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There’s a lot of red, white and blue for the 4th of July. Attention to our troops and the cause of freedom might be hearty applause when service men and women are recognized on an airplane or public address speaker.

At UPS, it goes a little deeper. I was surprised to learn that nearly 6,000 UPS employees have been called to active duty and returned to the workplace since the fall of 2001. UPS is one of the nation’s largest employers of military reservists.

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I hate to admit that I recently watched a television show where a CEO goes “undercover” to understand a variety of job functions at the company. I’ll make no judgment about the quality of content, but one job assignment poorly performed in this episode flagged an interesting contrast to a similar and critical activity at UPS.

The task was loading a trailer with packages at a distribution facility. At UPS we build a “package wall” that is level, tight, uses all available space and reaches the ceiling. Load quality has everything to do with proper safety in our operations and care for package condition through transit.

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flickr.com/photos/aellinger / CC BY-ND 2.0

St. Patrick’s Day is actually more widely celebrated than Mardi Gras across the U.S. That confirmation comes from Paul Myers, general manager of Beads by the Dozen, Inc. in suburban New Orleans, who has been tossing a lot of beads into distribution this year. 

The Mardi Gras tradition of beads has prompted increased orders for the homage to the Irish at heart. Over the past five years, Myers says the St. Patrick’s orders have doubled each year and the company’s product inventory itself has greatly expanded. Beads are increasingly being shipped for patriotic holiday parades throughout the year, and Halloween parades are being added to complete community calendars. 

This year, throughout the month of March, there are more than 140 registered St. Patrick’s Day parades held on one of the four weekends of the month. The three largest parades in New York City, Chicago and Savannah stick to the traditional celebration on March 17. 

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Want to earn some brownie points for your next trivia game? Since our busy holiday delivery season is at hand, you might want to make yourself an expert with these fun facts about UPS’s favorite color.

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I deem myself “fiscally prudent” while others have used the tightwad reference. There’s joy in balancing a checkbook to the penny (yes, I still use the book). But value isn’t just comparison pricing. My bottom line satisfaction does take into account convenience, my time and quality of a product or service. Read More »