On Monday, April 9, 2007, the U.S. Postal Service will celebrate its one year partnership with Rio Rancho Printing as its first "Neighborhood Post Office" in Rio Rancho. The anniversary celebration will feature a special ceremony at 12:00 noon at Rio Rancho Printing, located at 408 Frontage Road East, Rio Rancho, NM. This ceremony, with the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, Rio Rancho USPS Station Manager Richard Guzman, and Southwest Area representative Michael S. Flores, will honor Audra Dodson, the owner and operator of the Rio Rancho Contract Postal Unit (CPU).

Neighborhood Post Offices, or Contract Postal Units, like Rio Rancho Printing, offer postal products and services to their community and provide another retail site for customers to frequent for their postal business. "We are so happy to be here for Rio Rancho" said Dodson. "This year has gone by so fast and we are seeing more and more customers every week."

Fast growing cities like Rio Rancho are perfect candidates for these alternate postal retail locations. Not only does it serve the city by offering more post office sites for residents, they also help small business by providing additional revenues to their bottom line. "We are looking for more businesses like Rio Rancho Printing," said Guzman. "I have heard of some CPUs generating more than $250,000 in sales," added Guzman. "...and they get a percentage of those dollars".

The Rio Rancho Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a breakfast in May that will feature the Mayor and postal retail specialists to spread the word about Neighborhood Post Offices and to encourage other small businesses to consider applying for a CPU contract. "I want to encourage other businesses to become a Neighborhood Post Office," said Dodson. "It is good for their business and good for Rio Rancho."

Contact: Paul Basile, USPS Albuquerque District Congressional Advocate and Communications Coordinator: 505-988-6359

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to cover its operating expenses. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $73 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.