FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	
Contact: Media Relations	202-268-2155
December 10, 2003
	Release No. 097
	www.usps.com

WASHINGTON, DC, TO HOST NATIONAL POSTAL FORUM
RE-LAUNCH IN SEPTEMBER 2004

INDUSTRY EMBRACES CHANGES AS FORUM 
SHIFTS TO ONCE-A-YEAR SCHEDULE

WASHINGTON, DC -- Mailing industry response to the decision to cancel the 
Spring 2004 National Postal Forum and move to a once-a-year schedule for the 
event has been overwhelmingly positive, according to United States Postal 
Service and National Postal Forum officials.  The decision to make the 
change, officials agreed, was both timely and responsive to the needs of 
business mailers and mail center administrators.

"A key component of successful postal transformation," said Postal Service 
Chief Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto, "is understanding how to better 
respond to our customers' needs.  As we applied the principles of 
transformation to our customer event strategies, it became clear that we 
could enhance the impact of the Forum and help our customers make better use 
of their resources by focusing on a single, world-class gathering."

"We have a long-standing commitment to continuous improvement of our event," 
stated Peter Lyons, Chairman of the Board of the National Postal Forum Inc., 
a non-profit corporation that runs the mailing conference.  "By focusing our 
2004 effort on Washington, DC, and its new convention center, we're going to 
be able to deliver to attendees and exhibitors value and an exceptional 
experience in terms of facilities, amenities, and excitement."

In the November 22 announcement of the schedule change, postal officials set 
the re-launch of the Forum for September 19, 2004, at the Washington, DC, 
Convention Center.  The response from the industry was immediate and 
overwhelmingly positive, officials said.

"The Forum has always been an important event for our members," said Robert 
O'Brien, co-chairman of the Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC), 
which is sponsored by the Postmaster General.  "These changes, and its 
location in Washington next fall, make for a unique opportunity for the 55 
mailing associations that MTAC represents. I anticipate an enthusiastic 
turnout from the entire postal community."

Some mailers indicated that the Forum would emerge as a venue for other 
customer and industry meetings that, in the past, have been held 
independently.

"Last September in Kansas City," said Crain Communications' Joyce McGarvey, 
who heads a Periodical Mailers' Task Force, "we tested the 
meeting-within-a-meeting concept, and were pleasantly surprised.  Nearly 200 
periodicals mailers came to the Forum's Periodicals Day.  In Washington, 
there will be a critical mass of mailers that should expand this kind of 
gathering.  Standard mailers, remittance mailers, and package service 
providers should all find the Forum an improved venue in which to bring 
themselves together."

Exhibitors, too, expressed satisfaction with the decision and the direction 
of the Forum.

"For companies like ours," said Judy Marks, President of Lockheed Martin 
Distribution Technologies and a member of the Mailing Industry Task Force 
Steering Committee, "return on investment is important when deciding whether 
to participate.  I'm delighted with the plan to focus on Washington and the 
new convention center, because it will be an excellent showcase for our 
technologies.

"From the Task Force perspective," added Marks, "the Washington event also 
works well, because it provides the greatest stage in the country to present 
a progress report on our new objectives for revenue growth and mail 
effectiveness."

Officials from the Postal Service and the Forum said that strategizing had 
already begun on enhancements to all aspects of the 2004 Forum.

"With a brand-new site, outstanding hotels close by, and a city that's never 
more attractive than in September, we've got wonderful assets to work with," 
said Michael Genick, the Forum's Executive Director.  "It's the recipe for a 
truly great event."

"Our customers clearly like the new direction," added John Wargo, Postal 
Service Vice President for Service and Market Development.  "Over the coming 
months, we're going to be listening and talking to them to see how we can 
exceed their already high expectations."

For more information about the Fall 2004 National Postal Forum and how to 
register, visit www.npf.org., or call the Forum at 703-218-5015.

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