The Eleven Commandments of “Snail Mail” by Debbie Morris NHQ Membership Services Assistant will take to arrive, so “How soon will it get here?” is an unanswerable question. We offer Next Day Air and 2nd Day Air delivery by UPS if you are in a hurry, but remember that any shipment over one pound will be more expensive due to the extra postage required.
Many of the problems that chapters experience in communicating with the National Headquarters can be eliminated by attention to a few basic principles. Debbie Morris, who processes virtually all of the incoming mail at Headquarters, offers this guidance. 1.
Thou shalt send thy mail to National Headquarters in the proper business-size envelope with a legible return address and the proper amount of postage affixed. Remember that a pencil-
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scribbled registration form folded several times into the tiniest envelope possible does not improve in transit. 2.
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Thou shalt notify the National Headquarters of any changes in chapter, sponsor, or Director of Bands’ mailing addresses!
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Thou shalt notify National Headquarters of a street address for UPS delivery of supplies and bulk shipments of The PODIUM. UPS does not deliver to U.S. Post Office boxes.
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Thou shalt send all forms requiring signatures by snail mail: Chapter Personnel Reports and Updates, Initiate Registration Forms, Fall Activity Reports, and Chapter Summary Reports. On-screen fillin versions of these forms can be downloaded from the national website for your convenience.
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Thou shalt complete all forms and address all envelopes legibly! Type whenever possible; if you must complete a form by hand, use dark blue or black ink. (Official documents may look pretty in green or gold ink, but the color fades quickly and becomes impossible to read.) If the post office can’t read it, it doesn’t arrive. If we can’t read it when it gets here, it takes longer to process and mistakes may result!
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A green post card will be mailed back to you by the Post Office with a Headquarters staff member’s signature to verify that it arrived safely. Calling the Headquarters to see if your mail has arrived slows down the staff in processing everyone’s forms.
Thou shalt send all mail to the National Headquarters to the proper address! Use the Post Office Box number (P.O. Box 849) for all mail going through the U.S. Postal Service, but use the street address (401 East 9th, Stillwater, OK 74074) for United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (FedEx) shipments.
Thou shalt send thy mail “CERTIFIED – Return Receipt Requested” if you want to make sure that it arrives at National Headquarters.
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Thou shalt pay heed to postmark dates! Don’t drop a form in the campus post office at 4:45 p.m. on a Friday and expect to have it postmarked the same day. Often mail is sent off to a larger nearby city for processing, delaying the date by a day (this occurs in many small university towns). If the postmark deadline is September 30, plan to have it in the mail by September 28. The Headquarters Staff goes by postmark date to determine if a report is received on time, even taping the postmark mark to the form, so be sure the postmark is the one you want!
10. Thou shalt not send cash through the mail! Pay all fees with either a check or money order. If you use a money order, detach the carbon copy first before mailing so you have a record in case it gets lost in the mail. Be sure to include the official paperwork so the staff knows what the money is for. Make sure that the amount due matches the money, and make sure both the form and the money get in the envelope! When your treasurer gets the receipt back, double-check it! 11. Thou
shalt read thy mail from National Headquarters! When there are problems with reports, a note is sent to the chapter explaining the problem and the solution; read it! If you have questions, call or email us. Share your other mail—NewsNotes OnLine, The PODIUM, flyers, etc.— with all members of your chapter. }
Thou shalt allow sufficient time for delivery of thy mail. No one knows how long a piece of mail The PODIUM, Spring 2002 – 7
