"To Kill A Mockingbird" event April 13, 2012, in Monroeville, AL

The town of Monroeville will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird on April 13, 2012.

Hats off to Postmasters Tonya Hadley and David Neilon for all of the months of planning and hard work that they have put into arranging this event.


The unsigned commemorative envelope will be $25.00, and one with Nicolosi's signature will be $40.00.

Postmarks will be there to report on the day's sure success and invites everyone to join us there, too.

To learn a little more about Nicolosi, click here.

Deaf History Month information and resources

Approximately 4,000 deaf employees work for the U.S. Postal Service, which is one of the largest employers of hearing impaired people in the country. In their honor, we would like to recognize Deaf History Month, which runs from March 13 until April 15.

Deaf History Month begins and ends when it does because of three dates that are milestones in the hearing-impaired community’s journey
towards gaining equality, acceptance, and understanding.



March 13, 1988: King Jordan became the first deaf president at Gallaudet University. His appointment was a result of the Deaf President Now week-long campus protest after Elisabeth Zinser, a hearing person, had initially been installed into the position.

April 8, 1864: President Abraham Lincoln signed the charter that allowed college degrees to be awarded to deaf students. Now, this is known as Gallaudet Charter Day.

April 15, 1817: The American School for the Deaf, which was the first permanent public school for deaf elementary and secondary students, opened its doors.

Here are some fascinating deaf history tidbits:

1. It is a widely-held belief that at the Lincoln Memorial, President Lincoln’s hands are signing A.L., his own initials. This is a reasonable assumption, considering Lincoln’s advocacy for the equality of deaf people and the fact that the sculptor’s own son was deaf. Look closely, and you be the judge. 

2. American Sign Language is the fourth (or third, depending on which source you read) most frequently used language in United States.  

3. The National Institute on Deafness estimates that over 17 million people worldwide are affected by hearing loss.  


4. In 1819, the American School for the Deaf became the first elementary or secondary institution to receive state funding for education when the Connecticut General Assembly gave the school  23,000 acres of land in the Alabama Territory. The school later sold the land for around $300,000 and used the money to construct 
buildings, establish an operational endowment, and fund the educations of deaf students from across the nation.

5. In the 1850's, it was proposed in Congress that deaf Americans be given their own state out west. This was based on the land that had been granted to the American School for the Deaf back in 1819. The proposal was soon abandoned.

Resources: 

Deaf history: History Through Deaf Eyes

Deaf organization: National Association for the Deaf

Begin to learn Sign Language online for free: Signing Savvy

EAP series: Reacting to change and how to cope

For many of us, change is on the horizon, which can be a very stressful possibility and experience.

Alabama District Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Consultant Dr. Patricia Hamilton would like to share some thoughts on how to recognize exactly what you are feeling during these times and how to cope with those feelings.

Dr. Hamilton:

Understanding Reactions to Change 

Moving through any type of transition is a process that takes time. There are a variety of normal emotions and stages that we pass through on our way towards accepting the reality of change. It is helpful to understand what these predictable reactions are and then assess where an individual may be in the process. Keep in mind that we may experience more than one emotion at the same time or move between emotions along the way.

Fear              
 Worry about the future, finances, family, and health.

Acceptance     
That was then, this is now; nothing stays the same and we have to adapt.

Denial             
Refusing to talk; stating, “It won’t happen to me,” or, "I don’t think I’ll be affected.” 

Sadness          
Low mood, withdrawal, unable to enjoy normal activities, or change in sleep/appetite. 

Curiosity        
Wonders how future will look; seems open to new possibilities.

Anger           
 Raised voice, hostility, or sarcasm.

Energized     
Embracing the changes, and feels positive about the future.

It helps to talk with others who are going through the transition to gain perspective, and to normalize your own reactions.

“Five Rs” of Dealing with Change-Related Stress 

Although it might not seem like it at the time, every change brings opportunity for growth. The following “Five Rs” can help you move forward confidently and comfortably through the change process while allowing you the time to assess your options as well as your opportunities. 

· Relax – Find ways to relax. It might be through deep breathing, meditation, or visualization exercises. Try to temporarily “park” your problems. Don’t think about them constantly. Take time out for a pleasant diversion. 

· Reflect – Reflect on your feelings about what is happening. Understand the effect that negative behavior can have. Seek support from peers and family and never be critical of how someone else is dealing with change. 

· Reassess – Assess your feelings and find someone you can talk to about them. Separate what you know from what you don’t know. In other words, dispel rumors. They will only increase your stress. 

· Rehearse – Review the steps you have decided to take in dealing with change. Prepare in advance for uncomfortable situations. Rehearsing helps alleviate stress and anxiety. 

· Routine – Keep your life as normal as possible. Maintain established routines. Continue regular family activities. Seeking out the familiar is an instant stress reliever.

How we prepare ourselves to deal with change determines whether or not we will grow through the change experience. What feels like loss now may lead to unexpected benefits in the long run. By practicing the “Five Rs,” you can face change feeling rejuvenated. 

For more information about EAP assistance programs, 

visit www.eap4you.com 

or call

1-800-EAP-4YOU

1-800-327-4968

TTY: 1-877-492-7431

Women's History Month speakers in Birmingham on March 29

Brenda Massey Brantley: founder of Helpmate Ministries. The ministry's mission is "Women Seeking Virtue."

Isabel Watkins Rubio: co-founder and Executive Director of The Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, which is a "nonprofit organization dedicated to the social, civic and economic integration of Hispanic families and individuals in Alabama."

All USPS employees are invited to attend. 

Fun ways to increase revenue: Postcrossing results

In the last installment of our "Fun Ways to Increase Revenue" series, we put the spotlight on Postcrossing, which is a website that connects people across the world using postcards (to see our original post, click here).

Postcrossing's mission is to make it possible for members to "send a postcard and receive a postcard from a random person somewhere in the world."

Membership is free. Currently, there are almost 307,000 participants from 204 countries.

Postmarks was intrigued and decided to try it out.

In short, it has been a wonderful experience. So much fun! Here's how it has gone so far:

After signing up on the site, we requested and received the names and addresses of five members, which we immediately received via email. We were assigned people from Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, China, and Russia.

Since February was Black History Month and we are a postal organization, we decided to send everyone on our list postcards that featured Black Heritage Series stamps.

International postcard stamps cost $1.05 each.

As of yesterday, all of our postcards have arrived at their destinations and have been recorded on Postcrossing by the recipients.

People who send postcards write an assigned number on them, and when somebody receives that postcard, that person logs into Postcrossing and records the number so that the sender will get participation credit.

The last postcard of ours that arrived was to Russia. It traveled 5,757 miles. In total, our five postcards traveled 30, 606 miles.

Soon after our postcards began arriving at various points across the globe, we started receiving random postcards from around the world, too.

Three times so far, we have found a lovely surprise in our mailbox.

The three that we have received have come from people in Holland, the Netherlands, and Scotland.

The hand-written messages on all of them were lovely, as were the stamps from their countries.

As soon as we received each of these postcards, we logged into Postcrossing to verify our receipt by recording the assigned number.

In this picture, you can see on the top and side of the postcard what the number looks like.

Participating in this project has been so enjoyable that we're going to remain active in it, and we want to encourage you and your friends and family to do the same.

And the winner is...Carrollton Clerk Kim Spencer

Last month, Learning, Development and Diversity held a contest to encourage post offices across Alabama to promote Black History Month and the new John H. Johnson stamp. 

Here are the guidelines that were announced in L,D&D's online newsletter:

John H. Johnson, legendary publisher of Ebony, Jet, and other magazines, is being honored on a Black Heritage forever stamp. To increase revenue and have fun in the process, we are having a contest. The office with the most creative Black Heritage Stamp display will receive a prize. Displays will be judged on creativity and neatness. 

An impartial committee reviewed all of the entries, and they concluded that the winner is the Carrollton Post Office. 

Carrollton Postmaster Paul Lavender (l) presented Clerk Kim Spencer with a $25 gift card from L,D&D. Kim volunteered to design the winning board.

"I saw that the stamp was coming out and thought that it was a good idea," Kim said. "Many customers have said how nice it is, and I know that we've sold some stamps because of it."

While we were there to talk to Paul and Kim, we couldn't help but notice the New Deal mural that was on a nearby wall in the lobby. It is one of only 24 Alabama WPA/New Deal post office murals. Artist Stuart R. Purser painted "Farm Scene with Senator Bankhead" in 1943.

During the course of his long artistic career, Purser's disdain for injustices done to both people and animals was voiced in his work. Opposed to racial inequalities as well as the abuses of dog fighting, he received threats from the groups of people his paintings exposed.

In total, Purser painted four post office murals in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. To see them all and to learn more about him, click here.

After seeing the Carrollton mural, one might ask Who is Senator Bankhead, and why is he on a farm? 

Senator John H. Bankhead, Jr., was an Alabama senator from 1931 - 1946 who must not have aged gracefully because he is much better looking on Purser's mural than he is in this photograph to the left.

Bankhead had been responsible for securing funds for the Carrollton federal building/post office to be built and is primarily remembered for two things: his strong support of farmers, and his staunch opposition to civil rights.

The citizens of Carrollton selected Bankhead on a farm as the theme for their mural, but perhaps if artist Purser had known about the senator's racist views, he would have portrayed him in a less-pleasing manner.

Nonetheless, we're glad that we got to see him as depicted by Purser thanks to Kim and her big win. Congrats, and we hope to visit again soon.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Click on the picture for easier reading.

Fact or Fiction?

True or false?

Story 1: 

On the hunt for illegal narcotics being shipped via Express Mail, a Michigan man allegedly repeatedly entered a sorting facility, claimed to be a postal inspector, and walked out with dozens of parcels, many of which contained marijuana, investigators charge.

 

According to a criminal complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Calvin Coolidge Wiggins, 31, said, “You got me” when questioned Saturday morning by federal agents who had arrested him outside the Priority Mail Center in Romulus.

Wiggins, an investigator reported, admitted that he “previously had been involved in mailing marijuana via USPS Express Mail and was tired of having the parcels seized.”

So he allegedly sought to seize the parcels of other drug traffickers.

A surveillance team spotted Wiggins entering the facility on March 3 and walking “towards the area of the plant where the Express Mail was being processed.” There, Wiggins was seen taking two parcels and placing them into a wheeled hamper.

Wiggins told federal agents that on “numerous occasions” he had gone to the Romulus facility and “posed as a Postal Inspector in order to steal Express Mail parcels which he believed contained controlled substances,” according to an affidavit sworn by a postal inspector.

Many of the pinched parcels “did contain Marijuana,” revealed Wiggins, who estimated that he had swiped between 40 and 50 Express Mail packages.

 The probe of the mail thefts began in January, when postal inspectors determined that multiple packages destined for the Detroit area went missing. Many of the parcels were characteristic of packages that, in the past, had been found to contain controlled substances.

Last month, a review of surveillance footage showed a black male suspect entering the Romulus plant on Saturday, February 11 and walking out with eight packages ranging in weight from two to 28 pounds. The swiped parcels “all originated from known narcotic source areas,” noted Postal Inspector Edmond Rose.

Anticipating that the suspect would return, federal agents Saturday staked out the Priority Mail Center, where they allegedly caught Wiggins in the act.

Wiggins was named in a two-count felony complaint charging him with theft of mail and impersonating a government employee. At a court appearance yesterday, a magistrate judge freed Wiggins on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

Story 2:

Kevin Glennon's Vikings, Vampires, and Mailmen is a novel about a secret government agency that exterminates the undead. The United States Vampire Service (USVS) is the pseudonym of a licensed contractor of the Postal Inspector’s Office, the police arm of the United States Postal Service.

When an outbreak of undead in Alabama threatens to become an epidemic, Chief Othniel O’Connor and his fistful of men have to stop it before more innocent lives are lost. The discovery of a strange, ancient Viking chamber compounds the problem, and the USVS is forced to reach out for help, only to discover that sometimes vampires aren’t the most malevolent force that must be defended against.

The book brings military tactics, action-adventure, and horror back to a genre that's been hijacked by high school romance and monsters who like wine tasting classes. This is a story about a fellowship of fighters and friends - of their loyalty, sacrifice, and determination to battle for good in the face of evil.

Click here to see the answers.

Mr. Zip bobbles in Bama

In January, the Western Area Postal blog, Your Postal Blog, held a contest. The question was, "What does the mail mean to you?" The best entries were awarded postal-related bobble heads.

Postmarks told our readers about the contest (you can see that post by clicking here), and what do you know, one of our Alabama co-workers was one of the lucky winners!

Birmingham Vehicle Maintenance Manager Jan Woodruff remembered when her children were little and how much they enjoyed receiving letters in the mail from their grandmother, so she asked her daughter, who is now an adult, to submit her story.

Here is what she wrote:


From as far back as I can remember, my grandmother would write me letters. She would use stickers to tell a story or ask me questions when I was too young to read and write .

I  remember asking my Mom if I received any letters when she went to the mail box and later checking  the mailbox myself.  I would be thrilled when I had mail.

My mom would read the letters to me, and when the word was replaced by a sticker, my mom would ask me what that was a sticker of. My grandmother would fill the pages with stickers.  Some examples were "When you and your Mom went outside to play, did you hear the birds singing?"  She would replace the word "play" with a sticker of children playing and birds with a sticker of birds, so we were reading the letter together. This is how I learned to read.

These letters are so special to me that I still have them tucked away in my baby book 30 years later.  My Grandmother died before I was 20 from complications of Alzheimer's. This makes the letters more precious to me because I can always go back and see how much time she spent writing me letters before she got sick. It puts a tear in my eye when I read these and think of the love my grandmother put into words and stickers.

Candace Woodruff-Craig

Cottage Hill trio set safety standard

In order to earn membership into the National Safety Council's One Million Mile Club,  employees who drives as a part of their duties must have 30 years of service or have driven 1,000,000 documented miles (of course) on the job without being involved in a preventable accident.

That's a long time and a lot of miles.

If you were to hop in your car and drive around Planet Earth -- if it were possible to leave your driveway and steer your car in a straight line for days until you eventually ended up back home again -- you would only travel about 25,000 miles.

So people who earn the Million Mile Award have driven accident-free the equivalent of 40 trips around the world.

What is even more amazing is that the Cottage Hill Post Office in the Mobile area recently recognized three Million Mile recipients. 

Pictured above from left to right: Manager Sharon Shelter and Million Mile Carriers Aaron Cook, Roger Stephenson, and Larry Taylor.

Other Cottage Hill employees also received Safe Driving recognition:

Everyone in the picture above received 5-year safe driver pins unless otherwise noted. Front row:  Bob Stock, Laurie Reynolds, Cynthia Tallant, Harvey Sumrall, Sheila Glover. Back row: Brian Gilley, Tommie Crews (3 years), Bob Tolson,  Donnie Simmons.

About her safety-conscious staff, Manager Sharon Shelter said, " These are great guys to work with here at Cottage Hill Station. They care about their jobs and work together to get the job done. I have really enjoyed my detail here as Manager, Customer Services, and would like to say congratulations to all of them,  especially to my Million Mile carriers,  for such a great accomplishment. Continue to be safe, and keep up the good work."

Birmingham Passport Fair on March 10, 2012

Click on the image for easier reading.