Celebrating the People Who Keep Mail Moving

There’s nothing like a championship victory parade to bring people together. And even if you watched or were there for the Knicks and their fans celebrating in New York City last week, you may have missed the reaction of the crowd to a postal worker simply doing their job.

As a couple million people lined the streets in Manhattan to celebrate the team's NBA title, video captured a USPS carrier making deliveries by the parade route after police allowed him to pass through a secure area.

The crowd clapped and cheered. Social media lit up. And the story got picked up by some TV stations, which is how I found out about it.

It wasn’t that surprising to me that no matter what's happening around them, postal workers show up and get their work done. It’s the kind of commitment that National Postal Workers Day, observed annually on July 1, was created to recognize.

The contributions of all postal employees are honored. Sales at retail customer counters, mail handlers, mechanics, technicians, truck drivers, processing clerks, maintenance, carriers, of course, and so many more job titles held by the 600,000 personnel in the postal service workforce.

For those of us in the printing and mailing industries, the vast majority of workers remind us that every successful campaign depends on people. They serve nearly every address in the country, helping our businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and marketers connect with their audiences every day.

Seeing this moment the other day, I thought of one of the most famous phrases associated both with the postal service and New York:

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

It’s inscribed on the front of the James A. Farley Building, still a working post office, across from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. Despite what some people think, it isn’t an official motto. There actually isn’t one.

The architect adapted a line from the writings of a Greek historian describing the efficient Persian Empire couriers a few thousand years ago. His sentiment, about dedication and dependability, still fits today.
Whether they’re behind the scenes or out front delivering mail to our homes and businesses, postal workers remain an essential link in America's communications network.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.