SPRINGFIELD, MO — The Springfield, MO Post Office will offer five special pictorial postmarks — each featuring one of The Simpsons family characters from the hit television series — starting May 7 ‘til June 9.

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring the pop icon favorite as The Simpsons enters its 20th year as a regularly scheduled half-hour series, making it the longest-running comedy in the history of American prime-time television. The show is a critical and popular favorite and has won multiple Emmy statuettes, a Peabody Award and numerous other accolades.

The Simpsons stamps will go on sale nationwide on May 7, and many stamp collectors and fans of the show are expected to collect postmarks from each of the nation's 25 towns named "Springfield."

And customers are encouraged to visit the Springfield Main Post Office, located at 500 W. Chestnut Expressway, on Thursday, May 7 between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., dressed as one the five Simpsons family characters. Framed Simpsons stamp enlargements will be awarded to the three customers who most closely resemble one of The Simpsons characters below:

How to obtain a Springfield, MO Simpsons Souvenir Postmark:

Customers have 30-days to obtain one or more of the five pictorial Springfield, MO Simpsons postmarks by mail. New stamps may be purchased at local Post Offices, or at the Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 1-800-STAMP-24. Customers should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, place a Post-It Note instruction designating which of the five postmarks (Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa or Maggie Simpson) they want, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Simpsons Postmark
Philatelic Clerk
U.S. Postal Service
500 W. Chestnut Expressway
Springfield, MO 65801-9998

After applying the special Springfield, MO postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark(s). All orders must be postmarked by June 10, 2009.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.