FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Media Relations
November 20, 2003	202-268-2155
	Release No. 088
	www.usps.com

POSTAL SERVICE MOVES TO
YEARLY NATIONAL POSTAL FORUM

WASHINGTON, DC -The U.S. Postal Service is moving to a once-a-year 
National Postal Forum (NPF) in order to strengthen and enhance the content 
of programming offered to customers and those in the mailing industry.

This means the Spring 2004 NPF - scheduled for May in Seattle, WA - will 
be canceled so organizational planning can focus on developing new program 
content and workshops that provide more value, to more people, in a more 
efficient way.  The next NPF will occur in September, 2004, in Washington, 
DC.

In announcing the decision, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice 
President Anita J. Bizzotto said, "This change is an outgrowth of the 
Transformation Plan, where we envision a continuous search for new and 
better ways to conduct business and to make events, such as the NPF, more 
meaningful for customers."  The Transformation Plan is a blueprint 
designed and created by the Postal Service to successfully carry out its 
long-standing mission of providing affordable universal service.  It can 
be found at www.usps.com.

At the Fall 2004 Forum, there will be summit events and symposiums 
covering topics important to customers in businesses of all sizes within 
the mailing industry.  The symposiums will contain content and value for 
the complete spectrum of corporate-level executives, from Marketing and 
business-decision makers, to mail room managers.

In addition, there will be new workshops and event tracks highlighting the 
many ways mail can bring solutions to 21st century business needs.  
Improved workshops will focus on using the mail efficiently, and better 
integrate postal Sales, Marketing and Operations staff into forum 
activities to help customers take advantage of what they learn.

The National Postal Forum (NPF) is a not-for-profit educational 
corporation, established in 1968 by a group of major postal 
customers/mailers who were committed to an ongoing partnership with the 
Postal Service.  The Forum's goal, then as now, has been to provide 
education to business mailers and communication/feed-back between the U.S. 
Postal Service and its business customers for a more responsive and 
efficient mail communications system.

Since the first meeting in 1968, the format and frequency of Forum 
meetings each year have undergone a number of changes, varying from annual 
Forums to regionally-focused Forums meeting up to five times per year.  
National Postal Forums since 1990 have been held twice a year at various 
locations throughout the United States.

The NPF and the U.S. Postal Service work closely together as partners to 
provide the most comprehensive and educational platform possible for 
meeting the needs of the mailing industry.

- 30 -