PHILLIP MANESS
RETAIL ASSOCIATE AT LOWELL POST OFFICE REACHES OUT TO NEWTOWN, CT



Phillip Maness - Lowell Retail Associate

 Phillip Maness, Lowell Retail Associate wanted to send encouragement to the children of Sandy Hood Elementary school in Newtown, CT.  Phillip offered to pay the postage for any customer that bought the Postal Bear; they sold out of the bears and every customer that participated sent the bear from either their child or grandchild.  Phillip placed a letter inside the box to distribute where needed. 

The Arkansas District has so many kind, generous and thoughtful employees, Phillip is great example of compassion in action.

TERRA HOOD HUNTSVILLE POSTMASTER

SUPPORTS "ADOPT A SOLDIER"

Postmaster Terra Hood of Huntsville, AR brings in revenue, as well as supporting her local church, Evangel Assembly of God.  Terra works on the "Adopt a Soldier" mission.  The mission started out with plans to send one box per month.  Within the first month, the mission had grown to 15 boxes per month.  The congregation is encouraged to donate items for the boxes.  Terra then packs the items, prepares custom forms, and ships the boxes.  Postage is paid for by cash donations to the mission.  The boxes pictured contain personal hygiene items, snacks, Christmas Cards, stationary, reading material, and other useful items for soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. 

WAYNE BECK ALMA POSTMASTER
HONESTY AND INTEGRITY- ENOUGH SAID

ALMA POSTMASTER - WAYNE BECK

Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right, decide on what you think is right and stick to it. — George Eliot

Wayne Beck is a fine example of what it means to "do the right thing".  Recently, Wayne found a bag of money on the Alma exit ramp of I-40. When he opened the bag, to his amazement, there was about $1,100.00 cash in the bag plus several checks.  He knew he had to find the rightful owner and return the money. 

Wayne contacted the local bank for assistance to verify the owner (a local antique store) and was able to deliver the bag personally.

"The money that was found was not mine. The right thing to do was to get it back to the person that lost it," stated Wayne Beck.  "The smile on Mr. and Mrs. Ellis' face was priceless, they were so appreciative."

Wayne said, "I'm sure you've heard of paying it forward. After speaking to Mr. Ellis, I found out that his wife, at one time, found a wallet with $1,700.00 cash. She turned it over to the police for them to find the owner. I think this was God's way of rewarding them for their Good Samaritan act years ago."

It is refreshing to know we work with ethical, honest people. Thank you Wayne for doing the right thing!

Southern Area

uspsnewsbreak

UNIQUE POST OFFICE BOX CREATED FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS AFFECTED BY NEWTOWN CT TRAGEDY

The U.S. Postal Service has established a unique Post Office Box to allow employees and the public to send condolences to those affected by the tragedy in Newtown CT last week.

Those who wish to send expressions of comfort should address them to:

Messages of Condolence for Newtown
PO Box 3700
Newtown CT 06470

USPS understands that there is an outpouring of support for everyone in the Newtown area and hopes to make it easier for those who wish to send encouragement and messages of compassion to those affected. Thousands of letters are pouring in from around the world and this will make it easier to isolate this mail for efficient distribution.

The Postal Service wants to express its support not only to the residents and others in the Newtown area, but to our employees who are working hard to ensure efficient delivery of this mail. Through letters and cards, families will be able to hold that friendship in their hands and to read those kind words at a time and place that supports their pace of healing.

POST OFFICE SETS UP P.O. BOX
FOR SANDY HOOK CONDOLENCE LETTERS

A mourner takes a picture of 26 teddy bears, each representing a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at a sidewalk memorial, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Friday has broken hearts around the globe and the U.S. Postal Service has established a unique Post Office Box for people to send letters of condolence to the community.


“We understand that there is an outpouring of support for everyone in the Newtown area and we hope to make it easier for those who wish to send encouragement and messages of compassion to those affected,” Kimberly J. Peters, Connecticut Valley District Manager for the U.S. Postal Service, said in a statement.“

Those who wish to send expressions of comfort should address them to:

Messages of Condolence for Newtown

PO Box 3700

Newtown CT 06470

A WIN FOR MAYNARD RURAL CARRIER MAUREEN VAN WINKLE
AND THE US POSTAL SERVICE




MAUREEN VAN WINKLE WITH THE EDDM FOR JOHNNIE'S AUTOMOTIVE

 Maureen Van Winkle's Rural Reach submission resulted in new, monthly revenue for the Maynard Post Office.  Officer-In-Charge Roger Smith and Maureen worked together to educate John Conway of Johnnie's Automotive about the benefits of utilizing Every Door Direct Mail to promote his business.  After the first mailing, Mr. Conway had hard evidence that EDDM works; within three hours of the mail being delivered he received numerous calls and had 8 new appointments. 

Mr. Conway plans to mail every month, adding the PO Box customers to his mailing and advertising new monthly specials, he is sure to realize more new business. 

The average new revenue  for the Maynard Post Office will be approximately $128.00 a month. "This may seem like a small amount to some people", stated Roger Smith, OIC, "but the way I see it, pennies add up to dollars."

TAKE THE LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE POST OFFICE
FOR A PERFECT TRANSACTION

L-R: MPOO Al Alexander, SSA Brad Alvey, Postmaster Margaret Carter, Supervisor Christina Spicer,
SSA Dianna Christensen, SSA Mike Snider (not pictured John Dollar)

 

Lamar AR SSA, Tonia Ralph

If you’re old enough to remember the Monkees – a pop band of the 1960’s and 70’s – you’ll remember they had a great little tune about taking the last train to Clarksville. Much more recently, Arkansas District team members Alphonso Alexander (Manager of Post Office Operations Area 3) and Patti Robinson (District Manager of Marketing) took I-40 to Clarksville to celebrate a big accomplishment.


There they recognized the outstanding customer service record of the Clarksville Post Office retail team; a premier group of retail sales professionals that just won their sixth GOLD STAR AWARD for conducting another perfect Retail Customer Experience Mystery Shop. This sixth Gold Star came after SSA Brad Alvey’s most recent RCE shop, and was commemorated with a lead crystal trophy, which will be displayed at the retail counter. Clarksville is one of only two offices in Arkansas to attain this premier status.

Over the course of the past few months every single clerk in Clarksville achieved that true “perfection” associated with the coveted Gold Star Award. Dianna Christensen, Mike Snider, John Dollar, and Tonia Ralph (a clerk they frequently borrow from Lamar) earned the award prior to Brad Alvey’s recent shop. These employees know what it takes to increase their office’s profitability, while providing top-notch mailing solutions to their customers. And they do it right, every single time, with every single customer visit.

Manager of Post Office Operations, Al Alexander, said, “These are some of the best sales associates in the entire District. They follow the Perfect Transaction to a “T” and get the customer taken care of and back about their business, as quickly as possible. If every one of my offices were this good, my life would be a lot easier!”

Yep, they are that good. And when it comes to wait times at Clarksville, these fine folks follow another line from that old Monkees song; “And don’t be slow, ah no, no, no!”

HEBER SPRINGS POST OFFICE
FIRST GOLD STAR FACILITY IN THE STATE



Pictured L to R – Sr. MPOO Mike Hart, SSA Stephanie Giunta, MPOO Mark Merritt, Supervisor Eric Stafford, SSA Tacie Schmidt, Postmaster Briant Derrick, SSA Larry Winter, DM Kim Quayle, SSA Doug Privitt

 When you walk into the bright and beautiful lobby at the Heber Springs Post Office, the door cling tells the story: “You are entering a GOLD STAR POSTAL FACILITY. This facility has been recognized with the Gold Star Award for Excellent Customer Service.”


And it is true! Every Sales & Service Associate and member of management at Heber Springs know the importance of treating their customers very well. So well, in fact, they have become the first office in the Arkansas District to have six 100% Gold Star Perfect RCE Shops. That means every retail employee in Heber Springs know what products to offer their customers, they give a brief description of our premier services, and they make purchasing and shipping suggestions giving the customer the best value for their dollar, and providing the USPS with handsome profits.

It is that ability to provide “perfect” retail transactions that prompted the Arkansas District Manager, Kim Quayle, to travel to Heber Springs to personally thank SSAs Larry Winter, Tacey Schmidt and Stephanie Giunta for their consistently perfect Gold Star performance. “In Arkansas, our Retail employees are held to a higher standard than most others in the nation, with every aspect of a “perfect transaction” required, before one of these awards is given to a retail employee and office. So to see an office that has received 6 of these awards, is truly exceptional!”


ARKANSAS POST OFFICES SHARING
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IN THE LOBBY

Little Rock Chenal Post Office



Little Rock Industrial Station



Little Rock Asher Station



RICHARD NAYLOR FARMINGTON RURAL CARRIER RECEIVES ACCOLADES FOR SAFE DRIVING 

Richard Naylor' Safety Awards



Richard Naylor, Farmington Rural Carrier recently received two awards from the National Safety Council:  AREA BEST for the Southern Area and the 2012 Joseph M Kaplan Safe Driver of the Year.

Mr. Naylor has driven for 24 years without a preventable accident. He has had the same route for 24 years driving about 39 miles a day. His actions exhibit safe work/driving habits and demonstrates how safety depends on each of us. 

Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishment and many thanks Richard from your Farmington postal family and the Arkansas District.

BATESVILLE POST OFFICE IS A WINNER!