Letter carrier Benito Vargas was delivering mail on a winter’s day in a West Hartford, CT, neighborhood when he discovered an unconscious customer.
The man had slipped on the ice in his driveway, striking the pavement headfirst.
Vargas rushed to the residence to alert the customer’s wife, who called 911, and remained on the scene until paramedics arrived.
After the man recovered from the significant head injury, his wife mailed a letter to the Postal Service™.
“I can only imagine what might have happened if Benito hadn’t been there,” she wrote. “Our driveway slopes down and my husband might have been there for a very long time until someone saw him.”
She added, “We are eternally grateful to Benito and want the people he works for and with to know how wonderful he is!”
Vargas is one of several thousand USPS® employees who have been recognized through the Postmaster General (PMG) Heroes’ Program. These men and women have gone above and beyond the call of duty in a variety of situations, such as assisting lost children, getting help for sick or injured customers, and spotting fires.
The program, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, is based on a simple idea: Postal Service employees know the habits of their customers and the rhythms of their communities and are often the first to notify emergency personnel and render aid when something is wrong.
Employees must be nominated for the PMG Hero Award. Corporate Communications reviews nominations for accuracy, then sends them to the Inspection Service and the Office of Inspector General for approval.
Following approval, each nominee receives a commendation letter from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Honorees are also featured in the “Heroes” column on the USPS employee news website, Link. The column has become a popular mainstay of the site, and in 2020 it received a national award for excellence in employee communications. To relive more than two decades of heroism, check out the “Heroes” archive at news.usps.com/column/heroes.
To nominate an employee, complete PS Form 400, Corporate Communications PMG Hero Nomination, and email PMG_HeroNominations@usps.gov. The nomination form is available for download on Blue at blue.usps.gov/formmgmt/forms/LiveCycle/psform400_052012_lc.pdf.
