Carri Honz, a lead retail associate in Lincoln, NE, had been on the job with USPS for several years of her four-decade career when a chance encounter at work helped her spread her wings.
The native Nebraskan overheard two colleagues discussing a Lincoln-area nonprofit, the Raptor Conservation Alliance. As one told the other about the organization’s need for volunteers to support its mission of rescuing and rehabilitating injured and orphaned birds of prey, Honz grew intrigued.
“If she’s not interested, I am!” she interjected.
Thirty-five years and hundreds of birds later, her interest has grown into nothing short of reverence for the eagles, owls, hawks, vultures and falcons that soar over the Cornhusker State.
“I’ve always loved animals, but to see a raptor out in the wild, to see them in flight, the beauty is inspiring,” Honz said. “They’re just exceptional.”
The alliance boasts of more than 18,000 birds cared for in its 50-year history, successfully releasing half back into the wild, making the organization one of the most effective of its kind in the country. There’s a certain raptor, though, Honz especially gives a hoot about: Halsey the great horned owl.
Named after a section of the Nebraska National Forest, Halsey came under the alliance’s care in 1997 after colliding with a car and suffering a concussion. Brain and optic nerve damage replaced his predatory instinct with a gentle nature that’s made him an ideal educational ambassador for school visits and other programs, as well as a doting foster parent to more than 50 owlets.
Halsey lives with Honz, who calls him “just a jewel. I feel very privileged to work with him. We have a very special bond.”
Don’t tell Halsey, but Honz is pretty fond of eagles, too. Her involvement with the alliance has given her multiple opportunities to meet the symbol of the nation and the Postal Service up close. In fact, in the mid-’90s when USPS produced an employee video to promote eco-consciousness, the organization included a segment featuring Honz releasing an eagle.
It’s a cherished memory of personal and professional interests intersecting for Honz, who may also be one of the most excited people you’ll find when you bring up this year’s Bald Eagle: Hatchling to Adult stamps.
Her enthusiasm for raptors, however, is not unusual in her community, Honz points out.
“Everybody within our group, we all have the same passion for what we do,” she said. “The privilege and the pleasure of sharing what the Raptor Conservation Alliance does is truly ours.”
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