EDISON — Eighteen Edison postal letter carriers have exemplified the postal service’s policy of “Safety Depends on Me” for more than three decades.
And for their years of safety consciousness, the letter carriers received the National Safety Council’s prestigious Million Mile Award for 30-plus years of accident-free driving at a ceremony on June 13 at the Edison Post Office on Route 27.
The award is presented to professional drivers for operating a motor vehicle on the job for more than one million miles without a preventable accident. To put the achievement in perspective, a person would have to travel around the Earth 40.1 times to cover that distance.
“This is very hard to do … it’s impressive,” Edison postmaster Haroon Malik said. “It is important to be proactive, to always be a defensive driver and think with your mind. Do not underestimate other drivers.”
The 13 letter carriers, who received the Million Mile Plaque at the ceremony, are Joyce Abry, John Balistreri, Maryellen Boyle, Thomas Boyle, Gregory Giovenco, James Kenny, Keith McDede, William Paltan, Angela Sweat, Philip Valenti, Robert Ruggieri, David Wybraniec and Michael Matula, who has been with the postal service for 40 years.
Malik said two letter carriers who received a plaque but were not present at the ceremony are Michael Fischetti and Tama Waldon.
Additionally, he said three letter carriers, Eugene Robinson, Thomas Renner, Michelle Balistreri, who retired recently, will also receive Million Mile Plaques.
Malik along with Eric Henry, acting district manager for USPS Northern New Jersey District, Ed Quinn, operations manager for USPS Northern New Jersey District Post Office, Michael Rizzolo, human resources manager for USPS Northern New Jersey District and National Association of Letter Carriers Union Branch No. 38 Vice President Dan Szucs were on hand to help present the awards.
During the ceremony, Malik said safety has been his focus since he became postmaster last year.
He showed four safety videos that demonstrated what could happen if a letter carrier did not prepare for the weather elements, wear his/her seat belt, yield to traffic signals, and/or become distracted while driving.
Malik said not wearing a seat belt or answering a text is “not worth your life.”
Henry said on the managerial side, their main focus is providing a safe work environment for their employees.
“Our employees are really our best commercial for the post office,” he said. “Our customers see you.”
Henry said not only are letter carriers delivering mail, but have also seen loose dogs and helped save a person in a house fire.
“This helps gain the public trust for the postal service,” he said.
“It is quite a feat these employees have done to keep themselves safe,” he said.
Henry noted the employees were employed before the use of navigational units in 1993.
“Our business model has changed since then,” he said. “While mail volume is down, parcels are going up.”
Henry said it is important for employees to follow four points to uphold the postal brand: attendance, safety, attitude and performance.
Szucs said he has lived in Edison for 50 years and over time the area has become more and more congested.
“I used to be able to play on Route 27,” he said, adding it is important for letter carriers to be smart and safe so they can make it back home to their families at the end of the day.
Szucs said prevention is key when it comes to safety.
“No one comes into work and says they want to get hurt today, but it happens,” he said.
Some of the award winners gave the younger letter carriers some advice.
“It’s not easy,” Sweat said. “Take your time, relax, do your job and get home safe.”
Maryellen Boyle, who is retiring next month, and Ruggieri stressed the importance of wearing a seat belt.
“Put your seat belt on,” Ruggieri said. “It’s become muscle memory now.”
The presentation of the National Safety Council’s Million Mile Award reflects the Postal Service’s commitment to safety and pride in its employees who provide excellent service, while safeguarding themselves and the neighborhoods they serve.
Contact Kathy Chang at kchang@newspapermediagroup.com.
