Postal Facility "Shines"

Okolona Post Office Becomes VPP Star Site

LOUISVILLE, KY — The Okolona Post Office joined a very elite group when it was named an OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) Star site recently. To commemorate the accomplishment, a VPP flag ceremony is being held at 9 a.m. Monday, May 19 at the Post Office, 7400 Jefferson Blvd.

VPP promotes effective worksite-based safety and health by enlisting the help of every employee — management and labor — under the guidance of OSHA.

To become a VPP site, an application is submitted and reviewed by OSHA followed by a rigorous on-site evaluation by a team of OSHA safety and health experts.

“We’re celebrating the honor of being designated a VPP site and we’re celebrating the fact we all worked together to make it happen,” said Postmaster Steve Gregory. “I’m proud of every employee.”

OSHA approved the first site in 1982. Since then, only 1,400 workplaces across the nation have been accepted into the program. Federal worksites became eligible for the program in 1998. The Okolona Post Office is the second VPP Star site in the city of Louisville and the first postal facility to receive the honor. Rohm and Haas Co. was named a VPP site in January 2001.

Congressman John Yarmuth (D-3rd District) and Louisville 24th District Councilwoman Madonna Flood are scheduled to speak. OSHA representatives, area director Bill Cochran and board member Gale Stanley, will make the VPP flag and trophy presentation.

Following the ceremony, refreshments will be served and invited guests will have the opportunity to meet with Okolona Post Office employees.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.