy
The Pony Express began its run on April 3, 1860
In the mid-19th century, getting word from one coast to the other was a monthslong undertaking involving stagecoaches and steamships.
The Gold Rush, the newly acquired Oregon and California territories, and the Mormons’ flight to what is now Utah created a surge of migration to the West. Yet railroad and telegraph lines reached only as far as St. Joseph, MO.
Enter the Pony Express.
Formally known as the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Co., the enterprise began on April 3, 1860, and shortened the time it took to get mail across the country to 10 days from more than three weeks.
Along the 1,943-mile route were relay stations with horse stables and wells. The stations were spaced 10-15 miles apart — about as far as a horse could run at full gallop — and largely followed established trails. Riders would cover about 75 miles a day, switching horses at each station for maximum speed.
The undertaking was not for the faint of heart. The terrain could be tricky, the weather could be harsh and the territory could be hostile, with riders and stable hands vulnerable to attack by bandits and Paiute Indians, who were resentful of the encroaching settlers in their traditional lands.
Riders were also required to take an abstemious oath:
“I, [name], do hereby swear that … I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God.”
Employees were paid handsomely, financed by the high price of the service — which was out of reach for most Americans.
That price did not cover expenses, though, and the Pony Express operated in the red.
When a transcontinental telegraph line was completed in October 1861, the Pony Express rode off into the sunset, having delivered roughly 35,000 letters between East and West.
Although the service was a U.S. Mail contract route only during its last four months, it remains an important part of postal lore and is faithfully recreated each year through activities such as the Hashknife Pony Express ride in Arizona.
The “History” column appears occasionally in Link.
April 5, 2024
Datebook
EAP orientation
The USPS Employee Assistance Program will hold its next online orientation on Friday, April 5, from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
The orientations, held on the first Friday of each month, offer information on how Postal Service employees and their families can use the program.
Employees must register in advance on the EAP website.
April 5, 2024
Datebook
Betty Ford
The Postal Service will dedicate its Betty Ford stamp on Friday, April 5, in Rancho Mirage, CA.
The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Pacific at Eisenhower Health, in the Annenberg Health Science Building at 39000 Bob Hope Drive.
The speakers will include Amber McReynolds, a member of the USPS Board of Governors.
Attendees are encouraged to RSVP online.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
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Delivering courage — and compassion
NALC honored heroic postal employees at its annual awards ceremony
-
Heroes
Heimlich hero
This employee rescued a co-worker who was choking on a piece of ice
-
People
First-class teacher
A carrier helps students learn about mail and a postmaster continues a family tradition
-
News Quiz
Conference recall
Can you remember the details of these Link articles?
-
History
It was fast, it didn’t last long but it left a legacy
-
April5Datebook
EAP orientation
-
April5Datebook
Betty Ford