2 State College mail carriers to win rare award for driving 1 million(-ish) miles
Two State College letter carriers will be given the “Million Mile Award” Wednesday, though they can’t say exactly how far they’ve driven for the U.S. Postal Service.
“I don’t know how they figure it out,” said Mike Frank, one of the letter carriers.
“I imagine it’s very high,” Colleen Sweeney, the other letter carrier, noted.
Frank and Sweeney will join what the USPS says is a prestigious club that only 2.5% of drivers ever make it into. The Million Mile Award, presented by the nonprofit National Safety Council, is given to those who have either driven 1 million miles — roughly four times the distance to the moon — or have 30 years behind the wheel without preventable incidents.
This year is Frank’s 33rd and Sweeney’s 30th with the USPS. They have spent 31 years and 20 years delivering mail in State College, respectively, often working overtime. They will be given a plaque, a pin and a jacket in recognition of their safe driving.
“A family member said something to me. It was very enlightening,” Sweeney said. “She said, ‘Do you realize you’ve been driving a vehicle for 30-some years that has no safety on it? Nothing. No, you go in and out in snow and rain and sleet, and you’re there til late in the evening and you’re doing this.’ And she said, ‘You know, that’s really an accomplishment.’”
The jobs of Frank, 57, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and Sweeney, 60, have changed a lot over their decades of service. Letter and newspaper deliveries have dropped sharply in favor of Amazon packages. Automation has shortened their morning routines. Some of the municipalities they serve have nearly doubled in population since they dropped off their first letters.
Sweeney said she has seen fields turn into apartment complexes, and Frank said he has seen families blossom.
“I’ve been on routes for 10 years where I see some of them being born, and then I see them going off to school,” Frank said.
Nearly all of that time has been spent driving the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, the iconic white box that has been on American streets for 40 years. The right-hand-drive truck, which ended production in 1994 and is being slowly phased out, lacks anti-lock brakes, a backup camera and all-wheel drive.
“They’re not the safest vehicles,” Sweeney said. “There’s nothing safety about the vehicles other than an emergency brake.”
In a typical day, Frank and Sweeney said they might drive 25 to 35 miles. Within those miles, there may be over 10 miles of walking and 800 stops.
“I don’t know the exact number,” Frank said. “I haven’t paid attention, but there’s a lot.”
Frank and Sweeney said they both hope to retire around the time they turn 62, when certain USPS retirement benefits kick in. Still, they said, they enjoy their jobs.
“I still like it,” said Sweeney, who said she has two bad knees and commutes from Altoona. “I still like it a lot.”
