Friday, July 12, 2024
Game, set and match
USPS has featured several of the greatest U.S. tennis players on stamps
With the 2024 Wimbledon Championships underway in the United Kingdom, here’s a look at stamps the Postal Service has released to honor American tennis stars:
• Hazel Wightman (1990): Known as the “Queen Mother of American Tennis” and “Lady Tennis,” the Olympic gold medalist led women’s tennis in the early 20th century. She created the Wightman Cup — an international women’s amateur competition that continues today.
• Arthur Ashe (2005): One of the most influential professional American players, Ashe won the U.S. Open in 1968, making him the first African American to win a Grand Slam event. Known for his for civil rights and other philanthropic causes, the main stadium of the U.S. Open in Flushing, NY — the largest tennis stadium in the world — is named after him.
• Black Heritage: Althea Gibson (2013): The first Black player to win one of the four major singles tournaments, Gibson twice captured Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships (now known as the U.S. Open) and became the top-ranked player in the world.
• “Little Mo” (2019): In the early 1950s, tennis champion Maureen Connolly Brinker dominated her sport, becoming the first woman to win a single-season Grand Slam. Since then, no American singles player has won all four major tournaments in a calendar year.
Wimbledon — the oldest tennis tournament in the world and regarded by many as the most prestigious — is the only major event still played on grass.
People
Road scholars
Two drivers speak at a career day, a postmaster receives recognition and a carrier’s campaign role is commemorated
Two of the Postal Service’s Memphis, TN, tractor-trailer operators recently made a very special stop: career day at a local elementary school.
Willie Relliford and Glenn Sisco answered questions and explained how the mail is moved to the students, who ranged in age from pre-K to eighth grade.
The children even got to see a USPS tractor trailer up close, a highlight of the day at the Cordova, TN, school.
Relliford and Sisco joined representatives from a host of companies, as well as the armed forces and fire and police departments, to explain what their jobs entail.
“It was a pleasure representing the Postal Service and encouraging the students to continue their studies — and maybe in the future becoming a proud postal employee,” said Relliford, who’s been driving for USPS for 26 years.
Patriotic salute
Robin Greene, officer in charge at the Rutledge, TN, Post Office, was recently recognized for her support of employees who serve in the military.
Greene received the Patriot Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense agency.
“Robin goes above and beyond in supporting me during military training and service,” said Elijah Lawson, a retail associate and member of the Tennessee Air National Guard.
“Robin is not only a great supervisor, but a great person and has great compassion when dealing with veterans and active military.”
Star of the show
Timothy “T.J.” Jackson, the Linthicum Heights, MD, letter carrier who was featured in this year’s USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign, was recently presented with some of the posters as keepsakes.
“He always focuses on safety, so he was the right person for the campaign,” said local Postmaster Mahamane Haidara, who presented Jackson with the artwork during a ceremony at the Linthicum Post Office.
“I was so proud of the posters he was in.”
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News Quiz
Just due it
How much do you know about training deadlines, gift acceptance and other newsworthy topics?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. When must Postal Service employees complete this year’s mandatory cybersecurity training course?
a) Thursday, July 18
b) Friday, July 19
c) Thursday, July 25
d) Friday, July 26
2. When did the Second Continental Congress establish “a line of posts” from Maine to Georgia?
a) July 25, 1775
b) July 26, 1775
c) July 25, 1776
d) July 26, 1776
3. True or false: Federal regulations allow USPS to accept a gift that would normally be prohibited if doing so is deemed “necessary or convenient” to the organization’s business.
a) True
b) False
4. Which of these countries sent representatives to this year’s National Postal Forum?
a) Costa Rica
b) Jamaica
c) Ukraine
d) All of the above
5. Fill in the blank: National University is offering Postal Service employees a (blank) tuition reduction on most associate degrees, and bachelor’s, master’s and credential programs.
a) 10 percent
b) 15 percent
c) 20 percent
d) 25 percent
Answers: 1) a. 2) b. 3) a. 4) d. 5) c.
Approval process for eBuyPlus is changing
The approval process for small-dollar purchases in eBuyPlus — the Postal Service’s requisition system — will change starting Friday, July 12.
Orders totaling at least 1 cent up to $250 will only need a manager’s approval. The approval process for orders totaling more than $250 remains unchanged and will continue to require approval from a budget reviewer, manager and finance number custodian.
“This new process will create efficiencies by reducing the number of approvers for small-dollar requisitions and get needed items or services in the hands of requisitioners faster,” said Donna Schoenbeck, the Postal Service’s supply chain management strategies manager.
The change will take place automatically and is for both catalog and non-catalog items.
Postal Bulletin warns about heat illness
Postal Bulletin’s latest edition, published July 11, explains what heat illness is and what employees can do to avoid it.
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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Game, set and match
USPS has featured several of the greatest U.S. tennis players on stamps
-
People
Road scholars
Two drivers speak at a career day, a postmaster receives recognition and a carrier’s campaign role is commemorated
-
News Quiz
Just due it
How much do you know about training deadlines, gift acceptance and other newsworthy topics?
-
Brief
Approval process for eBuyPlus is changing
-
Brief
Postal Bulletin warns about heat illness