OUTREACH PROGRAM

When the Chapter applied for a grant from the Federation to conduct a combined membership drive and public relations project we had only the Senior Epo in mind. Before the grant was approved we had the opportunity to expand our plan to include at least one health fair at the Volusia Mall. About the same time we began thinking of including active Federal employees in our activities. A natural choice was the Postal Employees, since we had several retired postal worker as members already. So the final plan included Senior Epo’s, Health fairs, and an unnamed active which would be the choice of the Postal Workers.

The first two activities went off as planned. Including the Postal Employees was another story. Numerous attempts were made to negotiate with the leadership of the locale Post Officers with no success. The latest attempt was to invite the Post Master of the Williamson office to our next Chapter meeting. The last word was that the Post Master was on sick leave and his substitute wasn’t available at the hour of our meeting.

As the saying goes a miss is as good as a mile. We need a new plan. We will continue to try to reach the postal workers, but it is obvious that it can’t be done from the top down. Our efforts will have to be from the bottom up. If every member tries to approach his own mailperson by giving that person a NARFE magazine and a Chapter Newsletter that will be a beginning to a more lasting relationship.