HOLLISTER, CA — For most drivers, luck would seem to play a role in avoiding an accident. However, 5 Hollister letter carriers will be the first to tell you it’s not a matter of luck; it’s a matter of focus, paying attention and being a defensive driver.  

Now imagine driving the equivalent of 334 times coast-to-coast without ever leaving the city limits with not so much as a fender-bender along the way; and imagine doing it safely, under hazardous road conditions, gridlock, rural terrain, and avoiding inattentive drivers in a hurry.

On Thursday, December 6, 2018, 9:00 a.m. at the Hollister Post Office, 100 Maple St., Hollister, CA 95023, four mail carriers will be inducted into the National Safety Council “Million Mile Club.” Receiving their membership into the prestigious club will be Donna Stephens, Edward Smith, Stephanie Powell, and Frank Lira.

In addition, Rural Carrier Caroline Parker will be honored for being selected as the Joseph M. Kaplan USPS Safe Driver of the Year for the Pacific Area, an area that covers California and Hawaii and the Trust Territories. Parker was nominated for her dedication to safe driving practices by her Postmaster, Adam Jones, and the National Safety Council selected her to represent the Pacific Area at the National Awards Celebration in Houston in October 2018.

‘Our postal drivers are among the safest in the world,” said Bay-Valley District Manager Robert Reynosa. “The truly remarkable achievement by our Hollister mail carriers demonstrates how postal employees continue to deliver on the promise of delivering their best every day with care, courtesy and concern for the safety of others.”

Each driver will be presented with a plaque from the Safety Council and automatic membership in the prestigious National Safety Council “Million Mile Club.” The million-mile award is a lifetime enrollment, and it is given to drivers who have accumulated one-million miles or 30 years of driving without being involved in a single preventable motor vehicle accident, a truly remarkable achievement according to the National Safety Council.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

###