INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The small town of Paragon, 16 miles north of Bloomington, is probably best known for the Paragon Speedway, which has become a Saturday night tradition. On Tuesday, June 11, 2013, Paragon will have another reason for renown.

The 43rd Village Post Office (VPO) in the Greater Indiana District will officially open at noon (EST) at the Step Saver (Citgo), 2375 S. State Road 67, Paragon, IN 46166. An open house will follow from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m.

Gary Marker, owner of the Step Saver has been in business in Paragon for the past 30 years. He decided to open a VPO at his service station to help the local Post Office, which now has reduced hours and to provide convenience for his customers. “I have been a part of this community for a long time, and when I saw that the Post Office had to reduce hours, I wanted to help my customers by providing added hours of postal service as well as convenience. When they come to my store to buy milk or bread, they can also pick up a book of stamps, get some flat-rate packages or drop off their mail with us. It’s a good plan, and I’m hoping we’ll see an increase in business as a result,” Marker said.

The Step Saver is open Monday through Saturday from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m., and from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

The new postal center will be officially opened by Manager of Post Office Operations Kim Hernly. Several Postal Service and local officials will be present at the event. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 12 p.m.  and an open house will follow.

Last year, the Postal Service introduced the VPO model as an alternate retail location for postal products and services, especially in rural communities.

VPOs are operated by local businesses contracting with the Postal Service, and offer a range of popular postal products and services including stamps and flat-rate packaging. 

Additional information about the Village Post Office is available at www.uspsvillagepostoffice.com.

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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.

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