50 Years and Counting ...

County Line Annex Letter Carrier Willie Morris, Jr. (center left) celebrates his 50-year career milestone among co-workers, managers, family, and friends.

 

Story & Photos: Miami Customer Relations Coordinator Mirtha Uriarte

Recently, County Line Annex Letter Carrier Willis Morris, Jr., celebrated a career milestone among co-workers, managers. family, and friends. At a celebration in his honor, Miami Postmaster Enrique Suarez presented Morris with his 50-year Service Award and Pin, a gift from Miami Customer Services, and a congratulatory letter signed by Postmaster General/CEO Megan Brennan.

Morris is very dedicated to his family, customers and co-workers.  His customers know him by name; he has seen the children grow into adults, having children and grandchildren of their own. Morris is like their extended family that they see sometimes more than their relatives.  

 

Over 50 years ago, Morris began his postal career at Miami’s Norland Branch. He then transferred to County Line Annex where he has been most of his career.  When asked if he was getting ready to retire, he just nudged his shoulders and said “I am not ready yet, but you will be the first to know.”

 

During the celebration, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 1071 President Mike Gill personally thanked Morris for setting an excellent example for all who have had the pleasure of meeting and working with him.
“As an active NALC member, Morris is greatly appreciated by all his union brothers and sisters,” said Gill.

His wife, retired Letter Carrier Beverly Morris, spoke about the loyalty and commitment her husband has to the Postal Service.  

NALC Branch 1071 President Mike Gill (left) and Miami Postmaster Enrique Suarez (right) congratulate County Line Annex Letter Carrier Willie Morris, Jr. (center), on reaching his 50-year career milestone. 

Award Nominations Due August 1

Nominations for the Engagement Leader of the Year Awards are due Aug. 1.

The Postal Service is introducing the award to honor leaders who are involved, enthusiastic and committed to improving their workplace environments.

Awards will be given at the district, area and headquarters levels, culminating with a final honoree who will receive a national award in January.

Nominees must be Executive Administrative Schedule (EAS) or Postal Career Executive Services (PCES) employees in leadership positions and have employees who report directly to them.

The awards will be given in three rounds, beginning with 67 district-selected awardees. During the second round, seven area and 22 headquarters awardees will be chosen, followed by a third round of 10 finalists selected by the Executive Leadership Team.

From these 10 finalists, a single winner will be chosen for the National Engagement Leader of the Year Award.

The Employee Engagement LiteBlue site has guidelines and a nomination form.

 

Wonder Woman to Celebrate # 75

The U.S. Postal Service, in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment, previewed four Forever stamps  that commemorate the 75th anniversary of one of the most iconic Super Heroes of all time — Wonder Woman.

The stamp pane will be revealed at 3 p.m., Saturday, July 23, at Comic-Con International: San Diego. The First-Day-Of-Issue dedication ceremony will take place at New York Comic-Con, Friday, October 7.

Fans are encouraged to share the news on social media using the hashtags #WonderWomanForever and #WonderWoman75.

First seen in October 1941 in a back-up story for All Star Comics #8, meant to test her appeal at a time when female superheroes were rare, Wonder Woman quickly broke out and headlined her own title by the next year. Subsequent generations came to know the star-spangled heroine with metal bracelets on her wrists and a magic lasso by her waist via her hit 1975-79 television series and roles in animated shows and movies, as well as her historic appearance on the cover Ms. Magazine #1 in 1972. This past March, Wonder Woman was seen for the first time in a live action motion picture with her introduction in the movie “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

The U.S. Postal Service celebrates her diamond anniversary by chronicling her evolution on Forever stamps from her World War II origins to today. This new issuance showcases four different stamp designs on a sheet of 20 stamps depicting Wonder Woman during four eras of comic book history: 

Golden Age (1941–55)

Silver Age (1956–72)

Bronze Age (1973–86)

Modern Age (1987–present)

The selvage, or text outside of the stamp images, features the current block-letter Wonder Woman logo in white against a comic book style power burst rendered in shades of blue.  

Randel to Lead SFL Mail Processing

Earl Randel

Effective Saturday, July 23, Earl Randel, Manager, In-Plant Support, Southern Area, will be Acting Senior Plant Manager in the South Florida District. The Miami P&DC and West Palm P&DC will report to Randel at the Royal Palm P&DC which now is the senior plant in the district.

Randel has 28 years of postal experience, beginning his career in 1988 as a Clerk in Kansas City, MO.  He advanced into managerial positions, including Manager, In-Plant Support, Dallas District; Manager, Processing Distribution Operations, Columbia, MO; Senior Manager, Distribution Operations, St Louis, MO; and Manager, Distribution Operations at a number of locations including Austin, Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas and Kansas City, MO.

     

Throughout his career, Randel also has held several detail positions, including Coordinator, Network Rationalization, Southern Area; Senior Plant Manager, Alabama District; Lead Senior Manager, Distribution Operations, St Louis, MO; and Manager, Processing and Distribution in several locations --- Corpus Christi and Waco, Texas, and Kansas City, Kansas.

 

Randel has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management with a focus on Process Management and Quality Improvement.  He is a graduate of the U.S. Postal Service’s Processing Distribution Management (PDM) and Advanced Leadership Program (ALP). He has attended Executive training programs at Rapport International and Columbia University. He is Green Belt Certified and is currently working on his Black Belt project.

Miami to Host Hanukkah Stamp FDOI

 

Miami will be the location of the First-Day-Of-Issue (FDOI) for the 2016 Hanukkah stamp. Preliminary plans, including site selection, are underway. The ceremony will take place in late October or early November.

The Hanukkah stamp features a holiday menorah in the window of a home. Artist William Low added visual interest to the scene by highlighting the contrast between the hot candles flames and the cool snow, the vertical candles and the horizontal window frame, and the dark menorah with brightly lit candles. Bhel Kessler was the art director.

SFL Mail Processing Changes

Recently, the Postal Service took steps to reevaluate mail processing operations in the South Florida District. With continued changes in customer mailing trends, including levelling off of letter and flat mail volumes and increasing package growth, such an examination was prudent. Given the complexity of today’s mail processing environment, the Headquarters Organization Design team assisted with gathering and evaluating data, in order to make a sound business decision to keep the Postal Service viable now and into the future.

Effective Saturday, July 23, the Miami P&DC and West Palm Beach P&DC will report to the Royal Palm P&DC which now is our Senior Plant in the South Florida District. Some leadership team changes also will be implemented:

• Earl Randel, Manager, In-Plant Support, Southern Area, will be Acting Senior Plant Manager
• Juan Gonzalez will serve as Plant Manager, Miami P&DC
• Linda Gray will be Acting Plant Manager, West Palm Beach P&DC

It's an Out-of-this-World Experience!

An out-of-this-world experience is coming to the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARL&CC), 2650 Sistrunk Blvd, Fort Lauderdale. 

During the grand opening of Discover Space: A Cosmic Journey traveling exhibit on Monday, July 25, Fort Lauderdale Postmaster David Guiney will dedicate an enlargement of the 16 "Views of Our Planets" stamps to library officials. Meet Guiney, community officials and other special guests at 6 p.m. in the seminar room.

Eleven-year-old planet enthusiast Sophia Maritato is traveling from Pittsburgh, PA, to participate in the dedication ceremony. Her painting of the solar system will be displayed in the exhibit.

The American Library Association awarded this exhibit to the AARL&CC. The exhibit covers topics such as the formation of planetary systems, asteroids and comets, Mars exploration, and solar storms and their impacts on Earth. The AARL&CC is one of eight sites nationwide to host the exhibit, on display locally through October 14.

Employees who attend this free event are reminded that it is an off-the-clock activity.