Thank Postal Workers for Their Service
Sasha Bush
The Ashland Beacon
“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” These are the words engraved on the front of the James A. Farley Post Office in New York City and what many consider to be the U.S. Postal Service’s unofficial motto. The phrase originated from an ancient book by the Greek historian, Herodotus, and is in reference to the messengers in the early Persian Empire who would transport messages to and from commanders in times of war.
The United States Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches EVERY address in the nation, and while the US Postal Service might not have an official motto, they have always sought to deliver our mail regardless of rain, snow, sleet, or hail. One might ask, why is this so important? Well… let’s think about it this way… how many friends and family do we all have and know who make their living from the operation of a small business? Now, how many of those small businesses rely solely on the postal service to deliver items purchased to their customers?
If it were not for the delivery men and women who make up our U.S. Postal Service, most small businesses would have never even made it off the ground. Small businesses not only depend on reliable delivery of their mail, but many would fail to exist without the U.S. Postal Service. The majority of small businesses would not be able to obtain inventory without having it delivered or have a way of delivering items to their customers. Small businesses aren’t the only ones that would suffer if we didn’t have the U.S. Postal Service. All your big box stores would also feel the effects because they too would not be able to keep their stores stocked with items that are readily available.
The United States has approximately 490,000 postal workers at any given time. It is because of these reliable individuals that we as a nation flourish. One might say that the U.S. Postal Service is in fact the glue that binds our nation together and provides the American people with a delivery infrastructure that is vital to our National Security. In addition to physical mail, the U.S Postal Service also plays a vital role in enabling digital commerce.
The men and women who work for the U.S. Postal Service deserve our thanks and our gratitude. On July 1st of every year, the country celebrates and recognizes all postal workers and the hard work they put into ensuring our mail and deliveries get to where they need to go smoothly and arrive on time.
Being a postal worker is not the easy task most might think it is. Did you know that in the United States, postal workers walk an average of four to eight miles a day delivering letters, packages, and other parcels to our doorsteps? In addition to working long hours, postal workers also must contend with harsh weather conditions, lifting heavy parcels and often carrying them for long distances. Let us not forget the age-old tale of postal workers getting chased by family pets. While this may not be the case at most residences, there have been far too many postal workers chased, terrorized, and even bitten by uncontrolled pets.
So, on July 1st and every day, let us celebrate and recognize the duty and sacrifice that postal workers across the United States make daily to ensure we receive our mail in a timely manner. I had the privilege of interviewing a few of our local postal workers to see what they found rewarding about their job, what their pet peeves were, and some of their craziest days on the job. Check out what they had to say…
Bradley Keith Thomas, a local city carrier shared what a typical day on the job looks like for him, “I wish people understood that the job is not just riding around and putting mail in mailboxes. We walk anywhere from 8-14 miles a day in all weather conditions. We also see hundreds of numbers a day, a lot of them being the same numbers but different street addresses. We do make mistakes, but we try and be as accurate as we possibly can.” So, what is his biggest pet peeve? “My biggest pet peeve is when people don’t schedule a package pickup, and then have several packages for us to pick up and take back to the office. Not all times, we will have mail for every house and if they sit packages out for us to grab, we may not see them! Especially without a package pickup slip, it’s easy for us to miss!” explained Thomas.
Candy Goldie has served in the Ashland post office for nearly eight years and has held various positions throughout the years. Currently, Goldie is a Lead Sales and Service Associate at the retail service window. I asked Goldie what she finds most rewarding about her job. Goldie responded, “I am proud of my earnings and benefits. I am able to provide for my family and prepare for my future retirement. I earn three weeks of annual vacation time that I use to travel the world. I have learned so many things and have had remarkable interpersonal growth. Most importantly, the USPS is where I met my best friend.”
Goldie went on to share with us the strangest thing she has ever seen while working for the USPS, “When I first started working at the Ashland Post Office, I was startled by the sounds of roosters. Would you believe that the USPS ships live animals? I have seen everything from crickets, bumblebees, birds of all kinds, and fish eggs. Back in 1913, the USPS even shipped children.”
Chris Fannin, another local city carrier, shared that what he finds rewarding is building relationships with customers and getting the opportunity to see children grow up from kindergarten to graduation. Fannin also encouraged everyone stating, “I wish the general public would know the importance of making their address on the house or mailbox clearly visible. Many packages get misdelivered because a carrier has to guess what it is, and nine out of ten times it’s a bad guess.”
We often take the postal services for granted. Let’s never forget their contributions. Thank you to all the United States Postal Workers for all that you do to help communication and deliveries in our country. God bless you!