Kudos to Jupiter MO Employees!

Manager, Post Office Operations Robert Weiser recognizes and thanks employees from the Jupiter Main PO for their outstanding effort in achieving 100% in their recent RCE Mystery Shop!

Pictured L to R Bottom Row:  SSDAs Marilou Whelan, Florie Wilcox, and MaryAnn Tucker.  L to R Top Row:  SCSs Anthony Jones, Bill Looney (Retail), and Steve Maiorino.  Other team members who were unavailable for this photo opportunity are OIC Patricia Copeland, and SSDAs Parvin Kahn, Marilyn Phillips-Banket, Tysheka Burnett; Mackenzie Moise, and Gloria Eliman.  Photo:  Ann Marie Tighe

EAP: Helping Special Needs Persons

Key West Beautification Project Comes Home to Roost

The Key West Post Office has received a $50,000 special delivery from the Trophia Butterfly Foundation. The chicken-scratched gravel in front of the facility has been replaced with a garden of palm trees, stone seats, and flowering plants.


The foundation has donated and installed butterfly gardens, trees, and plants at several Key West locations, including the Monroe County Public Library and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The postal beautification project marks the foundation's biggest and most expensive undertaking, as low stone walls and raised planters were used to minimize damage from the neighborhood's resident chickens that frequently scratch at the roots and damage garden plants. Foundation leaders proudly report that no chickens were disturbed by the project.


The foundation is responsible for the maintenance which saves the USPS a small fortune. Prior to the landscaping, USPS paid $2,500 a year to maintain the existing palm trees. And though native plants require less-frequent watering, the large cistern underneath the Post Office collects rain water used for irrigation.


“This renovation will attract visitors to our Post Office which should increase stamps sales, as well as make us a good neighbor in the community,” said Postmaster Jane Evans.

Grateful Customer Gives Bear Hug

Fort Lauderdale MVS Driver Robert Selvin knows the true meaning of customer service.

“Working for the Postal Service is great,” said Selvin. “But finding a customer’s lost Birth Certificate and Passport in the mail for a cruise departing at 4 pm that day is priceless!”

As Selvin was leaving the Sabal Palm Post Office at 1 pm, a vehicle driven by a frantic customer cut him off in the parking lot. The customer exited her vehicle and explained that she had to find her Express Mail that contained her Birth Certificate and Passport. The sender had written the wrong address, but correct ZIP Code on the mailpiece.

Selvin asked the customer to follow him to the Tamarac Post Office that delivered ZIP Code 33319. However, on the way, Selvin had a hunch that the Express Mail was at the Fort Lauderdale Processing and Distribution Center so he pulled over, and the customer parked behind him. He called Expeditor Doug Elbaum who then located the Express Mail. Selvin exited his vehicle to share the good news with the customer.

“When I mentioned the sender’s name to her, she jumped out of her car and gave me the biggest bear hug known to man!” said Selvin. “Her tears of joy absolutely were overwhelming when we picked up the Express Mail. Her repeated thanks to me truly was a heartwarming feeling.”

Photo:  William G. Quinn, Jr.

Preparing for the Good Life

Employees who have seen the Postal Service’s new retirement counseling videos for Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees Retirement System employees are telling USPS they’re worth watching.
“The 3-step video on line was very helpful in filling out my retirement forms,” one prospective retiree told the Human Resources Shared Services Center (HRSSC).
Another employee went a step further, saying, “The retirement videos are great. They should be required viewing before the counseling sessions since they answer so many of the questions.”
The videos are for the benefit of employees who have started the retirement process and have already received their paperwork. They include the same information retirement specialists at the HRSSC would give employees over the phone.
But unlike a telephone conversation, each 20-minute session can be viewed as many times as employees need — and they can pause to finish paperwork or rewind to review information.
The counseling videos at LiteBlue are in addition to a set of general retirement videos which includes information for new employees as well as those preparing to retire. The general retirement videos are not available on ACE computers.

Flags and Fireworks on the Fourth

Wednesday, July 4, is Independence Day, one of the six days each year postal facilities are required to fly the POW–MIA flag. The flag and its display at postal facilities honor the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action.

The POW–MIA flag must fly below the U.S. flag. If a postal facility is closed July 4, the facility is required to display the POW–MIA flag on the last business day before July 4.  Additional information may be found in the Administrative Support Manual Section 476 "POW–MIA Flag Display.”

On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies claimed their independence from England, an event which eventually led to the formation of the United States. John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence.  Today, the original copy of the Declaration is housed in the National Archives in Washington DC.  Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, parades, barbecues, baseball games, and family reunions.