Letter carriers recognized
as 2012 Heroes of the Year

Sept. 20, 2012 -- Thomas Logue, a 28-year letter carrier from New Jersey, and Charlie Rose, a 23-year veteran in Ohio, were among those honored by the National Association of Letter Carriers on Sept. 20 as 2012’s Heroes of the Year.

Logue, who saved a boy engulfed by a large wave on Father’s Day, was named 2012 National Hero of the Year. The Cape Atlantic, NJ Branch 903 member saw the youngster pulled out to sea by a rip current before disappearing under a wave.

Rose, a member of Athens, OH Branch 997 and recipient of the Special Carrier Alert award, detected at least a dozen natural gas leaks on his route, saving lives and prompting the local gas utility to replace more than 17,000 feet of pipe and Athens’ city council to require carbon monoxide detectors in 4,500 new rental properties.

Several other carriers also were recognized as heroes. They represent thousands of letter carriers who not only deliver the mail to 150 million households and businesses six days a week, but who often assist in situations involving accidents, fires, crimes or health crises:

➤ Mike Hollmann III of Phoenix Branch 676, the Western Region Hero, was on his route one Saturday when he noticed a woman lying on the ground near her wheelchair being attacked by three angry pit bulls. Scaling to the top of a fence, Hollmann distracted the dogs until police came.

➤ Mike Sylvester of Duluth, MN Branch 114, the Central Region Hero, saved lives after an automobile hit a house, rupturing the gas line to the house and leaving the car smoking and its fuel tank punctured.

➤ Celia Ruiz of Virginia Beach, VA Branch 2819, the Eastern Region Hero, observed her neighbor’s children thrown airborne after being struck by a drunk driver and applied CPR.

➤ Cassandra Summers of Naperville, IL Branch 1151, the Humanitarian of the Year, founded a nonprofit group to redecorate the rooms of breast cancer patients.

➤ Cartoonist Bil Keane, whose “Family Circus” artwork promoted the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive for many years, received the first Legacy Award. Keane, whose single-panel “Family Circus” comic strip began in 1960 and appears in almost 1,500 newspapers, died in November. His sons Jeff and Christopher accepted the award on his behalf.

The 2012 NALC Heroes of the Year were honored by NALC President Fredric Rolando at a special ceremony Sept. 20 in Washington, DC. The event also marked the 30th anniversary of Carrier Alert, a free program that elderly or homebound residents can join so vigilant letter carriers notify relatives or authorities at any sign of distress.

Every day, a letter carrier hero

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.

These good men and women believe that serving America means more than delivering the mail. For them, a vital part of "universal service" is a sense of universal caring.

There are tens of thousands of courageous letter carriers all across America whose daily deeds of bravery and simple compassion make us all proud:

• Letter carriers put their own lives and safety at risk.
  
• Letter carriers cast a watchful, protective eye over the neighborhoods they serve.
  
• Letter carriers selflessly give of their own personal time and talents to help the needy.
  
• Letter carriers raise millions of dollars for MDA.
  
• Letter carriers collect tens of millions of pounds of food each year in NALC's National Food Drive.

For them, to serve means to protect, to assist, to help every citizen at any time the opportunity arises.

On duty or off, letter carrier heroes generously deliver that "extra service" to the American public every day, and in doing so they proudly carry on a great tradition of delivering for America, six days a week.