Monday, March 30, 2026
Safe driver award nominations close soon
The deadline for submissions is April 30
The Postal Service is reminding employees that the National Safety Council is accepting nominations for the 2026 Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver of the Year Award until Thursday, April 30.
The award recognizes USPS drivers who have driven for 15 years or 100,000 miles without a preventable collision.
Nominees must be full-time employees whose primary responsibility is to operate motor vehicles regularly to perform their normal duties.
Any USPS facility may nominate drivers for the award, which is named for a longtime president of the council’s Southern California chapter.
Winners will be announced in June.
The nomination form and more information are available on the council’s website.
Heroes
He was on the front porch and heard a cry from inside the house
This rural carrier assisted a customer who had fallen
Rural Carrier James Stark was delivering mail to the front porch of a home in St. Joe, IN, recently when he heard the customer calling out from inside.
The Postal Service employee knocked on the door and yelled the customer’s name. The customer called out again, and Stark announced he was entering the home. He found a woman on the floor, where she had been most of the night.
Stark and the local fire chief, whom he had called, attempted to help the woman up off the floor, but she began to vomit. They called 911, and Stark remained with the woman until help arrived to take her to a nearby hospital.
“James is a true hero as the lady has no family to check on her,” said Postmaster Shane Salisbury. “During the winter, he takes the mail to her front door and places it inside her porch, so she won’t slip in the snow and ice. He goes above and beyond to help his customers.”
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 March 22-28
‘CORE’ language and a history of floral stamps made news
In the second installment of its “Primers” column, Link explored the Consumer Advocate team, which acts as “the voice of the customer” throughout the Postal Service.
One of the team’s major accomplishments was developing the CORE language tool.
“Any employee who might need guidance on how to respond to a customer” can benefit from the tool, according to April Callens, customer policy and engagement strategy program manager. CORE stands for “communicating organizational responses effectively.”
Link also shared news on a price change on certain competitive products, a security enhancement for new enrollees in direct deposit, the benefits of going in-house to print envelopes, and the importance of proper battery and bulb disposal.
In a pair of cautionary tales, USPS is urging employees to be aware of threats from wildlife after a rural carrier was bitten by a rattlesnake; and a letter carrier who stole IRS refund checks was recently sentenced to more than five years in prison.
We explored how the Sunflowers stamp is just the latest in a long line of floral stamps, and profiled Mireya Tipantasig, a Connecticut letter carrier who teaches English as a second language to women who have experienced domestic abuse.
“People” spotlighted Elizabeth Rivera and Erick Declet, postmaster and retail associate, respectively, in Barceloneta, PR. There is a friendly competition in their district about which Post Offices can sell the most semipostal stamps; Declet stepped up to create a special postmark for Barceloneta’s Healing PTSD event.
Finally, “Heroes” told the story of James Stark, a rural carrier who was delivering in St. Joe, IN, when he answered a call for help from inside a residence.
The customer was on the floor, and Stark called the fire chief for help. She was too incapacitated to move so they waited with the woman until EMTs arrived.
“James is a true hero as the lady has no family to check on her,” Postmaster Shane Salisbury said. “During the winter, he takes the mail to her front door and places it inside her porch, so she won’t slip in the snow and ice. He goes above and beyond to help his customers.”
Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.
April 6, 2026
Datebook
‘Choosing Care’
Postal Service employees may participate in an upcoming webinar on the importance of having a primary care physician and available options for care.
The session, “Choosing Care,” will be held Monday, April 6, from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern.
Representatives from United Healthcare, a provider of health plans for federal employees, will lead the discussion.
Participants must register before the event on the webinar website.
Participation is voluntary. Nonexempt employees must participate off the clock or during authorized breaks.
Employees with questions can email the USPS Benefits and Wellness team.