Spring has "sprung" and that can only mean one thing; National Postal Forum time, the nation's largest annual gathering for the mailing industry. This year's Forum was held in sunny Orlando, Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort. As Always, the Forum was packed full of information, educational sessions, technology and networking opportunities.

For those of us attending sessions and other events, the new NPF phone app was a wonderful tool to use to browse events and plan our days. I recommend the app to everyone who has the ability to download and use it next year!

For those of you who were not able to attend the Forum, the NPF has all the presentations from the sessions available for download from the NPF website. I encourage you to browse through the selections and download what is most pertinent to your particular business needs or curiosities. You can access the sessions by going to: NPF.org

• Click on FORUM PROGRAM in the light green shaded box at the top left of your screen;
• Then go to EDUCATION at the top of the page;
• Then go to DOWNLOADABLE PRESENTATIONS in the light green shaded box at the top left of your screen.
• Also, browse the NPF site for photos and other news from the National Postal Forum. 

The Exhibit Hall was as always, very interesting. It’s good to see what new technologies and advancements have been made for our industries in the way of equipment and software technologies. The USPS made some wonderful and much needed changes this year to the session offerings as well as the breakfast and lunch venues, all of which made the Forum more pleasant and manageable. The networking events were fun and the food was fantastic. It was great to see old friends and make new ones at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, attending the Forum is a lot of hard work but a lot of fun too. It’s good to know we are all in this together! 

The highlight of the Forum for me was getting to meet with the Deputy Postmaster General, Mr. Ronald Stroman, during the Exhibit Hall afterhours event. Mr. Stroman is a true gentleman. (He was even kind enough to pose for a picture with me!)  

The afterhours event was a wonderful opportunity for those who worked hard during the morning and afternoon in their education sessions to tour the Exhibit Hall after 6 p.m. 

Not to be missed, the Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe, gave a keynote address at the Opening General Session. Mr. Donahoe discussed the “transformative power of technology and innovation in the mailing industry. As an industry, we have to retain what differentiates mail and physical delivery, and bring it into the future,” said the Postmaster General. “It’s astonishing how much is changing in the ways people communicate. Mail has to be a part of these changes.” 

The Postmaster General also reiterated that the USPS expects Congress to act upon their requests to close specific processing plants and post offices; reorganizing the USPS network structure in order to stay viable – an announcement is expected sometime shortly after May 15^th. 

Next year’s Forum will be held in March, 2013 in San Francisco, California. I sincerely encourage attending the Forum for those whose budget will allow. I always return from the Forum feeling more educated about the USPS, mail, our industry as well as bringing back other useful news and information. Making new friends is always one of the most enjoyable benefits of attendance as well. 

As always, I sincerely look forward to seeing you at the next PCC General Meeting.

If you would like more information on the Postal Forum, feel free to contact me at our Louisville office.

Anita Corder,

VP Procurement, United Mail