Partnering for Success at the 2026 Eastern Region Cabinet Meeting

Partnering for Success at the 2026 Eastern Region Cabinet Meeting
By Richard Green
NAPS Eastern Region Vice President

The 2026 Eastern Region Cabinet Meeting was held in Philadelphia over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend — what a great conference it was! Over 150 delegates were in attendance, as well as NAPS resident officers and senior Postal Service leaders. Here’s a recap of the event.

Morning session, day 1: We kicked off our event with the Philadelphia Postal Employees Choir that lifted the room in song to begin our day. Our first presenter was Michael Rakes, vice president, Retail and Delivery Operations, Atlantic Area. He shared his vision for Operations and how key relationships and communication between NAPS and the USPS will help build a sustainable future for delivering for the American people.

Rakes affirmed that our members are partners on the leadership team. He and his senior leadership team are committed to working with NAPS to create an environment where our members can thrive and grow in the Postal Service.

The next presenter was Dave Webster, vice president, Processing Operations, Eastern Region. He discussed his commitment to give his team the tools to provide a better product to our Customer Service team members to help them be successful in delivering a better customer experience to the American people. By managing to our precision tools, our plant team will be able to meet their goals and achieve success on a daily basis.

Next we heard from Donna Gill, director, Field Human Resources, Atlantic Area. She shared how our members can use the tools available to them to better understand complement management.

Afternoon session, day 1: Our afternoon session started with Jill Miniard, director, Field Labor Relations, Atlantic Area, who shared statistics on how the area was performing to targets. There was opportunity for robust questioning with all senior leaders; our members were excited about being able to discuss myriad issues with our guests.

We thank the USPS senior leadership team for supporting our event and look forward to partnering with them at future events.

We closed the day with NAPS President Ivan D. Butts addressing the delegates and the Eastern Region honoring him for his service to our organization and members of the Eastern Region. We concluded the evening with a “Jersey Night” Meet & Greet. It was great fun for everyone as our members danced the night away.

Day 2: This was all things NAPS! Training was provided by Mideast Area Vice President Tony Dallojacono on branch officer responsibilities; Executive Vice President Chuck Mulidore on the Disciplinary Defense Fund; Eastern Region Vice President Richard Green on the consultative meeting process; and NAPS Secretary/Treasurer Jimmy Warden on local branch financial responsibilities.

We closed the morning with a moment honoring former Eastern Region Vice President Dotty Wileman. We thank her family for attending and sharing her with the NAPS family.

Our Executive Board members had a roundtable discussion and provided answers to questions and concerns from the delegates. The last order of business was selection of the host city for the 2027 Eastern Region Cabinet Meeting — the winner was Baltimore, MD! We closed the meeting with our banquet and a night of live entertainment with Geno Marriott and the Spirit of Jazz.

I want to thank all the local Philadelphia NAPS branches for their support this year. Your support and contributions to our success are greatly appreciated.

We also thank all our vendors for the great partnership and products they provided our members. And thanks to the Auxiliary for your support this weekend. The work you do for our organization is incredible and you are greatly appreciated.

Lastly, I want to thank my wife, Hazel — not only for her support as my best half, but also her support for our organi-zation as National Auxiliary Eastern Region vice president. Thanks to everyone and see you in Baltimore 2027!

Leading into the future.