Friday, June 6, 2025
This stamp has a patriotic spirit
The design features Old Glory fluttering in the breeze
The Postal Service will release its U.S. Flag stamp, the newest design in the series, on Saturday, June 7.
An enduring emblem of freedom, national unity and patriotic spirit, the flag of the United States has flown proudly stateside, abroad and on the surface of the moon.
The current American flag consists of 13 alternating horizontal stripes — seven red and six white — and 50 stars on a field of blue. The stripes represent the 13 Colonies that declared independence from Great Britain, while the number of stars on the flag matches the number of states in the Union.
The stamp features an image of Old Glory, fluttering in the breeze, against a bright white background. The words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” are rendered in blue type above a horizontal red stripe. “FOREVER/USA” appears along the bottom of the stamp in gray lettering.
Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp using a photograph by Doug Haight.
The stamps will be available in booklets and panes of 20 and coils of 100, 3,000 and 10,000 at Post Offices and on usps.com.
A dedication event will take place at Vickers Theater in Three Oaks, MI.
Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.
People
They get into the nitty-gritty
Custodians step into the spotlight, a marketing specialist promotes the Armed Forces stamps and a district touts customer surveys
Custodians are often unsung heroes — but not always.
Two of the top performers at the Cleveland, OH, Processing and Distribution Center are Monique Willis and Barbara Taylor, who both traded jobs in operations to work in maintenance.
Willis was a mail handler, while Taylor was an automation clerk. Both said they became custodians because they were seeking a change of pace.
They take pride in keeping the workplace clean, including the lobby, cafeteria, workroom floor and administrative areas.
“We stay busy all night,” Taylor said.
They also do their part to keep their workplace safe, picking up items such as plastic straps that could create walking hazards.
“We are the extra eyes on the floor,” Willis said.
Giving back to those who served
Colleen Minnick, a USPS senior marketing specialist in Hawley, PA, volunteers as an emcee for events at a nearby American Legion post.
The timing of the recent Armed Forces stamp release “was perfect” for the post’s Memorial Day ceremony, she thought, so she worked with Stamp Services to acquire posters of each of the three stamps and to get talking points.
While not a veteran herself, both of her parents served in the military, as have many members of her extended family.
“I have deep respect for those who have served and have a desire to give back,” said Minnick, who also gave a presentation to the post about the Medal of Honor stamps in 2015.
Circle of life
In May, Massachusetts-Rhode Island District held Circle the Survey Month, an initiative to remind retail associates to circle the information on the bottom of USPS sales receipts to encourage customers to complete online point-of-sale surveys.
“It’s always good to take the temperature,” said Bill Downes, a Hingham, MA, retail associate. “If you don’t ask, you don’t know how you’re doing.”
“People” appears regularly in Link. Got news to share? Email us.
News Quiz
What’s the number?
How much do you know about this year’s USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. Fill in the blank: According to USPS, there were more than (blank) reported dog attacks on employees in 2024.
a) 6,000
b) 7,000
c) 8,000
d) 9,000
2. When was the U.S. Post Office Department transformed into the U.S. Postal Service?
a) July 26, 1775
b) March 3, 1863
c) October 1, 1955
d) July 1, 1971
3. What should a USPS facility manager do with unwanted postal artifacts?
a) Contact local postmasters to see if they want the items.
b) Donate the items to the National Postal Museum.
c) Email a photo and description of each item to the USPS historian’s office.
d) Sell the items on eBay and send the proceeds to the postmaster general’s office.
4. To promote semipostal stamps, employees can order special T-shirts, at their own expense, from which of the following USPS-licensed providers?
a) MT Enterprises
b) Rotten Cotton
c) Ted’s Threads
d) Tee Luv
5. Frances Reynolds, the USPS retail associate in Talkeetna, AK, who hosts a radio program on KTNA-FM, hails from what state?
a) Arizona
b) California
c) Nevada
d) Oregon
Answers: 1) a. 2) d. 3) c. 4) d. 5) a.
Mail
‘A kind and generous heart’
Praise for kidney donor highlighted in ‘Heroes’
Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
-
This stamp has a patriotic spirit
The design features Old Glory fluttering in the breeze
-
People
They get into the nitty-gritty
Custodians step into the spotlight, a marketing specialist promotes the Armed Forces stamps and a district touts customer surveys
-
News Quiz
What’s the number?
How much do you know about this year’s USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign?
-
Mail
Featured reader quote
“Thank you for sharing the ‘Heroes’ story about Imlay City, MI, Letter Carrier Tara Marsh. Her willingness to donate a kidney to a stranger is inspiring. I am proud to have a...”
— Kin Yim, Washington, DC