 A record 10 letter carriers —including five who joined forces to rescue elderly residents from an apartment fire—were honored at the annual NALC Heroes of the Year luncheon held September 18 in Washington for feats of bravery, quick thinking and compassion above and beyond the delivery of the mail
in service to their customers.
“America’s letter carriers develop a special sense about the neighborhoods they visit
as they go about their duties—a sense of what’s right as well as what’s wrong,” said NALC President William H. Young. “They
are uniquely able to step in and offer aid when a patron is in medical distress or
danger, not only because of their jobs,
but because of their hearts.”
“Letter carriers,” he said, “touch the lives of their patrons in remarkable ways, both on the clock and off.”
Young stressed that the NALC members recognized at the ceremony are not isolated examples of letter carrier heroism and sense of humanity. “We know that there are hundreds more out there, every single day,” he said. “Fact is, most carriers brush aside praise. They say ‘it’s just part of the job’ and leave it at that.”
The “Proud to Serve” section of
The Postal Record documents many
of these tales of courage, valor and self-sacrifice—examples of letter
carriers intervening when a customer is threatened or delivering aid to a person in distress, such as an accident victim or patron suffering a medical emergency. Each summer, an independent committee of judges reads through these accounts from the
preceding year and selects the winners of the annual awards.
Before he introduced this year’s recipients, Young acknowledged some special guests attending the ceremony, including USPS Executive Vice President Anthony J. Vegliante and Vice President of Labor Relations Doug Tulino; Postal Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Mark Acton and Commissioners Ruth Goldway and Nanci Langley; National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association President Don Cantriel; and Reps. Charles A. Gonzalez (D-TX) and David Loebsack (D-IA).
The 2008 NALC Heroes of the Year are:
National Heroes of the Year: Five letter carriers from Greater East Bay, California Branch 1111—Alan Girard, Rick Quinonez, Gilbert Rangel, Tonya Joseph and Karen Hill—who worked together to evacuate more than 100 senior citizens from a burning assisted living high rise located next to the carriers’ post office.
National Humanitarian of the Year: David Lundy of High Point, North Carolina Branch 936, who, with help from his wife Carolyn, battled through a year’s worth of red tape to secure badly needed help for an elderly patron on his route.
Eastern Region Hero: Paul Gereffi of
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Branch 2550, who intervened in one man’s vicious knife attack on another, helping to keep the assailant subdued until authorities could arrive.
Central Region Hero: Dean Dunkel of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Branch 373, who saw a car skid off the road and flip over during a torrential rainstorm and braved rushing water to reach the partially submerged vehicle and pull the driver to safety.
Western Region Hero: Raymond Rivera Jr. of San Antonio, Texas Branch 421, who grabbed and wrestled a ferocious pit bull that was attacking two little girls playing near his home, keeping the dog pinned for some 40 minutes waiting for animal control officials to arrive.
Special Carrier Alert Award: Rhonda Russell of New York City, New York Branch 36, who suspected identity theft when she noticed a large amount of credit card and other financial mail going to a home owned by an 85-year-old woman on her route.
President Young used the occasion to reinforce the NALC’s position in opposition to any attempt to give letter carrier work to subcontractors.
“People trust their letter carriers. They know that the blue uniform means that our people represent honest, hard work in service of the public,” Young said. “They know we deliver the finest and most affordable postal
service in the world. They know you cannot outsource that job to China
or anywhere else.”
In brief remarks, Rep. Gonzalez lauded all the heroes and observed that Brother Rivera’s decision to tackle the pit bull was “counter-intuitive,” something usually left to police, fire and rescue officials. “The truth is, many of us would not have done this,” Gonzalez said, calling his constituent “an inspiration to all of us.”
Rep. Loebsack thanked letter carriers “for all that you do”—not only the headline heroic acts, but also the dependable, day-to-day delivery of mail—and presented Brother Dunkel with a special flag flown over the U.S. Capitol.
Serving as judges this year were Chief Phil Guercio, Montgomery County, Maryland’s Department of Fire and
Rescue Services; Director Shelby Hallmark of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs; and Jordan “Bud” Biscardo, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison at the United Way of America.
Stories and articles printed in The Postal Record between July 2007 and June 2008 served as the basis for the judges’ selections. More detailed accounts of each hero’s actions can be found here. |
Six days a week, in every city and town across America, proud union letter carriers travel the streets and byways, serving every home and business along their routes. Because these brothers and sisters are everywhere, every day, they represent the front line of safety for many in our communities, not only the elderly or the young, but Americans of every age and in every station of life. 