Yesterday's storms

We hope that all of you and your loved ones survived the tornadoes that swept across the South yesterday. With 131 confirmed deaths so far and close to a million homes still without power, Alabama was the hardest hit of the Southern states.

President Obama has approved Governor Robert Bentley’s request for emergency aid and will visit Alabama on Friday to view the devastation.

"Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation, and we commend the heroic efforts of those who have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster," Obama said in a statement.

Below is a picture of the Pleasant Grove Post Office after the storm.

Many other Alabama Post Offices suffered storm damage and loss of power. We will post more pictures as they trickle in, and if you have any photos of your office that you would like to share, please send them our way.

Here's a picture from the Tuscaloosa area after the mile-wide tornado devastated everything in its path.

If you would like to offer financial assistance or if you are in need of financial assistance because of the storm, please remember the Postal Employees' Relief Fund (PERF).

Founded in 1990, PERF has provided 3,000 grants totaling $15 million to active and retired postal employees who have been impacted by natural disasters and home fires.

Grants range from $1,000 to $14,000 and are based on the total amount of qualified loss after insurance claims and other assitance is received.

Applications for assistance can be found at http://www.postalrelief.com/. They must be printed out and mailed in with supportive documentation.

Questions about using eCareer?

You can click on the picture to make it easier to read.

Cinco de Mayo at the Madison Post Office

Welcome Home, Atticus

Last year, Harper Lee's Pulizer Prize-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird turned 50. Since last summer, book lovers have been celebrating the golden anniversary of this signficant, beloved work of American literature.

The book, which has sold over 30 million copies worlwide, was set in a fictional town named Maycomb, Alabama. In the novel, Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck in the Academy Award-winning movie version) defends a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman. Finch, his young daughter Scout, and readers across the globe are forced to contend with racism and injustice.

The town of Maycomb was modeled after Monroeville, Alabama, which is Harper Lee's hometown and where at age 84 the reclusive author still lives today. She grew up just a few blocks from the old courthouse that has since become a famous icon of film and literature.

According to the Monroe County website tokillamockingbird.com,

It’s now one of the most recognized courtrooms in America because of the popular film version of the book. Although the movie was not filmed here, the set designer came to Monroeville to measure, photograph and draw the courtroom before recreating it on a Hollywood sound stage. Today, fans of the classic novel come to the courthouse from all over the world because it is the most tangible connection to the book’s fictional Maycomb. Visitors are free to move throughout the courtroom, including the balcony, witness chair, judge’s bench and tables used by the prosecutor and defense attorney. Throughout her childhood, Harper Lee often sat in the balcony as she watched her father practice law in this very room.

On Thursday, April 28, the United States Postal Service will be releasing the Gregory Peck Forever Stamp. It is the 17th stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series.

The First Day of Issue ceremony is taking place at 11:00 a.m. at the Motion Picture Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Laura Dern, Morgan Freeman, and host Sharon Stone will be honoring Peck (1916 - 2003), who appears on the stamp in his 1962 portrayal of Atticus Finch.

The next day is when the excitement moves to Alabama: Postmarks is pleased to announce the second-day unveiling of the Peck stamp and a special pictorial postmark that will take place in Monroeville on April 29, 2011.

The festivities are to begin at 9:00 a.m. in the courtyard of the Historic Courthouse Museum, which is directly across from the Monroeville Post Office. The address is 31 N. Alabama Ave., Monroeville, Alabama 36460.

Regarding the event, Monroeville Postmaster Kelly Jones writes:

I have just received word that Congressman Bonner's representative will be speaking at our 9:00 AM Gregory Peck event on April 29 ( this Friday) at the Historic Museum directly across the street from the Monroeville Post Office in the Courtyard....The Monroeville Elementary Second Grade students will say the Pledge of Allegiance at 9:00AM, followed By SSA Stacey Walton Leggitte singing the National Anthem prior to the unveiling of the pictorial cancellation and presentation of the Peck stamp.

Refreshments and sales of stamps and envelopes will then be available to the public in the square.

Below is a preview of the pictorial (with the real courthouse underneath). The
"Mockingbird Station" postmark will be available at the Monroeville Post Office through May 31, 2011.

For more information, contact the Old Courthouse Museum at 251-575-7433.

Earth Day in Alabama

Already this year, the Alabama District has achieved a 10.9% reduction in kilowatt hours! But we can do even better. Here are some tips from Ed Abrams to help us conserve both energy and money: 

Turning off lights is just one of many no/low cost actions that will help USPS reach its goal of reducing facility energy use and intensity 30 percent by 2015. Other ways to save energy include:

                       1. Turn off your monitor at the end of the day.

                       2. Unplug “vampire” charging devices when not in use.

                       3. Close window blinds during the summer months and open them during the winter.

                       4. Take the stairs instead of the elevator (a great way to get exercise too!).

                       5. Use revolving entryway doors instead of standard doors.

                       6. Adjust the thermostat. A minor change in temperature can make a big difference. When the building   is occupied, the thermostat should be set to 65 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees during the summer. When the space is unoccupied, the thermostat should be set back as much as possible.

                       7. Follow appropriate guidelines to shut down all equipment to the extent possible when not needed.

There's also the new Go Green stamp set: 

From Beyond the Perf:

“The idea was to keep it light,” says art director Derry Noyes, “not to scold as if shaking a finger and saying, ‘Go do all these things and make the planet better.’”

She knew of one artist who might be perfect for the job: a filmmaker and animator who had founded a nonprofit group, Climate Cartoons, to create kid-friendly environmental messages. So in the spirit of “reuse and recycle,” Derry recycled one of her oldest relationships — recruiting her older brother, Eli, for the project.

CONTINUE READING>>>

Bessemer Post Office: The Whole Package

Bessemer supervisors Joesph McKinstry, Reauchean Matthews, Patricia Jacobs, and Postmaster Michael Pope

Last Friday, the Bessemer Post Office managers thanked employees for their consistently high VOE scores by providing a huge breakfast for everyone.

Everyone enjoyed the tremendous meal and especially the fellowship, but their VOE scores were not all that were cause for celebration:

City Carrier Micheal Banks (l) with Bessemer Postmaster Michael Pope

Recently, City Carrier Michael Banks brought in $100,000 of business through his Customer Connect lead for Simmons Sporting Goods. When asked how he did it, Michael said, "When I go out there to deliver mail, we talk all of the time."

Reauchean Matthews (l) with Michael Pope

Also, Reauchean Matthews received a certificate of appreciation and a clock for her 25 years of Postal service. 

Postmarks thanks Patricia Jacobs for letting us know about their special morning. 

eIDP Workshop at Huntsville PEDC

Sneak Peak: Auburn National Championship Commemorative Envelope and Pictorial Postmark

All of you Tigers fans out there know that this Saturday is A-Day for the Auburn University football team.

It is also the day that the USPS Alabama District will be introducing the Auburn National Championship commemorative envelope and pictorial postmark:

The commemorative envelopes will cost $10 each; special framed envelopes will also be available for $60 at the Auburn and Opelika Post Offices.

 Supplies are limited, so be sure to grab yours at the following Post Offices starting Saturday:

Alex City 35010
Anniston 36201
Athens 35611
Atmore, 36502
Auburn 36830
Cahaba Heights 35243
Cullman 35055
Daphne 36526
Decatur 35601
Demopolis 36732
Dothan 36303
Enterprise 36330
Florence 35630
Foley 36535
Ft. Payne 35967
Gadsden 35901
Haleyville 35565
Hamilton 35570
Hartselle 35640
Hoover 35244
Huntsville 35802 (Hays)
Huntsville 35816 (Wynn)
Jasper 35501
Madison 35758
MOWU (Main Post Office) Bham 35203
Mobile 36601
Montgomery 36119
Northport 35476
Opelika 36801
Pell City 35125
Phenix City 36867
Robertsdale 36567
Scottsboro 35768
Selma 36701
Sylacauga 35150
Theodore 36582
Troy 36081
Trussville 35173
Tuscaloosa 35401
Tuskegee 36083
Wetumpka 36092

Lost and found in Birmingham

“This is Danny Hill with the US Postal Service. I may have found something that belongs to you. Please give me a call at…,” was the message left on Patricia Haywood’s answering machine.

Who is that? she wondered. Is this some kind of a scam?

As she glanced around at her living space, which looked as if a storm had blown though and shaken everything lose—open drawers, scattered clothing with turned-out pockets, rifled-through bags and purses (including the trash)—a possibility spoke to her: could this mysterious caller somehow possess her lost check?

Haywood’s father had recently passed away. In addition to having to cope with his loss, she was also responsible for settling all of his outstanding accounts. A week before the voice message from Danny Hill, she had received the check from her father’s life insurance, had endorsed it, and then it disappeared.

Not herself at the time, she unknowingly placed the check on a pile of outgoing mail. No envelope, no stamp, no return address: just a signed check in the amount of $89,000.

She replayed the message, scribbled down the phone number, and returned Danny’s call.

 “When she came and picked it up, the picture doesn’t justice to the moment. She was just about crying when she left,” said Claims & Inquiry Clerk Danny Hill.

“This is just one of the really fun things about my job,” he said. “I’m glad that I catch what I can and get it back to the customer, sometimes even before they know that it is missing.”

The encounter with Haywood touched Danny, too. “She had to care for her father before he died, and I have my elderly mother living with me. I’m having to deal with some of the same issues, so maybe I felt even more empathetic than usual.”

“At a time when revenue is down, it is critical that we don’t lose customers. More so now than ever before in our history. To me, that puts the best foot forward for the Postal Service: it takes somebody interacting with a personal touch,” Danny said.

“She will remember the rest of her life the time that the Post Office returned her $89,000 check.”

Read more about Danny’s experiences as a Claims & Inquiry Clerk in the next issue of Postmarks, who thanks Danny Hill, Lasabria Smith, and Viola Freeman for sharing this uplifting story and for providing the picture.



April is EAP Awareness Month

Many Postal workers are experiencing particularly stressful times right now. EAP can help!

Artists POOT on Morgan's Green Roof

The U.S. Postal Service is proud of its Morgan P&DC green roof, and rightly so: at 2.5 acres, it is the largest of its kind in the state of New York. It will last for 50 years (which is double the expected life of a normal roof), saves the facility $30,000 each year in heating and cooling costs, and 90% of the facility’s old roof was recycled for use in its construction.

And it’s not just a roof: it also provides postal staff with a much-needed place of refuge. Employees can escape to the roof to sit on one of 14 benches to enjoy being surrounded by plants and vegetation that are all native to the area. “I go up there for every break and at lunch, even when it’s snowing,” said April F. Dey, a mailhandler at the Morgan facility.

For weeks this cold winter, April sat on the roof without seeing another person. It was in one of those frost bitten 15-minute moments of solitude and reflection that she came up with the idea for the Post Office Outdoor Topiary (POOT) contest.

“I wanted members of the public to know all about our fantastic green roof,” April said. “And frankly, I was getting a little lonely up there.”

She submitted her e-idea, and Postal managers immediately granted their approval. “It was a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said facility manager Jwana Laff. “We can’t pay the artists, but they will all benefit from the exposure, and during the month that the sculpted shrubs will be on display, the Postal Service will increase revenue by conducting guided tours of the roof.”

In March 2011, artists from across the country were asked to submit their concepts for Postal-related topiary. After round one of judging was complete, the most promising entrants were then separated into Green Teams, handed safety-approved hedge clippers, and asked to bring their sketches to life (in a sustainable manner, of course).

The results of their creative inspiration and hard work will be on display throughout the month of April.

The currently green blue box, one of a handful remaining in the area, is fully functional.

After completion, the artists are remaining with their work for the month in order to trim any unwanted growth that may occur. The Postal Service has also requested that they also weed and water the rest of the roof while they are present, in order to further save on facility maintenance costs.

To read more, click here.

And to view last year's related post, click here.