Mammovan Helps 14 Fort Lauderdale Women

Top: Broward County Health Department mammovan stops at the Fort Lauderdale Main Post Office parking lot. Bottom: WTVJ Channel 6 videographer records the smiles of two of 14 Fort Lauderdale residents who had registered for a mammogram. Photos: Tashia Romano-Kravitz

October is "Breast Cancer Awareness" Month, but breast cancer prevention is a year-round activity.

With this in mind, on November 17, the Broward County Health Department mammovan pulled into the Fort Lauderdale Main Post Office parking lot as scheduled to offer free or low-cost mammograms to eligible women in the local community.

Fourteen women heard the good news on WIOD 610 AM Radio and WFOR Channel 4 (CBS) and took advantage of the opportunity. They began to line up in the parking lot at 8:30 am.

"Some of the women came up and hugged me ... they were so happy to get this very important health service at little or no cost to them," said Customer Relations Coordinator Tashia Romano-Kravitz, who organized this event.

Romano-Kravitz also promoted the Breast Cancer Research Semi-Postal Stamp to onsite media --- WTVJ Channel 6 (NBC), WSVN Channel 7 (FOX), and Telemundo Channel 51.

The 55-cent Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamp covers the 44-cent single-piece, one-ounce First-Class letter rate and donates the additional 11 cents to breast cancer research. By law, 70 percent of the net amount raised goes to the National Institutes of Health and 30 percent goes to the Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense. Postal customers nationwide have purchased more than 800 million Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamps --- raising $67.6 million for research --- since this first semi-postal stamp in history was issued in 1998.

West Palm Beach City Salutes Veterans

On November 10, all West Palm Beach City Post Offices honored their veterans with Certificates of Honor for their military service. Top: West Palm Beach City Postmaster Maribeth A. Norman (R) presents veterans framed artwork to Purple Heart recipient Greg Choinski (L) who is a letter carrier at the Palms West Post Office. Bottom: West Palm Beach City Postmaster Maribeth A. Norman (green jacket) and Palms West Manager, Customer Service Marcia Pedraza (R) salute veterans who proudly served, or continue to serve, our country. Photos: JoAnn L. Goodrich

Turkey and all the Trimmings ... In a Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate Box!

Wouldn't it be wonderful to send a "Flavor from Home" to friends and family who are serving in the military, going to college, or living or working in another state? It may be hard to believe, but our Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate Box can hold all of the ingredients necessary for an entire turkey dinner! Send turkey and all the trimmings --- stuffing, potatoes, gravy, yam casserole, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie and other Thanksgiving favorites!

Remember that care packages and reminders of home are a big morale boost for military service members stationed around the world. To help families and friends of military personnel, the Postal Service offers a $2 discount on its largest Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box to APO/FPO addresses.

Chick-fil-A Features Postal-Themed Products

The Postal Service has joined Chick-fil-A — with its 1,430 restaurants in 38 states — in a month-long promotion featuring a number of postal-themed products and a Veterans Day, Support-the-Troops event.

Throughout November, Chick-fil-A is offering five USPS-themed “kid’s meal” premiums, including some stamps from various commemorative series on sports animals, history, transportation and the “Wonders of America.” Each premium features facts and stickers based on the commemorative stamps that educate and inform — values that are consistent with all Chick-fil-A kid’s meal premiums.

Chick-fil-A is paying USPS a licensing fee for the promotion. Revenue generated from this promotion — as with all licensing agreements — goes straight to the Postal Service’s bottom line. Last year, licensing revenues generated by USPS totaled more than $89 million.

Going Green is Getting Greener

The U.S. Postal Service is committed to actions that promote sustainability — meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future. We are working to create a culture of conservation among our 663,000 employees in our more than 34,000 facilities. Just check out the newly-updated usps.com/green website. Like the rest of the organization, the site is sleeker and leaner. Familiar favorites such as the “skip the trip” calculator and ways to check your Earth Impact are still available, as are opportunities to learn more about –– and order –– the Postal Service’s Cradle-to-Cradle certified shipping products.

Riviera Beach PO Salutes Its Veterans

It was an "all in the (postal) family" event honoring veterans at the Riviera Beach Post Office.

Manager, Customer Service Glenn Guice and staff recognized veterans at a special ceremony in their honor on Tuesday, November 10. Everyone enjoyed a delicious buffet of pasta, turkey, homemade biscuits, sandwiches, cupcakes, and pies. Valerie Carbone, Manager, Customer Service, read a "Thank You" letter from West Palm Beach City Postmaster Maribeth A. Norman. Valerie was joined by Greg Brown and Brian Coulton, both Supervisors, Customer Service, in presenting each veteran with a certificate and a small token of appreciation. Retail Associate Yvonne Hunt sang the Star Spangled Banner and Letter Carrier Delores Watson led the Presenting of Arms.

(Thanks to West Palm Beach Customer Relations Coordinator JoAnn L. Goodrich for sharing the news and taking the photos!)

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