Letter Carrier Noreen Mintken was delivering mail in an Omaha, NE, neighborhood when she heard what she thought was the sound of a car backfiring. But as two kids ran around the corner, she realized that the noise was something more serious.
“They have a gun! They’re shooting!” the boys screamed.
Mintken told them to follow her, and they sought shelter behind a building. She recalled that up to seven more shots rang out amid yelling, followed by tires squealing, then silence. The boys wanted to go see what had happened, but the Postal Service™ employee told them they should let her walk them to the nearby Boys & Girls Club.
“I just wanted to be sure they were okay,” said Mintken, who learned from a police officer that she and the boys were only about 50 feet away from the gunfire. “My boss said I was a hero, but I didn’t really think much of it,” she said. “I just did what I thought was right.”
Mintken is one of several thousand employees who have been recognized through the Postmaster General (PMG) Heroes’ Program. These women and men have gone above and beyond the call of duty in a variety of situations, such as assisting lost children, getting help for sick or injured customers, spotting fires, and more.
Now in its fifteenth year, the program is based on a simple idea: Postal Service employees know the habits of their customers and the rhythms of their communities, and are often the first to notify emergency personnel when something is wrong.
Employees must be nominated for the PMG Hero Award. Corporate Communications reviews nominations for accuracy, then sends them to the Inspection Service and the Office of the Inspector General for approval.
Following approval, each nominee receives a commendation letter from Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan. Honorees are also featured in “Heroes’ corner” on the Postal Service daily employee news site, Link. Additionally, a heroes’ wall at USPS® Headquarters in Washington, DC, displays stories and photos, which are updated monthly, to promote these employees’ heroic acts.
To nominate an employee, complete PS Form 400, Corporate Communications PMG Hero Nomination, and email it to PMG_HeroNominations@usps.gov. To download or print the form, go to usps.link/heroes, where you can also find the “Heroes’ corner” archives and read more stories about heroic employees.
— Communications Content and Strategy,
Corporate Communications, 6-21-18
