USPSNEWS@WORK

Nothing gets their attention like mail: Mail works!

You don't need a big advertising budget or Hollywood special effects to get someone's attention. Give them something personal and trusted that gets results.

Give them mail.

Why mail? It's personal. Mail gets customers to listen- up. It fits into people's lives. Mail enlightens without interrupting. Mail can be tailored to the needs and interests of small groups, even individuals, in contrast to "one-size-fits- all" advertising. Two-thirds of consumers don't expect to receive personal mail but when they do, it makes their day. It keeps them coming back every day.

Why mail? It's trusted. Mail's privacy has always been a hallmark of America's postal system. Americans know that what they put in the mail will get delivered - and delivered safely. More than two-thirds of Americans that USPS® surveyed value the privacy, security and reliability of the mail.

Why mail? It gets results. USPS commissioned a study with comScore Research, which monitored the actual Internet sales of 1 million consumers and found those who received catalogs in the mail viewed 22 percent more pages on the retailer's Web site and spent 16 percent more money.

Mail is the fastest growing traditional marketing medium and the largest medium in America surpassing national television buys, according to the New York Times.

Why mail? Because it works!

Dennis the Menace: Hurricane hits Gulf Coast

The first hurricane of the season made its impact on the Gulf Coast recently. Packing winds up to 120 miles per hour, Hurricane Dennis made landfall near Pensacola, FL, before heading inland toward Alabama. Along the way, hurricane-force winds and heavy rains spawned tornadoes and flooding. More than 500,000 s in Alabama and Florida were without power. Officials said it may take up to three weeks to restore power to all those affected. Florida, Alabama and Mississippi were declared disaster areas.

Media reported officials are attributing the absence of major injuries "to a widespread evacuation in which more

than 1.8 million Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana residents were urged to leave coastal areas." Authorities also ordered curfews to keep people off the streets.

Postal facilities in the storm's path were closed for a brief period as the storm made its way past the Florida Keys and up the Gulf Coast. Offices in the Pensacola and Panama City, FL, area closed early in preparation for the hurricane. In Alabama, all Postal ServiceTM facilities in the Mobile service area closed and the Montgomery Processing and Distribution Center (PDC) suspended operations as evacuations and curfews were enforced. In Mississippi, the Gulfport PDC remained open throughout the storm, but access to the facility was limited due to closed roads.

Delivery and retail services in many areas affected by the storm were restored within a few days.

Service to America: Two from USPS named medal finalists

Postmaster General Jack Potter, Postal Inspector John Johnson and CTO Bob Otto at the Service to America Medal finalists event.

Otto - a finalist for the Social Services Medal - is cited for helping to bring more than 37,000 Post OfficesTM to the American people through development of USPS Web services.

Johnson is up for the International Affairs Medal as part of a team that put more than 1,200 child pornography purchasers behind bars. The team includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of land Security.

The medals will be awarded in September. Otto and Johnson were chosen as finalists from 500 nominees for nine awards sponsored by magazine publisher, Atlantic Media Company, and the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.

Rising stars: Boise PDC and Philadelphia BMC pass VPP test

Two USPS facilities - Boise PDC and Philadelphia Bulk Mail Center (BMC) - received their Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Corporate "Star" recently.

The Boise PDC is the first USPS facility to win the highest rating in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) new VPP corporate program since the Postal Service became the first federal agency accepted into the corporate pilot last month.

Corporate programs to promote outstanding workplace safety and health management have long been recognized by VPP. OSHA created the VPP Corporate pilot program to streamline recognition for individual facilities.

In awarding "Star" status to the Boise plant, OSHA noted four areas of excellence - craft and management safety leadership, ergonomics, emergency preparedness and electrical safety.

Philadelphia BMC has become the first bulk mail center - and the largest USPS facility - to be awarded the VPP Corporate Star. Peter Brown of OSHA praised employee support for the initiative. "We could feel the trust in this facility as soon as we walked in," Brown said. "The most rewarding part was the solid union support."

Union officials, in turn, had high praise for BMC manager Florence Spady, citing her open-door policy, style of trust and commitment to her employees' well being as the reasons for the program's success.

Socket to 'em: Hybrid electric vehicle being tested

Waltham Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Boston, MA, is to a new hybrid electric two-ton vehicle being tested for one year by the Postal Service.

The loaned vehicle uses a battery and a small diesel engine for power, along with regenerative braking technology to charge the battery.

Drive right: Rural carriers to get right-hand-drive vehicles

The USPS Board of Governors recently agreed to purchase 3,120 minivans to replace some of its right-hand- drive vehicles in urban areas. USPS has awarded a contract for the minivans to DaimlerChrysler Motors to supply the vehicles by November 30 this year.

This is the second phase of a plan to provide additional Postal Service-owned vehicles to rural carriers. In 2002, the Board approved the purchase of 6,240 minivans for city carriers, with the residual right-hand drive vehicles being transferred for rural carrier use.

The Postal Service will be sending 15,000 right-hand- drive vehicles - some of them already part of the urban fleet - to rural carriers by 2008.