2 016 he men and women who officers, U.S. Postal Service executives deliver mail throughout and reporters. The annual ceremony this vast country take highlighted the special acts of courage “T their job seriously as and compassion performed by seven they provide Americans with the most NALC letter carriers, as well as an en- affordable and efficient postal services tire NALC branch, to improve lives—or anywhere,” NALC President Fredric save lives—along their route. Rolando said as he welcomed a large Before presenting the awards, Rolando audience to the 2016 NALC Heroes of thanked the panel of independent judg- OF THE the Year Awards luncheon. “But their es who had reviewed the stories about commitment to the families and the heroic and humanitarian acts published neighborhood goes way beyond that. in The Postal Record between July 2015 YEAR Every day, letter carriers help people and June 2016. The judges were Richard who need help—and they sometimes Bowers, chief of the Fairfax County, VA, AWARDS save lives in the process, and some- Department of Fire and Rescue; Chris- times at great personal risk. topher Godfrey, chairman and chief “They don’t do these things because judge of the Employees’ Compensation they are supermen or superwomen,” Appeals Board at the U.S. Department Rolando said. “They do them because of Labor; and Ana Avendano, AFL-CIO they are familiar with the communi- Community Services liaison at the ties that they serve and they know United Way of America. when something’s not as it should be. Rolando also recognized a number Because they are often the first ones of special guests who were on hand, on the scene. Because they’ve watched including American Postal Workers the families grow and they’ve watched Union President Mark Dimondstein; the children grow up over the years National Rural Letter Carriers’ Associa- and they care about their well-being tion President Jeanette Dwyer; Com- and they care about their safety.” missioner for The Postal Regulatory The Heroes event was held on Sept. Commission Mark Acton; USPS Labor 21 in the nation’s capital. Attendees Relations Manager Alan Moore; AFL- included the union’s resident national CIO representatives Christyne Neff and 18 The Postal Record November 2016 Opposite page: NALC’s 2016 Heroes of the Year honorees Below: NALC President Fredric Rolando com- mends the selfless nature of carriers who look out for their communities. Mike Cavanaugh; National Association naturally, a good deal of talk about of Postmasters of the United States leadership,” he said. “I would submit President Tony Leonardi; and National to you that the heroes gathered here Association of Postal Supervisors today have exhibited the very essence President Brian Wagner. of what leadership is all about. Rolando explained why the USPS, “They saw an urgent danger or an and especially the nation’s 180,000 unmet need—and they stepped up. Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA) attended the Heroes city letter carriers as the face of the They evaluated the situation, they ceremony to greet Humanitarian of the Year agency, are so trusted by the public. devised a plan, and they took action. Brad Gentz (r) and Ryan Hemann (c). “From coast to coast, letter carriers In so doing, they demonstrated alert- unite this country, delivering to each ness, empathy, bravery and decisive- While in Washington, DC, to and every neighborhood that makes ness. And then, rather than seeking receive their Hero awards, some of up the American community,” he personal credit, they simply moved the honorees met with their congres- said. “They provide hand-delivered, forward–doing their job with the same sional representatives, who were personal service to every home, every quiet professionalism as before.” eager to thank them for looking out business, every American—six and Rolando told the crowd that letter for their communities. increasingly seven days a week. For carriers tend to deny that their actions NALC’s Hero of the Year Mark Pizzo too many Americans, letter carriers were anything out of the ordinary, spoke with Georgia Sen. Johnny Isak- may be their only daily human contact. while asserting that any of their col- son (D) and Rep. Rob Woodall (R-7); And when storms or floods or other leagues would have done the same meanwhile, Humanitarian of the Year thing in the same circumstance. Brad Gentz spent time with Iowa Sens. “That also pertains to how we Chuck Grassley (R) and Joni Ernst (R) tend to learn in the first place that along with Rep. Rod Blum (R-1). something occurred,” he said. “The Western Region Hero David Crestik one person that we rarely learn about spoke with California Rep. Susan what happened is the letter carrier Davis (D-53), and Central Region himself or herself. On the contrary, Hero Michael Murphy met with Il- after doing something extraordinary linois Rep. John Shimkus (R-15). and even putting themselves in dan- Special Carrier Alert award winner ger to save someone, letters carriers Evangeline Johnson had meetings with typically brush themselves off and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters (D) and Rep. simply resume their routes, delivering Brenda Lawrence (D-14). the mail. The thousands of letter car- Both Massachusetts Sen. Edward riers who go beyond the call of duty J. Markey (D) and Rep. Seth Moulton every year, make me proud to be a let- (D-6) congratulated NALC Education ter carrier. And they make me proud Award winner Patrick Byrne. Soon to lead the National Association of after, Markey praised Byrne on the Letter Carriers.” Senate floor. Rolando also mentioned that nearly a quarter of letter carriers are veterans who are wearing their second uni- form, a proportion that was reflected among this year’s honorees. “Protect- ing and saving others is second nature for them,” Rolando said. “That also natural disasters engulf areas of the applies to letter carriers in general, country, letter carriers continue to do whether or not they’re military veter- their work, often offering the only sign ans. For letter carriers, this isn’t merely of normalcy after such an event for the a job; it’s a career in public service.” residents in that community.” He then recounted each hero’s story The NALC president even referenced to the audience. Their stories are found the U.S. presidential election. “During in the following pages of this issue of Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) this long campaign, there has been, The Postal Record. and Patrick Byrne (r) November 2016 The Postal Record 19 a year in this magazine. Those stories were collected into a booklet, A Year’s Worth of Heroes, which was distributed to the luncheon’s guests. “And what lends even greater mean- ing to the individual awards is that they reflect something much larger—how letter carriers as a whole view their relationship to the communities they serve,” Rolando said. “For our carrier heroes, looking out for the community may not be in the job description—but it just plain comes with the uniform.” Reports on the heroes were run in various media outlets in the days fol- lowing the event. Articles appeared in the Gwinnett (GA) Daily Post; Des Moines Register; Mason City, IA’s Globe Gazette; Mitchell County (IA) Press; York (PA) Daily Record; Pop- sugar; St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Lynn (MA) Daily Item; and the Syracuse Post-Stan- President Rolando presented National Hero The NALC president presented each dard. TV coverage appeared on Iowa’s of the Year Mark Pizzo with a certificate of honoree with an award certificate and commendation. KAAL-TV and KIMT-TV, Pennsylvania’s a special lapel pin that the carrier can WPMT-TV, Missouri’s KTVI-TV, and Cali- wear to highlight the distinction. fornia’s KUSI-TV and KNSD-TV. This year’s honorees were selected You can find links to all of the cover- from more than 100 nominees, whose age, as well as hear the heroes them- stories of heroism and community ser- selves telling their stories, on the NALC vice were published over the course of website at nalc.org/heroes. PR 20 The Postal Record November 2016 Syracuse, NY Branch 134 atthew Watkins, age 17, family were elated by the show of always greeted the letter carri- support. Mers from Syracuse, NY Branch The parade brought out the whole 134 who came to his house. He even neighborhood, including other chil- liked to go to his local post office and dren, to watch and show their support watch LLVs arrive at the end of the for Watkins, bringing joy not only to day, counting them to assure himself the boy, but to the entire community. that all carriers arrived safely back “Matthew is a special-needs guy who from their routes. Carriers nicknamed has a love for people, which is what him “Matthew the Mailman” because I think attracts him most to mail car- 2016 BRANCH he told them he wanted to be a postal riers,” Matthew’s mother, Jennifer Wat- employee someday. kins, wrote in a letter to the branch. SERVICE AWARD Then one day, Watkins stopped “He loves to meet the mail carrier at appearing at his door, and a postal the door, obtain and distribute the employee who knew his family got family mail, point out mail trucks in wind that he was in the hospital, being the neighborhood and visit the branch treated for acute lymphomatic leuke- in Bayberry to count the mail trucks.” mia, or cancer of the blood—the most On the day of the parade, she said, common childhood cancer. “each postal worker that passed by in The treatment lasted several their vehicle did so with a smile and months, and eventually Watkins came a wave.