Mailin’ It! - The Official USPS Podcast

The National Postal Forum – More than 5 decades of spotlighting the Postal Service’s latest and greatest

Episode Summary

This week on Mailin’ It, we’re talking with the Maureen Goodson, Executive Director of the National Postal Forum – a longstanding partner of the United States Postal Service. We’ll learn more about NPF, its history, and how its annual spring trade show helps to connect the shipping industry with postal customers for four days of education and networking.

Episode Notes

This week on Mailin’ It, we’re talking to the National Postal Forum’s Executive Director, Maureen Goodson. The National Postal Forum has partnered with the Postal Service for more than 50 years to drive growth and innovation throughout the mailing and shipping industry.

We’ll be talking to Maureen about the history of NPF and how their partnership with USPS has helped amplify several new postal offerings over the years – including the ZIP code. We’ll also talk about the National Postal Forum’s annual spring tradeshow, a one-of-a-kind interactive event that brings USPS managers together with their business customers to educate them in the most effective and efficient use of the products and services offered by the United States Postal Service.

For more on the National Postal Forum, please visit: https://npf.org/  

Episode Transcription

Dale Parsan:

Hi, everybody. Welcome to Mailin’ It. The official podcast of the United States Postal Service. I'm your co-host Dale Parsan,

Yasmin DiGiulio:

And I'm Yasin DiGiulio. In this episode, we're going to talk about the National Postal Forum, an organization that has partnered with the Postal Service for more than 50 years to drive growth and innovation throughout the mailing and shipping industry.

Dale Parsan:

When you think about it, whenever the Postal Service has introduced some new way to improve mail delivery, whether it was ZIP codes in the sixties, Express Mail in the seventies, or some of our newer innovations, we've always done it with tremendous partnership and collaboration with the mailing and shipping industry.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

That's right, Dale, it's a long history. And one of the best examples of a successful private-public partnership, the National Postal Forum connects businesses in the mailing and shipping industry to each other throughout the year. And they host the preeminent industry trade show every year that bring brings the shipping industry together with postal customers.

Dale Parsan:

In this episode, we'll talk with Maureen Goodson about the National Postal Forum, its history and its impact on the Postal Service and its customers. Maureen is the forum's executive director and has been with the organization for more than 26 years. Welcome to “Mailin’ It” Maureen.

Maureen Goodson:

Thank you, Dale and Yasmine for the invitation. It's a pleasure to join you today.

Dale Parsan:

Fantastic. For our listeners who might not know much about the National Postal Forum, how would you describe what the NPF does?

Maureen Goodson:

So the NPF National Postal Forum, like you stated, Dale is a nonprofit organization and we were formed many years ago - almost 55 years ago in 1968. Our claim to fame is that the NPF hosts the premier mailing and shipping industry's convention and trade show. It's an interactive event that USPS Executive Leadership Team and their major mailers and shipper customers come together to innovate, to learn, to network and educate each other. It's typically a four day event that we hold in the springtime, but the pandemic over the last two years has completely changed that. So unfortunately we were not holding any forms over the last two years, but we're looking forward to one this spring.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Maureen, can you tell us a little bit about your role at the NPF?

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah. So I've been at National Postal Forum for 26 years. I started in 1996 as the registration manager. And for many of you that might have attended conventions or trade shows back in the nineties and 2000, you would typically mail in your registration form or fax it in. Don't know how many people remember that. But I'm proud to say that we have caught up with technology and that's not how you register for an event anymore, but I became financial officer, and from there in 2013, I became executive director of the organization.

Dale Parsan:

Wow. A long career. I like it. I'm wondering, Maureen, how did all this get started? Why was the NPF created?

Maureen Goodson:

Well, the Postal Service was very forward thinking and understanding that to be creative and to meet the needs of their customers, they had to actually meet with their customer. So in the 1960s, they saw this usefulness for an organization that could help them bring major customers together in a trade show, community environment. And so we, we were formed as this third party because I'm sure you can understand that any quasi, any government agency can't take on a, an event or a meeting or convention. So we became involved and were formed as this educational arm of the Postal Service. So it's, it's just is a really cool place where people get to come and learn about the new things that the Postal Service is working on in their technology. And actually our mission statement, the National Postal Forum statement is to educate mailers on the efficiency and effectiveness of the US Postal Service.

Dale Parsan:

Maureen, you, you talk more about how the NPF is the, is the premier trade show as well. So I'm trying to, again, paint this picture of myself, walking around the trade show floors. Can you describe to me who am I gonna run into? Am I running into some of the largest members of the industry? Or am I running into aspiring entrepreneurs? Help me understand.

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah, that's a really good question. Cause the, it runs the gamut. So you are gonna have the individuals that run for State Farm or Bank of America, their transaction, transactional statements. You might find the University of Arizona mail room manager there. I go all the way back to 1999 and our general session speaker with the PMG was Jeff Besos. So if you wanna talk about a start with an entrepreneur, we'll start right there.

Dale Parsan:

I gotta imagine that the at the wide range of participants and an attendees at the NPF forum has gotta be just like you said, running the gamut since the Postal Service is really a tool for every entity throughout the throughout the country.

Maureen Goodson:

It is. And the, and the challenge there, Dale is that everybody's needs are a little different, right? My priorities might be a little different running a mail room at a university versus Nationwide Insurances guy in charge of his processing of his transactional mail. So they're all over the place. So it's a real challenge for the Postal Service and the industry leaders to make sure that we're all messaging and we're all helping each other to grow their businesses.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Maureen, in terms of the actual events at the forum, does each year's event have a theme to it?

Maureen Goodson:

Yasmine, our theme for 2022, couldn't be more appropriate with what we've been dealing with, the pandemic. It's facing the future together and what a positive note to start on.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

I love that. I think that's great. And I think it really, I think ties into our vision here at the Postal Service as well.

Maureen Goodson:

It absolutely does. It's it's good together, right? It's we we're gonna come out of this pandemic and we're gonna face the future together and we're gonna grow together and it it's all gonna be good.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

I like that. It's hopeful. It's optimistic.

Maureen Goodson:

It is. It is.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

So Maureen earlier you mentioned that the NPF is holding its annual spring conference this year. Is it gonna be virtual or in person?

Maureen Goodson:

We are going full in, in person Yasmine. The National Postal Forum over 2020 and 2021, just like a lot of other organizations and associations that you're, you all may belong to went virtual and we went virtual and you can learn on a virtual platform, but you cannot network on a virtual platform. And we realized that the value of face to face and meetings is never going away. With the introduction of the internet years ago, it was predicted that face to face meetings and trade shows and conventions wouldn't happen anymore. And you found just the exact opposite. So we think it's important more than ever to bring together the USPS leadership team with these major mailers. As, as long as we safely meet together. So that's the goal of the organization, but it's, it's really important that we all come together face to face again.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Are any of the sessions open to the public?

Maureen Goodson:

No, you can register for the sessions, but the exhibit hall floor is open to the public. You would just need to register for it, but it's complimentary, but it is a wonderful example to find out these large businesses that are in the mail and shipping industry and how it impacts you on a daily basis. All of these companies behind the scene, working with the US Postal Service to bring mail and packages to your front doors.

Dale Parsan:

I know that you're still in the planning stages for NPF this year, but what's gonna be new at this year's show?

Maureen Goodson:

Well, this will be the first time that the audience and it will be quite a few thousand people will be introduced to our new Postmaster General DeJoy. He started in June of 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. And so there hasn't been an opportunity to interact with him or his new executive leadership team. So that's what makes this thing face to face meeting so, so very important,

Dale Parsan:

Maureen, so let's say I myself or Yasmine, we wanted to attend NPF this year. I understand that that there's a lot of, lot of involvement from the Postal Service and our executives when it comes to educating the mailing industry and attendees of, of the NPF conference. But, but help me paint a picture here. What sort of role do these executives play? Are they leading discussions? Are they, are they just available for discussions with entities in the industry? Help me understand this a bit better.

Maureen Goodson:

What sets NPF apart from any other mailing or shipping association is our partnership with the Postal Service. So that is our premier objective is to make sure those Postal Service is able to speak and meet with their customers. So that starts with a general session with postmaster general on Monday morning. We'll flow four days of executive leadership workshops. And then on the exhibit hall floor, you're gonna find the premier US Postal Service booth on the middle of the floor.

Dale Parsan:

Fantastic. Are other, are other entities within the marketplace able to, to set up a booth or anything like that to help educate other, other members of the industry on maybe tools or solutions they have that other entities can benefit from?

Maureen Goodson:

Oh yeah, absolutely. We, we are the premier trade show also in the mailing and shipping industry and we've got many partners signing up. They’re as eager to get back in person as we are. So you also can go to our website for that information. Also, you can also look at a floor plan to see if you might be interested in visiting the floor if you're local to the Phoenix area especially. And you can see all of our exhibitors that we've got on that floor.

Dale Parsan:

So as we're ramping up for, for NPF to have their in person conference, if anyone, if any of our listeners are interested in, in participating or, or registering, do they have to have a membership? Do they have, how far in advance do they have to get involved ahead of time to let you know that they'd like to attend?

Maureen Goodson:

Do that's a great question, Dale. We are not a membership based organization, so you do not need to be a member to attend. Our website is www.npf.org. It's got full details about all the program, the trade show floor, the exhibitors participating, and registration is open and people are registering. They want to come to Phoenix.

Dale Parsan:

That's, that's fantastic to hear.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Maureen, you mentioned that NPF has been around for almost 55 years. That's quite a long history of, of working with the Postal Service. What have been some of the highlights over the years in terms of, you know, new innovations or other groundbreaking ideas that we've shared as part of NPF?

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah, that's a great question Yasmine. So in the 1960s, it would've been your ZIP code. Prior to the 1960s, you didn't have to put a ZIP code on a piece of mail. You simply would put grandma's first and last name in her city and state, and it got to her. But as the population and households increased, they found the need to have this ZIP code on there to clearly track the mail as it moves forward.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Was Mr. Zip at the NPF that year when the ZIP code was introduced?

Maureen Goodson:

He actually was. And I found an old program where there was a physical picture of him on the program itself.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Oh, that's great. We love Mr. Zip. We had a really interesting earlier episode where we learned about the history of the ZIP codes.

Dale Parsan:

Absolutely. We learned a lot about ZIP codes, especially even the band, the Swinging Sixes, who had a jingle to help the public get more familiar and acquainted with the idea of ZIP codes. But Maureen, how did the NPF help spread the word about ZIP codes outside of just having it be a known entity for industry mailers?

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah. So education is the primary goal of the National Postal Forum. And when we say education, we're talking about USPS leadership, educating major mailers on how to use the Postal Service to grow their business and deliver mail. So what you'd often have at our events is you've got hundreds of educational session where these major mailers are going to learn. So they would've learned about ZIP plus Four or ZIP at the time. And then they would take it back out into the, into the United States. We have representation from all 50 states and they would put it in their businesses. They will promote the US Postal Service and mail, and then they'd educate the public by creating these mail pieces and putting them in the mail stream. So it's this dispersion of ideas and technology that come out of this meeting that affect everyone that's listening to this podcast today.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Yeah, I think the ZIP code is a great example of something that is so mainstream nowadays, but was of course a new idea, revolutionary idea at the time, and really had to be promoted in order to get that sort of wide usage of it. Were there any other milestones or innovations throughout the Postal Services partnership with NPF?

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah, there have been quite a few and I really, the Postal Service should get a lot of credit for being forward thinking. So in 1970 they created a product called Express Mail. They, I think they understand the human nature better than we did ourselves, that we want things now when we want them. And so this would guarantee next day delivery to most destinations. So that introduced mailers and shippers to the idea that for an extra fee, you could get your mail or package delivered quicker. So that was one innovation. Then of course you had take that ZIP to ZIP plus four in 1983 because households and populations have been doubling and tripling since the sixties. And so you needed a better way to communicate where this letter or package was destined for. So ZIP plus four was then created in the mid eighties.

Dale Parsan:

I don't think that when ZIP plus four came out, we were able to get a band in to a jingle. And that's a little unfortunate, but it, it's interesting to hear how NPF's priorities have tracked with those of the Postal Service over the decades. Could, could you tell us a little bit more, any, any other milestones that NPF has been involved with?

Maureen Goodson:

Well, this was one I remember from my childhood myself. Self adhesive stamps were developed in 1992. And I used to remember at Christmas time, when you were putting your Christmas cards together, there'd be a sponge on the counter. And we all fought for who got to rub the stamp over the sponge to seal the envelope. So the, so the innovation of this self-adhesive stamp was very important to a lot of people. And the, the use of sponge seemed to go away at that time.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Well, I can't believe it's been 30 years since the self-adhesive stamps were introduced. I'm sure a lot of people like me don't remember what it was like to have to actually lick the stamp before putting it on the mail.

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah, that's so true Yasmine, except it had a horrible taste. So that's why I introduced the sponge. 

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Oh, we should have had some flavored stamps!

Maureen Goodson:

That would've been great. So, you know, there's some other things out there Yasmine and Dale that were introduced too. And one that I don't think a lot of people know about. And if you ever get the opportunity to come to the Washington DC area and this, that the Smithsonian museums, which are national museums for our country. 1993, the National Postal Museum opened has the largest stamp collection in the world. And it's, it's in a really, really amazing museum free just like all Smithsonian museums. So that was something that was opened in 1993. In 2007, the Forever Stamp was introduced, which is, is really important to the, you all listening on the podcast today, this guarantees your stamp pricing. So if you wanna buy a stamp today, it'll guarantee the pricing until you finish using all your stamps. And then again, the Postal Service was looking way ahead of packages. In 2013, Sunday package delivery begins.

Maureen Goodson:

And nobody at this point in time, none of your other carriers were delivering packages on Sunday. So the Postal Service to understand how important it was that consumers wanted their packages, even on a Sunday, I think was very, very forward thinking and intuitive on their part. And then in 2017, we start to deliver some technology on your smartphones with Informed Delivery. If you haven't signed up for this, I it's very intriguing and it, and every morning, that's the first thing I check on my app is what packages and mail I'm going to receive. So this app actually reveals what's gonna be in your mailbox that day.

Dale Parsan:

Yeah Informed Delivery a is a great topic. We had an opportunity to sit down and, and do a deeper dive with another podcast episode on, on that exact topic. And it's a great example of how direct mail can be integrated with digital marketing. That's quite a bit of innovation throughout the years. What was NPFs role in the adoption of these specific innovation?

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah. Dale, that's a good question and adoption and trying to get it out into the public is so, so very important. I would call us facilitators. I think that we take this meeting, this convention where executive leaderships and the Postal Service and major mailers mail service providers, package shipper all have come together and discuss these ideas. And in innovate together. Now they go out and disperse them and, and lots of times they disperse them through their associations through their actions, what they're doing, whether they're a insurance company or a bank, but NPF is that facilitator that gathers everybody together is the centerpiece to create the discussions, the dialogue that now needs to happen throughout the year.

Dale Parsan:

Additionally understanding that the Postal Service and NPF have, have shared a wonderful relationship over the years, the Postal Service, unveils, new strategies, new tools, new products, whatever it may be all throughout the year. And they don't necessarily line up ideally with when the conference is happening. Can you talk a little bit more about the role the NPF plays throughout the year in helping its consumers of information better understand what the Postal Service has going on?

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah, absolutely. So the PCC that I mentioned and lots of mailing and shipping association meetings that happen throughout the year. We're a broad base of content speakers that we provide throughout the year. And we also worked directly with the mailing and shipping associations and the USPS executive leadership team to make sure that everybody knows the, the innovations, the technologies and everything that's being rolled out. So we help facilitate that throughout the year.

Dale Parsan:

Great. So it sounds like once an entity who, who may be new to all of this information or these resources start to get involved with, with NPF and, and your, and the partner organizations, they really are in for a wealth of information.

Maureen Goodson:

Absolutely. Very well put, thank you, Dale. 

Yasmin DiGiulio:

What other channels do you use besides the actual National Postal Forum event to reach out to those in the industry throughout the year,

Maureen Goodson:

We do have an electronic newsletter. The NPF puts out an electronic newsletter every Wednesday that is focused on the US Postal Service. So we work together with the Postal Service to send this electronic newsletter out to out 20,000 people. In addition to that electronic newsletter, we have an electronic buyers guide in the mailing and shipping industry. Think of it as like a yellow pages for the industry itself. It's also on our website. So if you were in need of a printer, if you were in need of a fulfillment house, you could go on this buyer's guide and find those resources throughout the year.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Maureen, how is NPF funded? Is it solely through registrations for the National Postal Forum? Or do they receive funding from outside sources or from the Postal Service?

Maureen Goodson:

No, we are strictly registration and booth sales and sponsorship dollars. So we're to put this event on, as a standalone event, the National Postal Forum being responsible for getting people to come to the event and pay registration fees and help with sponsorships.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

So we mentioned earlier, you know, the Postal Service and NPF have enjoyed a very long, extremely successful public-private partnership. This event, and the networking around it, as you mentioned, Maureen is, is great for large mailers and even smaller ones as well. What are some ways that the Postal Service, the NPF and, and some of its other partners can help small businesses grow?

Maureen Goodson:

Yeah. Then that's such an important question Yasmine, because the lifeblood of the Postal Service and most of these mailers, whether you’re larger, small are the customers, you, you can only grow your business through mail by working as a partnership altogether. Mail service providers are a key part of an extension of the Postal Service. Somebody like a large printer would be considered a mail service provider. So they're helping local businesses develop mail pieces and put them in the mail stream to grow the business. Cuz the ultimate use of mail is to grow your individual businesses. And that's what the Postal Service and their major customers are there to do. So the another thing that they do is EDDM and a lot of this can be found on the Postal Service website. Especially if you run a small business, EDDM is Every Door Direct Mail, and it's a tool to help you as a local florist or a local brewery or anything you can do to gain customer base. I mean, that's the ultimate goal of this direct mail pieces, isn't it to grow interest in your business and grow your base. And so that's on the USPS website is everything about this Every Door Direct Mail. Another extension is what we call the Postal Customer Councils or PCC.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

And what is that?

Maureen Goodson:

Well, they, these are organizations, I almost call them mini chamber of commerces. They're located throughout the United States. And they often in who belongs to this or who runs this PCC organization. It's a membership organization would be your local USPS leadership, your plant manager or district manager and your customers in the area that join. And so it's a way for a small gathering of small businesses meet with a local postmaster, the local plant manager, or a mailer or a printer and find tools to grow your business. And whether it be retail or a florist, like I said, or any other type of small business. So, and information about these Postal Customer Councils or PCCs are also found on the USPS website.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

So if somebody were looking to join their local PCC, is the website the best place to start or should they just go down to their local post office?

Maureen Goodson:

That's a very good point. Yes. And they could do either.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Great. When we talk about the services that the National Postal Forum provides, a lot of it is about helping companies that send direct mail. So by direct mail, we meet, you know, advertisements, coupons, catalogs things like that, that most people get in their mailboxes along with their other mail. So Maureen, at a time, you know, when so many people get their advertising, other information online, you know, either through the web, through social media, on their phones, why is direct mail still so important?

Maureen Goodson:

I would, it suggests to your audience that we are all getting so many emails, especially over the last 24 months. Our inboxes are inundated to you get to the point where I don't think you open half of them, but there's nothing like walking down to the bottom of your driveway or outside your front door and opening that lid or opening the door to the mailbox and touching a piece of mail that the direct mail piece. There's many studies out there that find that this tactile, this ability to hold a piece of mail and look at it and read it is, is very influential. And it's, it's very persuasive. And a lot of businesses are discovering that this is an important piece of the piece of their marketing strategy. So many of our attendees are developing their marketing strategies to include direct mail. So that affects you, the podcast listener as to what's gonna be in your mailbox on a weekly basis.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Maureen, thanks so much for joining us today and sharing with us about National Postal Forum and, and all the great work that you guys do over there.

Maureen Goodson:

Thank you so much, Dale and Yasmine, it's been a pleasure

Dale Parsan:

It's time for Did You Know, it's a chance for us to share some interesting details about the Postal Service that most people probably don't know about? Yasmine, mind if I get us started? Sure. Did you know that the Postal Service played an important role in preparing the country in the event of a nuclear attack during the Cold War? 

Yasmin DiGiulio:

I did not.

Dale Parsan:

While for more than four decades, between the end of World War II and the early 1900s while the US and its allies were in an arms race with the Soviet Union and its satellite states, the threat of attack on American soil was very real. So in the early 1950s, President Truman called upon each federal agency, including the Postal Service to outline its plans, to aid the country in case of emergency.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

That's a much bigger challenge than snow rain, heat or gloom of night.

Dale Parsan:

You can say that again. Turns out the Postal Service had a lot of resources to offer. Some 25,000 postal trucks were designated as emergency civil defense vehicles that could be used as ambulances or for rescue purposes. In fact, civil defense decals were required on Postal-owned vehicles until March, 1971.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

You know, I've seen those black and yellow fallout shelter signs still on the outside of some post offices. Was that part of the same program?

Dale Parsan:

That's right. Under President Kennedy, the US took extensive measures to equip community facilities, to shelter survivors from the radioactive fallout that would spread in the days following a blast. By the end of 1964, about 1500 postal buildings had been set up as fallout shelters, providing space for approximately 1.3 million people, each stocked with rations to sustain survivors for weeks.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Talk about a long trip to the post office.

Dale Parsan:

It definitely would not have been ideal. Thankfully, no attacks ever came, but hundreds of Post Office basements sat fully stocked just in case until the late seventies.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

So other than the fallout shelter signs, are there any other remnants of the civil defense era in Post Offices today?

Dale Parsan:

Actually some cartons of emergency change of address cards have turned up in Post Offices as recently as 2020. These were available at all Post Offices in the 1960s. So people who evacuated their homes during an attack could let their family and friends know they were safe and where they could be reached.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for them on my next trip. You know, Dale, the Postal Service is still looking out for the safety of the people and the communities it serves. Have you heard of the carrier alert program?

Dale Parsan:

Can't say that I have, what is it?

Yasmin DiGiulio:

As you could imagine for some elderly or disabled Postal Service customers, a letter carrier might be the only daily visitor to their homes. Under the carrier alert program, local agents, these like the United Way or the Red Cross can notify the Postal Service to keep an eye out for signs that something might be wrong with the customer.

Dale Parsan:

You mean if letters start piling up at their mailbox?

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Yeah, exactly. So delivering mail to the same homes day after day, most of our letter carriers become really familiar with the customer's habits and they can notice changes in routine that could signal that someone is in distress. So if something is amiss, the postal worker can notify his or her supervisor who in turn can contact the sponsoring local agency.

Dale Parsan:

That sounds like a pretty useful way of offering a safety net for people who are homebound, especially those who have been isolated from their friends and families because of the pandemic.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

It really is. And it just one of the many ways that the Postal Service goes above and beyond to serve American communities. Well, that does it for this installment of Did You Know? So Dale, what did you think about our conversation with Maureen? Anything that stood out to you?

Dale Parsan:

You know, I have to say after 10 years of working with the Postal Service, I really haven't learned that much about NPF until this podcast. It was a great opportunity and something that always surprises me whenever we talk to guests is the, the role that the organizations like NPF play in the days before the internet, right? This would've been a central location where a lot of individuals from across the country are coming to, to receive information about product services solutions, and then taking it back to their respective states. And again, in a time of America where you don't have a good medium of disseminating ideas, something like the National Postal Formum is essential. That blew me away.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

Yeah, I agree. It was really interesting to hear how the NPF has kind of been there all along the way as we've introduced these new innovations and really helped us get the public on board with things like ZIP codes and Informed Delivery. All of those things that to us are, are just very common everyday futures of the Postal Service, but we're very revolutionary at the time. I know Maureen mentioned, this is the first in person NPF with our new Postmaster General Lewis DeJoy. And I think that'll be a great chance for industry leaders just to meet with him and with other Postal Service executives and just work on those relationships. I think to your point, it's a great way to get in person, get together and, and just talk and share ideas outside of just digital meetings

Dale Parsan:

Agreed completely.

Yasmin DiGiulio:

So for more information on National Postal Forum, you can visit www.npf.org. The 2022 NPF will be from May 15th to 18th in Phoenix, Arizona. Don't forget to subscribe to “Mailin’ It!” wherever you get your podcast to make sure you don't miss the next episode. And follow along on Instagram @USPostal Service, Twitter, @USPS and on Facebook for the latest postal news.