Monday, January 13, 2025
USPS announces more stamps
The releases will honor ‘Goodnight Moon’ and ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’
The Postal Service has announced two more stamp releases for 2025:
• Goodnight Moon, based on the iconic “Goodnight Moon” picture book that revolutionized children’s publishing when it debuted in 1947.
The pane of 16 stamps will feature eight images from the book, which was illustrated by Clement Hurd and written by Margaret Wise Brown.
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.
• SpongeBob SquarePants, based on the beloved animated TV series of the same name.
The pane of 16 stamps will feature four designs that show SpongeBob, the perpetually optimistic and generous main character, and other members of the show’s colorful cast.
Greg Breeding, an art director for the Postal Service, designed the stamps using artwork from Nickelodeon, the cable network that airs “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
USPS announced the stamps Jan. 13. The designs are preliminary and may change.
Additional stamps will be announced this year.
In November and December, the Postal Service announced other 2025 stamps, including Betty White, Appalachian Trail, Freshwater Fishing Lures and Battlefields of the American Revolution releases.
Heroes
He performed CPR on a co-worker who had a heart attack while driving
James Gray is credited with saving his colleague’s life
James Gray, a highway contract route driver, was arriving at the Branson Annex in Hollister, MO, recently when he noticed a departing colleague’s truck coasting into the intersection.
Gray safely parked his vehicle and ran to catch up to the errant truck. He jumped into the cab, placed the truck in park and pulled out his colleague, who was in the throes of a heart attack.
As a passerby called 911, Gray administered CPR until paramedics arrived.
“The first responders credited James with saving a life by supplying vital oxygen to the brain during the time it took to arrive at the scene,” said Scott Caskey, the local postmaster.
Gray’s co-worker continues to recover.
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 Jan. 5-11
Jimmy Carter, career development and more made news
Last week, the life and legacy of President Jimmy Carter was front and center in Link.
We told you about the national day of observance on Jan. 9, when most Postal Service functions were suspended to honor the former president, who died at 100 in his hometown of Plains, GA, on Dec. 29.
We also explored his USPS connections, including news that, shortly before his death, the U.S. Senate voted to name the postal facility in Plains the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Post Office.
“He’s a special man. Always has been,” Pat Conger, a USPS retail associate in Plains, said of Carter before his death.
Link spotlighted several employees last week, too.
“Heroes” told the story of James Gray, who performed CPR on a coworker who had had a heart attack while driving. The local postmaster reported that the paramedics who helped the man credited Gray with saving his life.
“On the Job” spotlighted Sal D’Angelo, a retail associate in Manhasset, NY, who first worked with USPS at a summer job while he was in college. “Thirty-seven years later, I have forged a long career from that summer job,” D’Angelo said.
And “Off the Clock” profiled Mike Porter, a communications specialist for the chief processing and distribution officer’s organization who manages and performs with an Illinois-based 1980s tribute band, BoomBox, when he’s not at work. He’s also an award-winning yodeler.
It’s a time of new resolutions, and Link ran a few stories on career self-improvement, including new leadership courses and virtual supervisory job fairs.
And speaking of news you can use, we also told you that federal employees can contribute as much as $23,500 to the Thrift Savings Plan in 2025, up from $23,000 in 2024.