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Plans Underway for a
Second Letter-Writing Campaign
to Occur Sometime in 2007!
During March 2006, this quote about postage stamps
appeared in the Boston Globe newspaper:
"Suggestions about who and what should be honored vary wildly, from
the obvious to the niche, to the just plain weird. As of
late there's been a big letter-writing campaign to honor school bus drivers
and public safety professionals," said Dave Failor, executive director of
Stamp Services for the Postal Service.
That's quite an impressive quote as far as our school
bus driver stamp is concerned! It means that the United States
Postal Service is getting our letters. It
means we are getting noticed!
Quite simply, Stamp Services is in charge of everything
to do with United States postage stamps. The 15-member Citizens
Stamp Advisory Committee (to whom we have been sending our letters) makes
recommendations on which stamps should be issued. The
recommendations go to Dave Failor and to the Postmaster General. If
approved, David Failor's group is in charge of getting the stamps
designed, printed and ready for distribution.
The Tennessee Association of Pupil Transportation (TAPT)
began work in September 2006 on another letter-writing campaign which will
occur sometime in 2007. They will bring up this subject at the National Association of Pupil
Transportation (NAPT) convention in Kansas City, November 4-9, 2006.
"We want to have a second nationwide
letter-writing campaign to let the Postal Service know that we
really want this stamp," says a member of the
TAPT School Bus Stamp Committee.
"This is somewhat like an election. Each letter the Postal Service
receives is like a vote. The more votes our stamp gets, the better
the chances it will become a reality. We want to leave the NAPT
convention with firm plans on when and how our second letter-writing
campaign will occur so that we get tens of thousands
more letters into the hands of the Citizens Stamp Advisory
Committee!" |
Thanks for Your Help!
November 1, 2006: Pat Lizotte, Field Safety Supervisor in South
Central Pennsylvania,
tells us she's collected 70 signed letters and has them ready to mail to the
USPS. Thanks, Pat!
Shortcut
Already know
about our project and just need a form letter to mail?
Click here to get the Microsoft Word form letter you can
sign and mail.
(Remember to use a stamp, not a postage meter!)
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"I think you should make a
stamp to honor school bus drivers. My mom works very hard on the
school bus. Her back hurts every single day, but she does not
care!!!! I'm proud of my mom so so so so so so so so so so so so
.... much !!!!!! My mom is the best at driving the bus.
It does not mater if your family member does not drive a
school bus. You should still honor them!!! They work very hard
to support their families. I know mine does!!!! So think
hard -- do you think you should make a stamp? Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
An 11 year old girl.
2005 |
Our Mission
We would like the United States Postal Service to issue a
postage stamp to honor the work of our nation's 500,000
school bus drivers.
Background
On March 2, 2005 in Cumberland City, Tennessee, school bus driver Joyce
Gregory was murdered by one of her bus riders.
Joyce, like thousands of other dedicated school bus
drivers, was just doing her job. [Read
more.]
The Tennessee Association of Pupil Transportation is soliciting help from all
pupil transportation employees and all state and national educational service
organizations to request that the United States Postal
Service (USPS) create and issue a postage stamp dedicated to the nation’s school
bus drivers.
Even though the stamp will not honor Joyce Gregory specifically, Joyce's
death serves as the inspiration for our request to the USPS.
School bus drivers play a vital (and often
unappreciated) role in our educational system and in the lives of our children.
Did You Know?
There are approximately 500,000 school bus
drivers in the United States . . .
Who carry over 25,000,000 children twice
each school day. (That's 55% of our K-12 students.)
School buses are
the safest form of ground transportation. (In fact they are 40
times safer than the family car.)
And Yet ...
School bus drivers face innumerable challenges:
They have their backs to a bus full of
children . . .
While trying to drive a 32,000 pound
vehicle in various road and weather conditions . . .
Among other drivers on the road who may not
be following rules.
While, unfortunately, often getting little
support from students, parents and schools.
The Time is Now
A United States Postage Stamp is a unique way to
recognize this country's school bus drivers. These are the men
and women (who sometimes despite the odds) get our children to school in the safest form
of ground transportation there is.
How Can I Help?
The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the United States Postal Service
recommends which stamps will get printed. All you need to do is
write a
letter to the CSAC requesting they issue a stamp to honor school bus drivers.
Ask your friends, relatives and colleagues to also write letters.
The more
letters CSAC receives, the better the chance we have to get our stamp!
Please
see our "Letters" page for details. Thank you!
This web site is sponsored by the
Tennessee Association of Pupil Transportation
www.tapt.org
