TAMPA — The U.S. Postal Service will hold the official First Day of Issue Ceremony for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Priority Mail stamp on Tuesday, February 28 at 11 a.m. The event will take place at the Magnuson Hotel & Marina Cove Resort, 6800 Sunshine Skyway Lane in St. Petersburg, FL 33711.
Joining Postal Service officials, Suncoast District Manager (A) Nancy Rettinhouse and St. Petersburg Officer in Charge Bill Bishoff, to dedicate the stamp will be St. Petersburg City Council Chair Leslie Curran, retired Sr. VP American Bridge Company (builders of the bridge) Richard Kermode and former Florida Governor Charlie Crist.
With this 2012 Priority Mail stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The stamp art is a digital illustration showcasing the dramatic structural elements of the bridge in the natural beauty of its surroundings. The bridge crosses Tampa Bay and links the Gulf Coast communities surrounding St. Petersburg and Bradenton. Illustrator Dan Cosgrove worked with art director Carl T. Herrman to create the stamp art.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Priority Mail stamp will sell for $5.15. Priority Mail provides a fast and affordable way to deliver mail to every address in the U.S. In most instances, delivery is made in two to three postal business days. The stamp will go on sale nationwide February 28, 2012.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
