Meet Our Outstanding FEOY Nominees

Recently employees throughout the district had an opportunity to recognize outstanding co-workers with nominations to the "Federal Employee of the Year" Awards Program. Nominees consistently perform above and beyond the call of duty ... deserve recognition for heroic deeds demonstrated in life-threatening situations ... volunteer their time to benefit others in the community ... or could be a combination of any of the above! Nominees will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, May 7 (location to be determined).

Congratulations to the following outstanding employees who've been nominated in their respective categories:

ADMINISTRATIVE:
Shequeta Blake (Hollywood CS)
JoAnn Goodrich (West Palm Beach CS)

MANAGEMENT:
Ernesto Cintado (Miami PO)
Kenneth Franz (SFL&DC)
John Howard (Miami P&DC)
Carl Powell (West Palm Beach P&DC)

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY:
Tammie Jo Cadwell (Fort Lauderdale - NALC)
Wendy Carlisle (Key West)
St. Amand Etienne (South Florida P&DC)
Marianne Giambrone (Fort Lauderdale CS)
Starr Hunter (West Palm Beach CS)
Starr Hunter (West Palm Beach - NALC)
Tatyana Kats (South Florida P&DC)
John Ledley (Opa Locka CS)
Marie Lochard-Lubin (Human Resources)
Laurie Miale (Miami - NALC)
Melvin Mills (Miami Beach CS)
James Patterson (Fort Lauderdale CS)
Margaret Stark (Pompano Beach CS)

TECHNICAL/INFO TECHNOLOGY:
Jose Puig (District IT)

The People's Choice

The U.S. Postal Service has won the People’s Choice Stevie Award for Favorite Customer Service in the category of Public Services and Education. The Stevie Awards were created in 2002 to generate public recognition for the efforts, accomplishments and positive contributions of companies and business people worldwide. This was the first Stevie Awards competition in which the general public voted for their favorite customer service providers. More than 87,000 votes were cast during the competition.

March is National Women's History Month

March is National Women's History Month.

If you're a female employee who'd like to share a story on your career experiences and/or offer some career tips to other employees, please send your comments (150 words or less) to debbie.j.fetterly@usps.gov. Please include your name, work location, number of years in service, and a digital photo (optional). Your comments (and photo) will be posted on the blog throughout March.

In the meantime ... Here's some interesting information on female Postmasters ... Over the course of its history, the U.S. Postal Service has employed women as Postmasters --- from a single woman at the birth of our country in 1775 until, today, when more women than men head United States Post Offices. Of the nation's 25,410 Postmasters, almost 58 percent --- 14,671 --- are women. Although some refer to the position as "Postmistress," the official title always has been "Postmaster."

Promoting women as managers is a commonplace corporate agenda today; the U.S. Postal Service has done it for centuries.

PMG Potter is Taking Care of Business at Conference with Stakeholders March 2

The way people use mail is changing. The way businesses use mail is changing. Is the Postal Service prepared for this change? What happens if it doesn’t change? The Internet, E-Mail and other electronic diversion and economic recession have had a huge impact on its business.

How can the Postal Service remain a strong competitor in this new communications world over the next 10 years?

Postmaster General Jack Potter will host a conference March 2 in Washington DC to address these questions. He will announce an action plan that promotes a new flexible, agile business model that can quickly adapt to America’s changing mailing habits and preferences. The conference will be attended by mailing industry leaders, union leadership, members of Congress and other key stakeholders.

Look for local Newsbreaks with the details of the plan and other information about the conference next week.

BBC Films Story at Milam Dairy PO, Miami ISC

BBC crew videotapes and interviews Miami MCSO Ernie Cintado on the value of Priority Mail.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Producer Ricardo Benassi, based in Miami to report on stories in the United States and Latin America, contacted the South Florida Corporate Communications Office about "the evolving Postal Service." Arrangements were made for Benassi and his camera crew to conduct an interview, in Spanish, with Miami Manager, Customer Service Operations Ernie Cintado.

During an interview at the Milam Dairy Branch, Ernie emphasized that the Postal Service is operating more as a business --- and also took the opportunity to promote Express Mail and Priority Mail products. When asked about some customers communicating via E-Mail instead of through the letter mail, Ernie quipped "Some people may use the internet, but you can't deliver a package through your computer!" Ernie continued the interview in the retail lobby where he purchased a Valentine card from the new greeting card display --- also captured on film.

The BBC crew then travelled to the Miami ISC where Plant Manager Benjamin Vidal gave a tour of mail processing operations. The crew was fascinated with the processing of international mail, particularly packages destinating Latin America. They also were impressed to be videotaping in one of only five ISCs in the nation --- and that the Miami ISC was known as "the gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America.”

Thanks to Ernie and Ben for promoting the Postal Service and its employees!

To view the video news story, click on the following BBC link (remember to select the "Control" button) ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/cultura_sociedad/2010/02/100222_video_new_internet_correo_cartas_eeuu_ig.shtml

Making Sense of the Census

"We Can't Move Forward Until You Mail It Back." That's the message being communicated to the public about the importance of filling out and returning your Census form.

To help expand the U.S. Census Bureau’s extensive public outreach and communications campaign encouraging Americans to participate in Census 2010, on Friday, February 19, the Postal Service will begin displaying Census posters in postal retail lobbies.

The U.S. Census Bureau this month will enter the first of six separate Census mailings slated to be sent out through mid-April. Scheduled for in-home delivery February 17–19, the initial mailing will consist of approximately 10 million “advance” letters mailed to residences in rural areas.

These letters will alert residents that the Census questionnaire is coming and tell them what to expect. That will be followed in March by similar “advance” letters mailed to residences in suburban and urban areas.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that each percentage point of non-responding residents costs the federal government $80 million to $90 million because of the need to follow up with in-person visits from census takers.

With Intelligent Mail (IM) services, however, these costs will be reduced by several million dollars because the government will not have to send out census takers to those residences that are returning a questionnaire. When an IM barcoded questionnaire hits the postal network, the Census Bureau will know that it’s on its way back.