Passport Fairs in West Palm Beach, Hialeah Set for Saturday, March 24

 
Need a passport for summer travel? Start your journey at a USPS Passport Fair on Saturday, March 24:  

8 a.m. - 2 p.m., West Palm Beach Main Office, 3200 Summit BLVD, West Palm Beach, FL

8 a.m. - 3 p.m., Hialeah Main Office, 325 E First AVE, Hialeah, FL

Note: The Passport Fair scheduled at the Miami GMF Finance Unit has been postponed to a later date (to be determined).

Employees are reminded that their attendance at a Passport Fair is an off-the-clock activity.

U.S. citizens must present a valid Passport Book when entering or re-entering the United States by air. U.S. citizens entering the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda at land borders and sea ports of entry must present a Passport Book, Passport Card or other travel documents approved by the U.S. government.

How to Prepare for the Passport Application Process:·  A completed application (form is available at usps.com/passport; but do not sign it until the passport clerk instructs you to do so).  
·  Remember that everyone, including newborn infants, is required to obtain a passport in his or her own name. For children under age 16, the consent of both parents/guardians is required. 
·  Proof of identity (a valid permanent state driver’s license, a government ID or military ID, previous passport, Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization Certificate)
·  Proof of U.S. citizenship (previous passport, original or certified birth certificate issued from the state with a raised, embossed, impressed, or multi-colored seal and registrar’s signature and date of certificate filing)
·  Two official passport photos (available at the Passport Fair for $15)
·  Social Security Number

The U.S. Department of State fees vary according to age and type. The fee(s) must be made by money order, check, bank draft, or cashier’s check made payable to the U.S. Department of State; debit and credit card payment is not available. The Passport Book fee for under age 16 is $80; for age 16 and older is $110. The Passport Card fee for under age 16 is $15, and for age 16 and older is $30. In addition, all acceptance agencies, including the Postal Service, charge a processing fee of $25 per application. A debit or credit card may be used in addition to cash, money order, or check made payable to the Postal Service.

Carleen is New Hollywood Postmaster

Daniel Carleen

 

There’s a new face in the South Florida District. Daniel Carleen has been promoted to Postmaster of Hollywood, a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area and the 12^th largest city in Florida. His previous position was Manager, Post Office Operations, Dallas District.

As Hollywood Postmaster, Carleen will be administratively and operationally responsible for 535 employees working at Chapel Lakes Branch, Flamingo Branch, Hillcrest Postal Store, Hollywood Main Office, Miramar Branch, Pembroke Pines Branch, South Florida Retail Unit, University Postal Store, and West Hollywood Hills Station.

Carleen joined the U.S. Postal Service as a City Letter Carrier in Minneapolis, MN in 1987, and was promoted to Supervisor, Customer Services, Minneapolis, MN, in 1997. In 2004, he was promoted to Manager, Customer Services Northland District. In 2013, Carleen was promoted to Postmaster, Tyler, TX, and three years later, to Senior Manager, Post Office Operations in the Dallas District.

During his career, Carleen also gained invaluable experience as Route Exam Team Leader Northland District, Manager, Customer Service Operations Northland District, Officer In Charge, La Crosse, WI, and Operations Programs Analyst, Southern Area.

Carleen is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served aboard the USS Eisenhower and as an instructor at Parris Island, SC from 1982 to 1986.

“Daniel brings a wealth of postal experience to the South Florida District,” said A/District Manager Timothy Costello. “Please join me in welcoming Daniel and in wishing him continued success in his postal career.”

89-Year-Old Veteran Mails Handmade Green Cards to Mark St. Patrick's Day

Indianapolis resident Jerry Kennedy, 89, displays some of the hundreds of handmade St. Patrick’s Day cards he’ll mail this year.

Jerry Kennedy was serving in the U.S. Army in Korea when he first realized the power of mail.

It was 1951, and Kennedy received a card from his father. The message from home lifted his spirits — as well as the spirits of his fellow soldiers, who passed the card from bunker to bunker.

“We had nothing to read on the front line,” Kennedy recalled.

Acting on a company clerk’s suggestion, Kennedy decided to write back to his dad. Cards weren’t readily available in the middle of war, so Kennedy, a machine gunner, crafted one out of cardboard.

So began a tradition that continues today.

Each year since then, the Indianapolis resident has created his own cards and mailed them to friends, family and anyone else who asks.

It began with an annual message for his dad.

“Then my brothers and sisters asked for them, and then their kids. Each year someone else asks me, so I add them to my list,” Kennedy said.

The cards have become a St. Patrick’s Day tradition. Last year, Kennedy mailed more than 200.

He has refined his craft over the years, filling each card with poems, songs of Ireland, and colorful images he gathers and scans onto card stock.

“I do it all by hand,” he said.

Mark Leigh, a USPS maintenance technician who once lived next door to Kennedy, has been on the mailing list for about 17 years.

“I look forward to it every year. I read every part of it, and I bring it to work to share with my co-workers,” Leigh said. “It’s truly a work of art.”

The cards are just one way Kennedy, 89, celebrates his roots. He has traveled to Ireland several times and has even been to his family’s ancestral farm in County Tipperary.

This week, he’ll be honored with an Irishman of the Year Award from the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the nation’s oldest Irish Catholic fraternal organization.

Kennedy is thankful for the award, as well as the important role the U.S. Mail has played in helping him preserve his heritage.

“The Post Office is part of the great things of America,” he said.

Source: LINK

Goddard: Making a Name for Herself

This petition to reinstate Mary Katherine Goddard as Baltimore, MD, Postmaster is part of the National Archives in Washington, DC.

To help mark Women's History Month in March, here are five facts about Mary Katherine Goddard, the first known woman Postmaster in the United Colonies, the predecessor of the United States.

1. Goddard came from a postal family. She was born in 1738 in New London, CT, where her father, Giles, served as a physician and Postmaster. Her brother, William, was a well-known printer and newspaper publisher who later established a colonial postal system independent of its British counterpart.

2. Her postal career began in Maryland. In 1774, Goddard joined William in Baltimore, where she managed the family print shop while he was drumming up support for the postal system. She was serving as Baltimore’s Postmaster by July 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was named the first American Postmaster General.

3. She also was one of America’s first women publishers. Not only was Goddard in charge of a Post Office serving a major commercial city, she also was accomplished in other areas. She ran a bookstore, and from 1774-1783, she published The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser.

4. Her name is part of the Declaration of Independence. In 1777, Congress tasked Goddard with printing and distributing the first copies of the declaration with all signatures — a job she completed in two weeks. Although she used the gender-neutral “M.K. Goddard” as her name when she ran the newspaper, her copy of the declaration lists her full name at the bottom.

5. Goddard’s dismissal caused an uproar. In 1789, newly-appointed Postmaster General Samuel Osgood replaced Goddard with his own pick for Postmaster — a common practice at the time. More than 200 people petitioned Osgood to reinstate Goddard but he refused, claiming the right to exercise his own judgment. Goddard wrote to both President George Washington and the U.S. Senate to petition for reinstatement, but they declined to intervene. She ran a bookshop in Baltimore until a few years before her death in 1816.

Source: LINK

Presenting Our NSP Graduates

Forty-one South Florida employees in Customer Service, Maintenance, and Processing and Distribution operations are the latest graduates of the New Supervisor Program (NSP), a training initiative that helps USPS cultivate its next generation of leaders.

Manager, Human Resources Jann Miller served as the Master of Ceremonies. Acting District Manager Timothy Costello, Manager, Post Office Operations Louis Klegin, and Miami Postmaster Enrique Suarez addressed the graduating classes. They thanked them for their dedication to the program and their commitment to the Postal Service. They also shared their postal careers and encouraged graduates to accept and embrace challenging assignments.

Class representatives Fernando Arias, LaTosha Barnard-Clarke, Ryan Fitz-Gordon, Alex Fonseca, Pedro Garcia, Wayne James, and Idalmis Jimenez addressed graduates and guests, along with cluster members in attendance.
They thanked Manager, Learning Development and Diversity Damaris Agrait and the training staff for their commitment and support.

The 16-week program included classroom, on-the-job, and online training. Topics addressed were management, communications, team building and effectively dealing with conflict. The program also trains participants in areas such as timekeeping, safety and labor relations.

Congratulations and best wishes for continued success to our graduates:

• Fernando Arias, Father Felix Varela Postal Store, Miami
• Aimee Arroyo, Flamingo Branch, Hollywood
• Victoria Bain, Key Biscayne Branch, Miami
• LaTosha Barnard-Clarke, Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch, Miami
• Constance Bradley, West Palm Beach P&DC
• Nicole Brittain, Palms West Branch, West Palm Beach
• Zachary Chaney, Riviera Beach Post Office
• Donna Fairley, Miami ISC
• Sergio Felix, Ludlam Branch, Miami
• Ryan Fitz-Gordon, Boca Rio Station, Boca Raton
• Alexander Fonseca, Olympia Heights Branch, Miami
• Pedro Garcia, Miami P&DC
• Andrea Hall, Hollywood Main Office
• Mearlene Harris, Boynton Beach Downtown Post Office
• Atty Holder, Everglades Branch, Fort Lauderdale
• Chaunte Horne, Royal Palm P&DC
• Sheneice Humes, Miami ISC
• Wayne James, Jupiter Post Office
• Idalmis Jimenez, Hialeah Carrier Annex
• Jasmine Johnson, Royal Palm P&DC
• Randy Leblang, Inverrary Branch, Fort Lauderdale
• Yanier Leon, Pembroke Pines Branch
• Brenda Lewis Bellinger, Tropical Reef Station, Pompano Beach
• Andre Lloyd, Tropical Reef Station, Pompano Beach
• Santa Loureiro, Olympia Heights Branch, Miami
• John Miceli, Delray Beach Post Office
• Daniel Nunez, Royal Palm P&DC
• Angel Ortiz, West Palm Beach P&DC
• Sheila Paulk, Hallandale Post Office
• Francine Pierre, Royal Palm P&DC
• Luis Rangel, Royal Palm P&DC
• Jesenia Rojas, Gratigny Branch, Miami
• Consuelo Sanders, Fort Lauderdale Main Office Carrier Annex
• Melissa Schade, Sunrise Branch, Fort Lauderdale
• Karimeh Smith, Royal Palm P&DC
• Karen Starling Edwards, Miami ISC
• Shakayla Stewart, Coconut Grove Branch, Miami
• Jino Thomas, Lake Worth Main Office
• Ricky Velazquez, Tamiami Station, Miami
• Rolstine Williams, Hallandale Post Office
• Carolyn Wright, Fort Lauderdale Main Office Carrier Annex

Important Message for Busy People

Do you find yourself constantly on the go, working on that to-do list, and never having time for a break? Many people today are feeling pushed to the limit with the hustle and bustle of daily life. The demands of everyday life can sometimes be overwhelming, and people often do not carve out time to take care of themselves. 

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers a “Self-Care: Take Time for You” ePromotion which takes a look at how practicing good self-care can create a sense of balance and is good for your physical, mental, and emotional health.

The EAP invites you to sign up for this ePromotion which includes a series of emails sharing brief information to help you actively engage in a topic. With the “Self-Care: Take Time for You” ePromotion, you will receive emails Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays over the next three weeks. You may use your postal or home email address. Your participation is strictly confidential. Please feel free to share “Self-Care: Take Time for You” with your co-workers and family members and encourage them to sign up as well.

For more information or to sign up, please contact District EAP Consultant Dr. Vivian Perez-Gonzalez at vrperezgonzalez@magellanhealth.com or at 305-470-0327.