North Florida District employees deliver for customers during Isaac

District Manager says “Thank You” for a job well done

North Florida District employees performed for customers before, during, and after Tropical Storm and now Hurricane Isaac, and are continuing to deliver today as the area recovers from the impacts of heavy rainfalls and high winds that created difficult mail delivery conditions.

“Our employees really showed their commitment to getting the job done,” said North Florida District Manager Eric D. Chavez.  “I truly appreciate that they reported to work today as the storm begins to move out of the area.”

The North Florida District continues to make street deliveries and met its service commitments this week, showcasing its ability to perform all our customers.

“I am sincerely proud of our people, and they can take pride in how they conducted themselves during both our preparations and our responses in dealing with some very difficult conditions. We transported, processed and delivered mail for customers across the North Florida District throughout the storm and that is something every employee can point to with pride,” said Chavez.

Chavez also extends a special thanks to those in the Florida Panhandle that were prepared for the storm with well over 98% of the employees reporting to work throughout the storm period  to ensure the USPS helped maintain normalcy in their communities.

North Augusta Recognizes Employees

The North Augusta, SC 29841 Post Office recently celebrated Employee Appreciation with a service talk thanking all employees for their accomplishments and everything they do on a daily basis. Service Awards and pins were given to several employees for their years of service.

Patricia Norris - 25 Years

James Drennan - 35 Years

Mark Attaway - 35 Years

Robert Catchpole - 35 Years

Angela Panzella - 25 Years (not pictured)

Patricia Norris - 25 Years

Robert Catchpole - 35 Years

James Drennan - 35 Years

Mark Attaway - 35 Years

 

District Career Awareness Conference 2012

Jacksonville FL has been chosen as the host site for the North Florida District's 2012 Career Awareness Conference.  The Conference will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2012, 8:00AM - 4:00PM, at the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Airport Hotel.  

We are very excited about the tremendous and rewarding opportunities that will be available to all attendees. More info to come.

You can click the picture above to enlarge.

Stay Alert! School’s in Session

During the month of August, many children will begin a new school year. They’ll be walking to and from school — and waiting for, entering, and exiting school buses. This means there will be many more pedestrians on sidewalks and on the roads.

The United States Postal Service® makes every effort to promote safe neighborhoods for all Americans. We encour­age all of our drivers to use safe driving practices to avoid accidents involving pedestrians.

Here are some tips to reduce the likelihood of an acci­dent:

• Obey the speed limits.
• Stop for a school bus that has red flashing lights and an extended stop arm.
• Watch for children playing near bus stops. They may dart into the street without looking.
• Watch for children walking (especially where there are no sidewalks) or biking to school.
• When driving in neighborhoods and school zones, watch for young people who are in a hurry to get to school and may not cross the street safely.

It only takes one second for an accident to occur.

Be alert and be aware of your surroundings to keep our kids safe!

Mary Esther Employee Receives Million Mile Award

Letter carrier Danny Guillotte of the Mary Esther Post Office achieved a very significant milestone when he eclipsed 30 years of service without a vehicle accident.  

He is pictured here receiving his safety pin and plaque with Acting Area 3 MPOO Steve Seagraves.

Safety conscious efforts such as these enable the USPS to curb costs associated with accidents and tort claims.

EDDM is doggone effective

A Gordon GA customer recently came to the Post Office to see if she could post a missing dog notice in the lobby. 

Postmaster Kevin Hayes told her about Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) where we could put the notice in every mailbox.  

Hayes gave her directions for the mailing, and she was back in about twenty minutes with enough copies for the carrier's auxiliary route which only has 345 active deliveries. 

Letter carrier Diane Toler had already left the office, so Hayes told the customer it would go out the next day.  

Hayes said the customer looked sad, so he called Toler on her cell and asked if she would come back to the Post Office for the EDDM pieces. 

Since the carrier's route was the area around the Post Office, Toler returned to the Post Office. 

Hayes told the customer Toler  would get the rest of her route done that day, and the part of the route she had already done would get their mailing the following day.  The customer was happy, and paid $50.03 for the mailing.

When Toler finished her route, she informed Hayes that she found the dog while delivering the mail.  "I  wouldn’t have known whose dog it was without the mailpiece." said Toler  "Because the customer’s number was on the piece, I called the customer, and waited for her to get the dog before leaving the area."

Yemassee SC Postmaster Participates In Lifetime Channel TV Program

As the newly appointed Postmaster of Yemassee SC, Jo Dyke was asked to participate in a daring social experiment which removed the women from one American town in the program, The Week the Women Went, which premiered August 15 at 10pm ET/PT on the Lifetime channel.

According to Dyke, the producer wanted to have as many businesswomen from the town as possible and she was an “extra”, not one of the main characters.

The town had been selected from almost 100 towns to be filmed. The women went on a week’s vacation to Amelia Island, and there were film crews filming the group of woeman that week and the main character’s families back in Yemassee.

"The show was a wonderful experience for me. I met many women from the community that I may not have met otherwise," Dyke said. Since the show was filmed last August, Dyke has moved to Yemassee. "I had no idea how the show will turn out, but if asked to do it again, I would say YES!" Dyke said.

The show is narrated by comedian Jeff Foxworthy, and produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. The five episode, one-hour unscripted series explores modern gender roles and finds out what happens when all of the women leave town, leaving the remaining men to run their households, businesses and community on their own.

Jacksonville Post Office Assists USO

Recently, the United Service Organizations (USO) requested the assistance of the USPS with shipping hundreds of packages overseas for the troops! The volunteers were very excited to have assistance from the Postal Service in completing this event. Bob Ross, Regional Director is very impressed with the service he received from the Post Office he had this to say, 

“The postal service has helped us every year we asked you guys are always onboard, thanks.” 

This makes the fourth year the Postal Service has helped the local USO office complete their mailings.  Kudos to the Pottsburg Station in Jacksonville in assisting with this effort!

Reidsville Mail Carrier’s Quick Action Averts Tragedy

The home of Annie Will Joyce engulfed in flames as Reidsville firemen work to contain the blaze

If one listens to computer nerds, the U.S. Postal System is archaic, slow, inefficient, and should be replaced by e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and futuristic yet-to-bedeveloped forms of electronic communication. But don’t tell that to Mrs. Annie Will Joyce of 176 Lloyd Street in Reidsville, GA, or any of her children or grandchildren. Mrs. Joyce’s home was destroyed by a fire Saturday morning, August 11, 2012, which started at approximately 9:30 a.m. Fortunately, her mail carrier, Glenda Durrence of Reidsville, was on her regular route and drove up to the mailbox in front of Mrs. Joyce’s home just as the fire was gaining momentum. She noticed an orange golf cart in the front yard and a man and woman standing near the cart. Then she saw the smoke billowing out of the doors and from under the eaves of the house.

Jacksonville Receives RCE Award from Southern Area

The Chief Operating Officer, Megan Brennan, took a visit to the North Florida District last week. During her visit with the expanded cluster, she presented the Jacksonville City team with the Southern Area award for 100% RCE in Quarter 2. 

Pictured is Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan, Jacksonville Postmaster Stephen Hardin, and North Florida District Manager Eric Chavez.

Tallahassee Carrier Tells TV Viewers About Working in the Heat

Special Report: Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Heat

Courtesy of WCTV-CBS  Tallahassee, Florida

We've been seeing temperatures in the 90s for several weeks now. While that may be uncomfortable for you and me consider this: Mail carriers have to jump in and out of their trucks all day long; and with no air conditioning in the vehicles...they're stuck with working under conditions of "hot" or "hotter."

Eyewitness News spent a summer day with a mail carrier for our special report, "Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Heat."

Cameron Hill says, "I got a long way to go."

Long way to go? For veteran postal worker Cameron Hill, doing a lot of work is no sweat.

He says, "It's hot, extremely hot out here."

Okay, there is a lot of sweat involved. Hill says this time of year can feel almost unbearable at times.

Just standing there putting pieces of mail in these box units at a Tallahassee apartment complex can be grueling.

Vidalia GA Rural Carrier Rescues Young Lady from Burning Car

On August 4, Vidalia GA Rural Carriers Dana Allen rescued a young female from a burning car while delivering his route.

Allen passed by a car that had overturned on the shoulder of the road and attracted a crowd of people.

He had a unusually strong feeling to turn around and help, so he did just that. As he approached the scene there was female sitting down beside the road that looked very distraught.

Allen asked if everyone was out of the car and the answer was no. He immediately rushed to the car to rescue the remaining occupant despite others at the scene warning him of the car being on fire.