Thomas College will host the Association of College & University Mail Services (ACUMS) Fall 2013 Conference on October 28 and 29. Representatives from colleges and universities all over the country will attend this two-day conference, highlighting the importance that mail service centers hold to the campuses, and further creating a networking environment for those employed in campus mail centers.
Representatives will be on hand from the United States Postal Service (USPS), Boston University Medical, Utah State University and vendors like Design Advantage, presenting on a wide variety of topics, ranging from interpreting USPS postal policies, rate changes, Business Mail, Intelligent Mail Compliance Codes, and ergonomics within mail centers. Attendees will tour Thomas College and Colby College’s centers, visit vendor booths and will be entertained on Monday evening by Thomas’s own talented Music Club members. That same evening, ACUMS President, David Nelson will make a donation to the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter from ACUMS.
ACUMS is a membership-based organization, founded in 1978 “to address issues and challenges unique to processing mail in an academic environment.” Mail Service Center Coordinator for Thomas College, Rebecca Kane was referred to and joined the association one year ago and attended her first ACUMS conference just one month after becoming a member.
Rebecca says, though the way of the world is electronic communication, mail centers are still letters and packages between students and families, equipment and document communication via the USPS and other shipping services continue to play a vital role in campus communications. Students save their acceptance letters, notice of merit scholarships and Dean’s List certificates for years to come. She shared a touching story of a student recently receiving a note and a magnet from her elderly grandfather. Rebecca will share some of her own experiences in the Mail Service Center at Thomas, along with a video sharing her ride-along with a carrier for the Belgrade Lakes, who delivers mail via boat to the town’s residents.
To learn more about ACUMS or the upcoming conference, please visit: www.acums.org.
