Monday, December 23, 2024
USPS marks more holiday milestones
The latest deliveries bring joy and excitement
The Postal Service is continuing to mark big milestones this holiday season.
On Dec. 6, the organization delivered the 4 billionth peak season mailpiece in Haverford, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia.
Linda Butts, a local letter carrier, handed the milestone package to customer Maria Rico outside her front door.
“Four billion? This is remarkable,” said Rico. “[USPS deliveries] bring joy to so many families.”
Three days later, USPS delivered the 5 billionth mailpiece of the season in Noel, MO, which changes its name to Noël every December.
Postmaster Patricia Coggin delivered the package to Kathy Ramirez at a business across the street from the Post Office. Ramirez says she will wait until Christmas to open it.
“I’m excited … because I really don’t know what it is,” she said. “It’s a blessing. Honestly, it really is. And it’s awesome to know that they do so much work [at the Postal Service]. They work their butts off.”
For Coggin, it was fitting for Noël, known as “Christmas City,” to be the setting of the 5 billionth delivery.
“It was thrilling to be part of something this special,” she said. “It was amazing.”
The milestones continued Dec. 12, when Adelio Gallucci, a New Haven, CT, letter carrier, delivered the 6 billionth mailpiece to a local Habitat for Humanity office, followed by the 7 billionth mailpiece, which Evelyn Pessoa, a Commerce City, CO, letter carrier, delivered to a residential customer on Dec. 17.
The next day, Ruben De La Garza, a San Antonio letter carrier, delivered the 8 billionth mailpiece in Windcrest, TX.
The 9 billionth holiday mailpiece is expected to be delivered in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 23.
The Postal Service will continue to mark milestone deliveries throughout its peak season, which runs from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
The organization’s online Holiday Newsroom features a real-time counter that shows how many mailpieces and packages have been accepted.
Heroes
She took the time to help an injured man
This employee found a customer who had fallen outside of his home
City Carrier Assistant Gabrielle “Gabby” Washington was delivering mail in Radcliff, KY, last summer when she found a 93-year-old customer on the ground outside his home.
The customer told her he had fallen and had been lying in the sun for an extended time.
The man declined the Postal Service employee’s offer to call 911, but he agreed to let her ask a neighbor to help him.
Washington and the neighbor helped the man to his feet but found he had a large gash on his head. The man then agreed to go to the hospital. He died a few weeks later.
The neighbor later visited the Radcliff Post Office to thank Washington.
“He commended Gabby for taking the time to help comfort the customer and for saving his life in that moment,” said Marcedes Deans, a local customer services supervisor.
Employees featured in “Heroes” receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program. The nomination form is available on Blue.
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Dec. 15-21
Stories of comfort and cheer — and a look ahead
Busy, busy, busy! It’s the height of the Postal Service’s peak delivery season, and stories on the practical (holiday shipping tips) and the encouraging (the season’s 2.5 billionth delivery) filled Link last week.
Of course, there was plenty of the inspirational. Link profiled some of the employees featured in “Dear Santa,” a documentary series on USPS Operation Santa; and the “People” column provided an update on Jaylen Lockhart, a rural carrier associate in Aurora, IL, who helped an elderly man injured while walking his dog.
Lockhart, the subject of a “Heroes” column earlier this month, was recently given the honor of lighting his hometown’s Christmas tree.
“Not all heroes wear capes; some carry mailbags,” Aurora Mayor Richard Irvinsaid in a statement.
Another such hero was Gabrielle “Gabby” Washington. The city carrier assistant in Radcliff, KY, assisted a nonagenarian who fell, persuading him to go to the hospital.
The customer died a few weeks later, but a neighbor who also helped the man later visited the Post Office to thank Washington.
“He commended Gabby for taking the time to help comfort the customer and for saving his life in that moment,” said Marcedes Deans, a local customer services supervisor.
It’s the season of giving, and the Thrift Savings Plan’s new “Grow with the TSP” campaign is reminding employees not to forget to give back — to themselves.
It’s also the season for ethics rules reminders about gatherings and gift exchanges.
Looking ahead, we offered a preview of new stamp subjects for 2025, a look at stamp release dates for January through March, and shared the news that the window for applications for the Centralized Funding for Development scholarship, designed for nonbargaining employees, opens Jan. 1, New Year’s Day.
Do you know who?
Two individuals in the United States have their own ZIP Codes. Do you know who they are?
To find out, tune into the “Jeopardy!” episode slated to air Tuesday, Dec. 24, when the correct answer will be featured as a clue.
The “Jeopardy!” website has local broadcast times.
Postal Posts looks at holiday ad campaign
The latest entry on Postal Posts, the USPS blog, looks at the organization’s holiday advertising campaign.
Sheila Holman, the Postal Service’s marketing vice president, wrote the post, which was published Dec. 18.
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USPS marks more holiday milestones
The latest deliveries bring joy and excitement
-
Heroes
She took the time to help an injured man
This employee found a customer who had fallen outside of his home
-
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Dec. 15-21
Stories of comfort and cheer — and a look ahead
-
Brief
Do you know who?
-
Brief
Postal Posts looks at holiday ad campaign