From CardsDirect.com, All the Best!
The CardsDirect Team

Empathize. You aren’t the only one suffering. Lend a sympathetic ear and know that as a team, you and your co-workers will get through this together.

Encourage. Without funds for bonuses or raises, monetary rewards will need to be replaced by something else that offers encouragement for a job well done. Recognition from management can be just such a replacement. Remember to thank those who have helped to reach company goals. Success at any level helps to secure jobs. Celebrate milestones. Birthday cards or Anniversary cards can be awarded to employees and customers to generate smiles. The minimal cost will result in immeasurable goodwill, encouraging continued business efforts.

Be flexible. Change is hard but remaining flexible will make it easier to take. Keep your eye on the goal and be ready to adjust to reach it effectively. Be willing to take on new responsibilities and work as a team to achieve goals even if it means giving up some of your presumed power. At times like these, it is the company good that matters most.

Focus. It is natural to want to hold on to your position at all costs when downsizing and layoffs threaten. However, you may miss the opportunity to shine if you lose track of your focus. Do the best you can possibility do in the tasks you are given even if it means letting go of some activities you may not be as well suited for.

Perform. Honor your commitments and meet deadlines. Make a difference now when it counts more than ever. Be the best you can be and your company, and ultimately your job, will be secured.

Give back. You spend the majority of your waking hours at work. Make it a pleasant experience by getting to know your co-workers better. Consider teambuilding opportunities such as volunteer or charitable activities you can do together. In touch times, remember to give back to those less fortunate.

Just remember to hang in there and hang together. As the saying goes, “All for one and one for all”!

Launched on May 7, 2009, the 44¢ first class stamps are quite bright and bold and sure to be noticed! They launched with quite a bit of fanfare including a poll to vote for your favorite Simpson character, which was won by Maggie with 29.7% of the 916,000 ballots cast. Homer, who was favored initially, came in with 28.8% of the vote with Bart at 18.9%. The television series launched in 1990 is the longest running primetime comedy in television history.
“Ay, Carumba!” is all I can say!

Although previously the waiting period for a person to be on a postage stamp after their death was 15 years (Ex. Elvis Presley’s stamp came out in 1992, 15 years after his death), exceptions have been made. Commemorative stamps were made for President John F. Kennedy after his assassination in 1963, and Roberto Clemente, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, after he was killed in a plane crash in 1973 while delivering supplies from his native Puerto Rico to Nicaragua after the country was struck by an earthquake.
Although many people may or may not have liked Michael, I would not be surprised if President Barack Obama waives the rule for deceased people to be on postage stamps and commissions a stamp or a series of stamps to honor the memory of Michael Jackson. My proposal would be four stamps, representing the various stages of his career (as a youth in the late 1960s/early 1970s, the teenage years of the late 1970s/early 1980s, the “Thriller” album era [the most successful pop album of all time], and either the “Bad” album era or the later years). However, some people still have ill feelings of Michael Jackson after the child molestation charges he faced (although he was found not guilty).

Be it this year, 2014, or whenever, I believe there will be a stamp honoring “The King of Pop”, Michael Jackson.

In years past the waiting period for a commemorative stamp following someone’s death (other than a U.S. President) was 15 years. It was then changed to 10 and is currently at five years. Of course, there are always exceptions to any rule and perhaps this individual will prompt such an exception as our reader suggests. What do you think?

Many love to add interesting commemorative stamps to their greeting cards and first class letters. Ever wonder how the postal department decides what new stamp designs to add each year? The decision is made by the Postmaster General with input from the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, a group of individuals with varying backgrounds appointed by the Postmaster General to review and offer recommendations.

The Committee is composed of a maximum of 15 members who all share an interest in stamps and the needs of the mailing public. They come from areas of expertise in education, art, history and other professions. Current members include a former Postmaster General, TV Sports Commentator and Olympic Swimming Champion, Donna De Varona, Actor, Karl Malden and Former VP First Lady, Joan Mondale, among 9 others.

Each year the American public sends in thousands of letters proposing stamp subjects and approximately 25 new commemorative stamps are recommended. Subjects must be proposed three years in advance of date of issue. There are 12 major criteria guidelines considered during the selection process. Among them, no individual may be honored until at least 5 years following their death. See the complete criteria list and instructions for submitting a proposal here.

Any predictions on who might be remembered with a stamp in 2010?

In this day and age of email and texting, greeting cards sent through the United States Postal Service are rarities. It is such fun though when one is unexpectedly received. I don’t think such a simple gesture will ever go out of style and know the effort used to send one is well worth the time invested.

What better way to let someone know they matter. Far better than a quickly dashed off email.

Do you send greeting cards? If not, why not?

Greeting cards selected with the recipients in mind add the finishing touches to a graciously given present. A lovely message along with your signature is a very personal statement that can often say more than the present alone. These cards can are displayed for all to see and often remain as valued keepsakes.

Haven’t you been to celebrations where cards were opened and passed around for all to see? I have to admit that I’ve given gifts that were quickly set aside with the accompanying cards taking center stage instead. Everyone enjoys the funny ones and smiles warmly while ready the sentimental messages in others.

I’d have to say also that sometimes the younger generation would much rather get just a card as a present. Of course, they are hoping there is something of monetary value enclosed as well!

So, what do you think? Are greeting cards an added plus when it comes to gift giving? I’d like to think so but let me know your thoughts!

Frantic phone calls began the minute this plan was announced. There was a mad rush to secure extra tickets for aunts, uncles, cousins, family friends and everyone who wanted to come and join in the celebration. I’m told some students were even selling their tickets if they had extra ones on hand, but I can’t confirm that!

I was approached by many, asking if I had any extras. As it turned out, I did have extra tickets to give to those in need and was happy to accommodate them. What surprised me though was the lovely Thank You Card I received following graduation day from one of those I shared a ticket with. With out of town guests to entertain along with all the hoopla that goes with graduation, how this lovely lady managed to find the time to write and mail a thank you card for my unused ticket was a delightful surprise.

Thank YOU, Andrea!

So folks, do you remember to send Thank You Cards when a nice gesture of appreciation is called for?

Activate an automatic out of office message on your computer and on your phone. An automatic response is better than having an email or voicemail sit in your in-box until your return.

Say the date when you will be back at your desk and leave both phone and email contact information for someone who can help in your absence.

Keep your message professional. No need to say where you are going, just stating that you are “out of the office” is all they really need to know. If you say, for example, that you are out of the country, your personal possessions may be in jeopardy as it is easy to find home addresses on the internet these days.

If you are planning to check your messages remotely, say so. Someone may rather wait for you to respond even if there is a slight delay.

Depending on your computer software, it may be possible to state exceptions to your out of office message.

Put a sticky on your phone to remind you to return your computer and voicemail to normal when you return.

The best advice is to consider how you would want to be treated if you were trying to get in touch with someone if they were out of the office!