FRANKLIN, MA — Greater Boston District Manager John (Mike) Powers presented City Letter Carrier Richard Maloney and Supervisor (A) Thomas Rockwell with Postal Hero Awards at the Franklin Post Office on April 28, 2014 -- National Superhero Day. Inspired by limited edition Priority Mail boxes featuring The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring postal employees across the nation who have demonstrated heroism or extraordinary community service.
“The Postal Service is proud to recognize Richard and Thomas as superheroes,” said Direct Manager Powers. “One of the similarities of the Amazing Spider-Man and the Postal Service is reliability and service to the community,” he added. “Both Richard and Thomas certainly demonstrated both characteristics in their dedicated service.”
Richard Maloney, City Letter Carrier, Postal Hero and Life Saver
Maloney is one of a handful of Franklin employees who actively participates in the “Be the Match” bone marrow donor program through the Postal Service. In 2012, Maloney was selected as a "perfect match" for an anonymous leukemia patient. "Be the Match" coordinated the blood treatments with the Providence Blood Bank and he was able to donate successfully. When Maloney returned this year to update his donation availability in the program he was given a letter simply titled "A letter to my donor" from his 2012 perfect match recipient. While Maloney always knew participating in this program was important, the letter confirmed that his donation made a tremendous difference in someone’s life and that the gift of life is the best gift to give. Since 1997, the Postal Service has recruited more than 58,000 employees and members of their families to become donors through the campaign. More than 80 have become donors, helping critically ill patients. Maloney is one of them.
Thomas Rockwell, Supervisor (A), Postal Hero and Life Saver
One morning a HCR contract box truck arrived at the Franklin Post Office to unload working mail. When the truck parked, the driver turned the vehicle off and the engine compartment caught fire. Rockwell immediately sprang into action. He first informed the employees of the situation and instructed them to call 911. Then he grabbed the facility fire extinguisher and temporarily put the first out. He then assisted in removing the cages of mail off the truck and secured the mail in the building. Just when all seemed under control, the engine fire reignited. In a calm manner, Rockwell instructed all employees to get off and away from the truck and reached for a second fire extinguisher to battle the fire until the fire department arrived. Rockwell’s heroic act that morning saved the mail, the post office and most importantly the lives of his colleagues and customers.
To put some superhero Spidey-power into its promotion of Priority Mail shipping, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has teamed up with Sony Pictures for the release of the highly anticipated motion picture “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” and new custom Priority Mail shipping boxes feature the superhero in theaters nationwide on May 2, 2014.
The campaign also parallels with the beloved superhero by highlighting the courageous acts of the postal workforce. Last year, the Postal Service recognized 262 postal employees for heroic acts in the Postmaster General’s heroes program.
National Superhero day started on April 28, 1995 by a group of employees at Marvel Comics. Every April 28th since has been celebrated as National Superhero Day.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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