[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S4457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ``CELEBRATE THE CENTURY 
                               EXPRESS''

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the United 
States Postal Service for receiving two distinguished awards for its 
Celebrate the Century Express Educational Train Tour. I would like to 
thank Mr. Gary A. Thuro, Jr., Manager, Promotions, and Mr. Ernest 
Cascino, Jr., Project Manager, for bringing the awards to my attention. 
The United States Postal Service deserves special recognition for 
receiving the Department of Transportation's Design for Transportation 
National Award of Merit and the Transportation Marketing & 
Communications Association's 2000 Award of Excellence.
  Both awards were presented in recognition of the United States Postal 
Service's Celebrate the Century Express Train which is a specially 
outfitted four-car Amtrak train and traveling postal history exhibition 
that serves as the ``iron ambassador'' of the Celebrate the Century 
commemorative stamp and education program. The train is a rolling 
history museum, presenting the story of how the mails and rails helped 
develop our country and, highlighting some of the most significant 
people, places and events of the 20th century.
  Over its 18-month tour from March 1999 to fall 2000, the Celebrate 
the Century Express will visit dozens of communities across the nation, 
from the biggest cities to the smallest towns. In 1999, the train 
traveled over nearly 13,000 miles of track, visiting 36 cities in 18 
states and being viewed by more than 150,000 people, including 
thousands of schoolchildren. The train is expected to make at least 36 
stops this year before concluding its two-year run in November 2000.
  The Design for Transportation National Awards 2000 honor those 
facilities and activities that exemplify the highest standards of 
design and have made an outstanding contribution to the nation's 
transportation systems and the people they serve. The United States 
Postal Service received a Merit Award (which is only given every 5 
years) for achieving a high level of design quality for its Celebrate 
the Century Express. The Postal Service is among 30 winners out of more 
than 300 entries and is the only recipient to receive an award for any 
type of vehicle.
  The Transportation Marketing & Communications Association's 
Transportation Communicators Award program, also known as the 
``Tranny'' Awards, recognizes excellence in communications programs in 
the transportation and logistics industries. The program recognizes 
individual practitioners who apply solid communications principles and 
creativity to effectively promote the goals of their organizations. The 
United States Postal Service received an Award of Excellence in the 
category of ``best practices in special events'' and was one of 18 
winners out of more than 150 entries.

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