Burns Postmaster receives national Benjamin Award

Robert Wakefield, Postmaster in Burns, TN, was honored today by the United States Postal Service with the 2009 Benjamin Award. As the U.S. Postal Service’s highest public relations honor, the national Benjamin Award recognizes Postmasters for their outstanding efforts in community outreach and in generating the greatest amount of positive news coverage in local newspapers.

The award was presented to Wakefield by Mitzi Betman, Vice President of Corporate Communications, USPS Headquarters, Washington DC, and included a letter from Postmaster General John E. Potter, a Certificate of Appreciation and a vintage postal bank.

In making the award, Betman praised Postmaster Wakefield for the efforts he makes – in addition to his regular duties – to help generate positive publicity for the Postal Service.

The annual Good News program is open to Postmasters and Supervisors nationwide and is documented by the submission of locally-generated newspaper articles to Corporate Communications at postal Headquarters. Wakefield is the only 2009 Benjamin winner in the state of Tennessee and one of only 10 postmasters receiving the award in the southeastern U.S.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.