GREENVILLE — Audery L. Ponder, Manager of Ministry Relations for The Encouraging Word, Inc., of Spartanburg, SC, was recently named an Executive Board Member of the Upstate Postal Customer Council of the U. S. Postal Service.

Ponder, a graduate of Converse College, has 13 years of experience in Community Relations and Christian Education.  She will serve on the Registration Committee.  She is currently working toward a Master of Arts in Human Services at Converse.

“I specialize in developing a strong network of community partnerships in the field of Christian Education every day, but I also enjoy using my people and organization skills to work with the Upstate PCC team,” said Ponder.  “The U. S. Postal Service is currently in a period of historic developments.  I look forward to working with the board to help us build a successful future.”

The Postal Customer Council™ (PCC®) was established in 1961 to improve communications between U.S. Postal Service® customers and managers. The organization has grown increasingly more important since the 1970s, when business mailing issues became its primary focus.

Today, there are more than 200 local Postal Customer Councils with approximately 100,000 members across the nation. Regular meetings, educational programs, mailer clinics, and seminars keep members abreast of the latest Postal Service™ developments. Members also work closely with local Post Office™ locations to make mail service more efficient, resulting in improved delivery and greater customer satisfaction.

The mission of the Postal Customer Council is to:

• Promote local cooperation and support of Postal Service initiatives
• Foster a close working relationship between the Postal Service and business mailers
• Share information and exchange ideas about new and existing Postal Service products, services, programs, and procedures that affect business mailers
• Help PCC member organizations grow professionally through focused educational programs

# # #

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.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 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 $67 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 29th in the 2010 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 six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.