6
Tuesday, April 25,1995
UNC Graduate in the Running for Postmaster General
BYBRYAN PRUITT
STAFF WRITER
UNC graduate Bill Henderson has
worked hard to climb the corporate ladder
and earn his position in life.
Henderson is the chief operating officer
and executive vice president of the U.S.
Postal Service. Upon the future retirement
of Postmaster General Marvin Runyon,
Henderson will be a possible candidate for
appointment to the position.
The postmaster general is appointed by
the board of governors of the Postal Ser
vice, which is a appointed
board of nine members.
Henderson joined the Postal Service in
1972 as a trainee in labor relations in Mem
phis, Tenn. He said he had started working
at the Postal Service because he was inter
ested in the field of labor relations.
“I joined the Postal Service because I
felt it was the best opportunity for me to
gain experience in collective bargaining,”
he said.
Henderson was sent to Washington,
D.C., initially for a 60-day assignment to
VOLUNTEERS
FROM PAGE 3
Maya Angelou.
Zenobia Hatcher-Wilson, Campus Y
advisory board member, said all the candi
dates were qualified for the a ward. Hatcher-
Wilson presented the plaque to Murray.
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assist in labor talks with union workers.
He ended up staying in Washington for
five years working on collective bargaining
cases with labor unions. He has partici
pated in the Postal Service’s negotiations
with labor unions numerous times since
1972, and in 1984 he served as chief nego
tiator in the binding arbitration talks be
tween labor representatives.
Henderson served as manager of the
regional office of Chicago for several years
in the late 19705, often traveling back to
Washington to participate in collective
bargaining negotiations.
He has also served in Stockton, Calif.,
and Sacramento, Calif. In 1980, he was
named the Memphis head of labor rela
tions for the Postal Service’s southern re
gion. He was later promoted to the posi
tion of postmaster of Memphis.
In 1986, Henderson became head of
postal operations in Greensboro. The Postal
Service underwent a massive restructuring
that year, during which it was downsized
and subdivided into many divisions. Asa
result, Greensboro became responsible for
delivery to most of North Carolina and to
“I won’t ask Mike to speak because I
know he is a man of few words, ” Hatcher-
Wilson said. “But he is a man that get
things done.”
Emily Roth, committee coordinator,
said Murray deserved the award. She said
that Murray was going to attend law school
at New York University next year and that
STATE & NATIONAL
a small portion of South Carolina.
In 1992, he returned to Washington
when he was promoted to the office of vice
president in charge of employee relations,
and, in 1993, he became chief marketing
officer and senior vice president of the
Postal Service.
Henderson came to the University in
the fall of 1965 and was part of the first
group of students to live in Morrison Resi
dence Hall, which opened that year.
Henderson, who had lived in Black Moun
tain and attended Charles D. Owen Senior
High School in Swannanoa, said he had
had a difficult time adjusting to life at a
large university in a larger town.
“It was a very big change forme to go
from living in a small town and going to a
small rural high school to attending a large
university,” he said.
After serving in the Army for two years,
he graduated from UNC in 1972 with a
bachelor’s degree in industrial relations.
Henderson was also involved in the
planning process of the University’s Bicen
tennial Celebration and is a life member of
the General Alumni Association.
he had just received a scholarship.
Hatcher-WilsonsaidtheSonjaH. Stone
Award was developed in 1993 by the Cam
pus Y executive committee. Stone was a
member of the Campus Y advisory board,
she said.
“Dr. Stone represented a scholar and a
humanitarian,’’Hatcher-Wilsonsaid. “She
“I really have fond memories of Caro
lina,” he said. “Carolina is a place where
you are given a chance to learn to think.”
Henderson’s present duties as chief op
erating officer involve overseeing the gen
eral operation of the Postal Service’s nor
mal activities, which includes supervising
the progress of 40,000 post offices and
200,000 vehicles.
“Essentially, I am responsible for the
day-to-day collection and delivery of mail
in the United States and its territories,” he
said.
Henderson said the Postal Service
handled more than 177 billion pieces of
mail per year, which made it much larger
than any other mail-delivery service in the
country. “The volume of mail we deliver
every day is equal to Federal Express’
yearly volume,” he said. “We are consid
erably much bigger than everybody else.
Henderson said that although the Postal
Service had lost a significant portion of
business-to-business mail to faxes and elec
tronic mailing, the volume of mail the
Postal Service delivered was still increas
ing, especially in the areas of package de
was interested in everyone.”
Hatcher-Wilson and Roth also awarded
certificates to past and present Campus Y
Cabinet members, executive members and
volunteers at the Volunteer Recognition
Ceremony.
Brad King and Teresa Nowlin, co-presi
dents of the Campus Y, thanked the old
livery to residents, advertising mail and
Priority Mail.
Henderson said thatthe Postal Service’s
discount rates for large packages made it a
popular choice for individuals and that
businesses used the Postal Service fre
quently to distribute advertising mail be
cause they could get discounted rates for
mass distribution. He said the Postal Ser
vice alone was responsible for delivering
20 percent of the advertising displayed to
the advertising market.
He also said the use ofPriority Mail was
popular because it was much cheaper than
other forms of rapid delivery mail.
“It is a real alternative to the high priced
overnight circuit,” Henderson said. “We
areseeingalotofgrowth,”hesaid. ’’These
three areas will be helped by technology
not hurt by it. Technology is really adding
to our growth.”
He said the Postal Service was con
stantly trying to improve its general perfor
mance.
“Our main goal is that we plan to sub
stantially improve the quality of service we
provide to the American people.”
members for their time and introduced the
new members of the executive committee.
“Last year’s committee accomplished a
lot,” King said. “They laid the ground
work for the year to come.”
Melissa Power, AmeriCorps member,
asked interested students to apply for po
sitions next year.
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Government
Buildings Beef
Up Security
Since the Oklahoma Attack,
Federal Buildings Across the
State Are Taking Precautions
BYERICABESHEARS
STAFF WRITER
Asa result of last week’s bombing of the
Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma
City, federal facilities across the nation
have stepped up security to try to prevent
any similar occurrences.
Federal buildings in North Carolina are
at an enhanced level of security as well,
said Steve Grant, the Raleigh field office
manager of the General Services Adminis
tration.
“We are currently in an enhanced level
of security,” Grant said.
He said that the precautions were neces
sary, or they would not be taking them, but
that they were strictly a precaution.
“We have no reason to suspect a threat
of violence to our federal buildings,” he
said. “This is precautionary.”
Fleming James, the executive assistant
to the regional administrator of the Gen
eral Services Administration in Atlanta,
said security measures in different build
ings across the country were different.
“We’ve increased the level of security,"
James said. “Different buildings have dif
ferent needs in the first place, so we’re not
doing the same things everywhere, but all
buildings’ security have been increased.”
James said the GSA had increased secu
rity in several different ways.
“In courthouses, we’re limiting access
and checking ID badges more than usual, ”
he said. “We’re not allowing cars to park
adjacent to buildings.”
He said that he did not know how long
the extra security would be necessary but
that there had been an increase in bomb
threats across the nation.
“We’ve had more bomb threats. All of
them have turned out to be bogus, ” James
said.
In eastern North Carolina, there have
been two bomb threats to federal facilities
since the Oklahoma City bombing, said
William Berryhill Jr., chief U.S. marshal
for the eastern district of North Carolina.
“There was a bomb threat at the Alton-
LennonFederalßuilding in Wilmington, I
believe Thursday morning, ” Berryhill said.
“The building was swept, and no device
was found,” he said. “There was a threat at
the FBI building directed at the IRS that’s
housed in privately leased space. Those are
the only two bomb threats.”
Berryhill said U.S. marshals were also
stepping up security.
“In the wake of the Oklahoma City
bombing, the president ordered that secu
rity be enhanced,” he said. “Asa U.S.
marshal, it is my duty to protect the federal
judiciary housed in Raleigh.”
Berryhill said the marshals wanted to
make some of the security enhancements
permanent.
“We’ve eliminated parking in front of
federal buildings, and we are going to ask
(the city of Raleigh) if we can make it
permanent,” he said.
Berryhill said the marshals had tested
their surveillance cameras and metal de
tectors to ensure they were in proper order.
“We are carefully X-raying every pack
age. Our deputy marshals are on increased
awareness to persons entering and exiting
federal buildings,” Berryhill said. “Wehave
tested our mechanical security to deter
mine that they are in working order.”
Although state government buildings
were not included in Clinton’s call to in
crease security, many state buildings have
been taking precautions as well. The
Archdale Building in Raleigh, which
houses state offices, received two bomb
threats Monday, as did the Dobbs building
and the Revenue building.
Lt. Astor Bowden, head of special ser
vices for theN.C. State Capitol Police, said
they were regular bomb threats.
“We’ve had two today. One was at 8:55
and one at about 2 o’clock,” Bowden said.
“It was a standard bomb threat where
somebody calls in ... and we go into our
standard procedure.”
Bowden said incidents like the Okla
homa City bombing made people look at
their security systems more carefully.
“Anybody in the security business
should look at their security systems from
time to time. This pushes you along,”
Bowden said. “We have taken a look and
will continue to take a look.”
FANS
FROM PAGE 1
falter, giving shortstop Ozzie Smith a final
chance at postseason play. “I’m thrilled
that they’re playing. Hopefully now the
labor problems will be worked out.”
Financially speaking, Allan Boyd can’t
wait for the major-leaguers to get back into
action. As the owner of Sports Cards Plus
in Chapel Hill, he’s seen sales of baseball
cards slip drastically. ‘“Way down’ doesn’t
describe how bad they are,” he said.
Over in Durham, officials for the mi
nor-league Bulls don’t expect major-league
opening day to affect ticket sales. Kevin
Estrella, a team spokesman, said the Bulls
would have relied more on major-league
baseball if teams were closer than Balti
more or Atlanta.
From cheaper tickets to readily acces
sible players, owners have been trying hard
to win back fans. Perhaps no other method
would work as well as finally coming up
with a long-term agreement instead of the
temporary one inked March 31. Most fans
agree that something needs to be done.
“It’s a shame it had to be this way,”
Estrella said. “The fans lost out a 10t.... It
really gave the game a black eye.”