President – Kathy Adams

Well, there is SO MUCH going on, I don’t know where to begin!  A successful Leadership Conference, State Convention Planning, meeting with new District Manager(A) Randy Miskanic and staff at the District Office in Portland, and lunch with POOM and retired PM of Chocorua Gail Cushing on Friday this past week, so that he could present her retirement certificate to her in person.  It was a nice way to end the week.

The Leadership Conference is a learning experience for your Chapter Officers, and as a new President I found the President’s training sessions to be very informative.  It is also a good time for your officers to work together as a team for the Postmasters in our state, to do what we can to make a difference.  During the President’s training, our new National President Bob Rapoza spent a lot of time with us, and introduced us to his Executive Board and National Officers who explained their jobs, and how they could help us in our jobs.  Your Chapter officers had dinner with District Manager Deb Essler, she was staying at the same hotel as we were for the conference while she is on Detail at USPS Headquarters.  Executive VP Dick Fleming invited her to join us and a nice evening was enjoyed by all.  As Chapter President I got to meet and shake hands with Postmaster General Jack Potter and have my picture taken with him.  He spoke to the Presidents for a short while that morning and then came back and addressed all of us as a group.  He spoke to us on his 10 Year plan for the future of the USPS, including 5 day delivery, prefunding of Retiree Health Benefits, and the overfunding of the Civil Service Retirement System by approximately $75 billion.  If we were not required to make the prefunding payment and could get back some of the overfunded money we have already paid, we would not have to go to five day delivery, and we would not be running in the red again this year. 

We are planning what I hope to be one of the very best State Conventions we have had in some time, and I hope each and every one of you are planning to attend.  Convention Chair Tina Bowen, PM Winnisquam is working very hard to plan a very FUN and INFORMATIVE convention, and this year you do not want to miss it!  Now more than ever we need to meet and work together to help and support each other through all the changes that are happening in the USPS during these historic times.  If changes have not affected YOU yet, they certainly will soon, and having the knowledge and support of your fellow PM’s will be crucial in overcoming the challenges that we are being faced with each and every day in our jobs as Postmasters.  Convention will be held at the Margate in Laconia, NH, hopefully centrally located to allow for as many of you as possible to attend.  Please come and stay, or at least join us as a day tripper.  You don’t want to miss it!  Check out Tina’s article for more details and information.

The meeting at the District Office went well this week, it was nice to meet face to face with the (A)District Manager Randy Miskanic and his staff.  State President Scott Boardman from Maine, League President from NH Chuck Weinstein, Legislative Representative Janey Draper from Vermont, Don Snow our very own Secretary Treasurer and Rick Cefalo, National PM Rep. from VT attending the meeting also, with Linda Kirkpatrick, State President from VT and Ken Kinson, Area 1 National VP and Dick Fleming joining us via telecom.  Sec.-Treas. Don Snow worked hard at putting together some discussion points for the meeting, facilitating through emails for discussion topics and questions, so that we could present a series of pertinent issues in the field and try to come up with ways to solve some of the problems we are experiencing as a District and in our own offices.  We will continue to bring your issues to the table, so keep me informed if you have anything going on that you feel needs to be addressed with Management.  Often times there is not a lot we can do, but we can bring it to their attention if we are not provided with the tools to do our jobs and the help we need to staff our windows and get the mail delivered.

For current news and happenings go to your websites at www.napus.org and our state site at www.NHNAPUS.org.  They are both great websites and have lots of information.  Check in occasionally to keep informed of the latest news.  Mike Renkert, our new Membership Chair and PM in Rumney, 03266 is doing a phenomenal job at keeping up the website and also as Membership Chair.  He has helped sign 5 new members just this month!  Help him by letting him know of any non-member PM or OIC in your area!

I have received Recourse Filings and Dispute Resolutions to be forwarded on to the National Office.  Help us to help you by filing a Resolution Log on anything that you feel needs to be addressed at the Area or National Level.  64% of Postmasters in the NNE District did not receive any pay raise this year, while 100% of the District Staff did.  We need to push back on this issue and get the ratings we work so hard for and deserve.  Getting a rating of Non-contributor is not acceptable to most of us and we all know what we do each and every day trying to serve our customers by delivering every piece every day, while driving revenue, and running our offices.  Stay proud, keep positive and lets communicate with each other. 

See you at Convention in June, until then…

Kathy