This organization began as the brainchild of Ralph Yates of Appalachian State University. Ralph invited several schools in North Carolina to meet with him at North Carolina A & T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina to discuss an organization statewide for college and university mail services employees. There was a need for an organization that would establish standards, promote ethics, and foster professionalism for campus mail personnel. Campus mailrooms had been “in the basement” too long. These educational institutions were represented at the organizational meeting: Appalachian State University, Campbell

University, Davidson College, Duke University, Durham Tech, Fayetteville

State, Johnson C. Smith, Lees-McRae, North Carolina A & T, North Carolina State, Pembroke, Saint Augustine, University of North Carolina at Asheville, at Chapel Hill, at Charlotte, at Greensboro, at Wilmington, and Wake Forest University. In July of 1988, the North Carolina Educational Postal Personnel Association was born. The very next year it became apparent that NCEPPA would be no more. The reason was very simple schools outside of North Carolina wanted to be members.

During the business session of the annual meeting in 1989, the bylaws were amended and NCEPPA became CUMSA. College and University Mail Services Association resolves that membership is open to all educational institutions involved with mail services.

According to the bylaws, CUMSA’s purpose and objectives are

 “to promote, develop and unite educational postal employees…to  facilitate cooperation and communication between its members, and  to provide a means through which their knowledge and experience  may be pooled……to promote and maintain high professional  standards, to develop and improve training and educational  opportunities, to collect and distribute information of value to  its members, to render assistance when requested, and to generally  further the interests of postal personnel.”

Meetings occur annually at volunteer host schools and at the l992 meeting hosted by Wake Forest University, thirty-five schools were represented: Appalachian State, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Brock

University (Canada), Campbell University, Charleston Southern University, Davidson College, Duke University Medical Center, Durham Tech, East Carolina University, Fayetteville State, Forsyth Tech

Community College, Furman University, Gaston College, Guilford Tech Community College, James Madison University, Johnson C. Smith, Lees McRae, Lynchburg College, Mary Washington College, North Carolina A &

T, North Carolina Central, North Carolina State, Pembroke, Saint Augustine, Salem Academy & College, University of North Carolina – at Chapel Hill, at Charlotte, at Greensboro, at Wilmington, University of

Virginia Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Wake Forest University, Washington & Lee, Western Carolina University, and Winston Salem State University.

We traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia for our conference in 1993. We were hosted by James Madison University – our first conference outside of North Carolina. We were nervous but were quickly put at ease with the turnout and the conference.

The 1994 annual meeting was held in Charleston, South Carolina in April and was hosted by Charleston Southern University. In the early planning stages for this conference, it was decided that an extra day would be added to the agenda to attach some “fun” things to the order of business.

At this conference, forty-seven educational institutions were represented and nine were from South Carolina: The Citadel, Coastal Carolina University, College of Charleston, Francis Marion University, Medical University of South Carolina, Presbyterian College, Winthrop University, Charleston Southern, and Furman University. Representation from North Carolina included Appalachian State University, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Campbell University, Central Carolina Community College, Central Piedmont Community College, Davidson College, East Carolina

University, Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina A & T State, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, Peace College, Pembroke State University, University of North Carolina at

Asheville, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Wilmington, and Wake Forest University. From Virginia, those attending represented Richard Bland College, James Madison University, Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Washington & Lee University. Lamar University, University of Texas, Texas Christian and Texas Tech represented, of course, Texas. Others we respectfully mention are Brock University, Ontario, Canada; Valdosta State and Georgia Southern University from Georgia; Tulane University

Medical Center, Louisiana; Cornell University, New York; Pepperdine University, California; University of Florida, Florida; Southeast Missouri State University, Missouri; Southern Illinois University, Illinois; and University of Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Hosted by Davidson College, the 8th Annual Conference was held in April of 1995.Mr. Henry A. Pankey, Vice President of Mid-Atlantic Operations for the United States Postal Service and Dr. James G. Martin, former Governor of North Carolina, were special guest speakers. At this particular time, “reclassification” was the issue to be discussed. Several Postal Service representatives from the Charlotte District were on hand to answer questions regarding reclass and the effect it will have on college and university mail.

From North Carolina, these educational institutions were represented: Appalachian State University, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Caldwell Community College, Catawba College, Central Piedmont Community

College, Chowan College,Davidson College, Duke University, East Carolina, Forsyth Technical Community College, Gaston College, Guilford College, North Carolina A & T State, North Carolina Central University, North

Carolina State University, University of North Carolina – Asheville, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Wilmington, Wake Forest University and Warren Wilson College. From Virginia, representatives from Hampton

University, Longwood College, Radford University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Washington & Lee were present. South Carolina sent mail center personnel from The Citadel, Charleston

Southern University, Coastal Carolina University, College of Charleston, Trident Technical College, Winthrop University. From afar, Brock University, Ontario, Canada, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts sent representatives.

The 1996 Ninth Annual Conference was hosted by Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Mr. Terry Waldon, CMDSM, CMM from Purdue

University presented “CMM and CMDSM Certification Program – What You Need to Know”. Arrangements were made to offer the testing for this certification at our next conference. MS. Lea Holt, Mail Manager at East Carolina University gave a presentation on “The 1, 2, 3’s of Cyberspace”.

Another special guest was Thom Roylance, Manager, University Mail Services, Brigham Young University, who spoke to us about NACUMS and the advantages of organizations such as ours joining “bigger” organizations to be more powerful with the USPS.  Also on the program was a panel discussion featuring Federal Express, Airborne, USPS and UPS and a session on mailing standards with the USPS.

The institutions represented for the first time were Agnes Scott College, Brigham Young University, Cape Fear Community College, Clinch Valley College, East Tennessee State University, Johnson & Wales University,

Middle Tennessee University, Muskingum College, Pellissippi State Community College, Piedmont Bible College, Roanoke College, Southwest Virginia Community College, University of South Florida, University of the

South, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Virginia, University of Virginia at College Park, and Virginia Wesleyan.  In addition to the “first timers”, North Carolina was represented by Appalachian State

University, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Campbell University, Central Carolina Community College, Central Piedmont Community College, Davidson College, Durham Tech Community College, East Carolina University, Forsyth Tech Community College, Gaston College, Guilford College, North Carolina A & T, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State, Salem Academy & College, UNC-Asheville, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Wilmington, and Wake Forest University. College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina University, Trident Technical College, and Winthrop University were representatives from South Carolina. Representation from Virginia included Longwood College, Northern Virginia Community College, Radford University and Washington & Lee University. Louisiana was represented by Tulane University Medical Center.

The 10th Annual Conference was held in the mountains of North Carolina – where this organization held it’s first official conference. Appalachian State University hosted.

Mr. Orin Fosberg of Tulane University Medical Center lead a very informative session – “Outsourcing – How Do YOU Feel?”; Thom Roylance, BYU, brought us up to date on NACUMS activity and Miss Jennifer Roberts, MISS NORTH CAROLINA, shared ins and outs of being a beauty queen/state representative. A session relating to computers and list management was given by Lea Holt, East Carolina. She encouraged all to get on Cunimail which is a listserv open to college and university mail personnel only.   At this meeting IPMA’s Certified Mail Manager testing was administered and hopefully can be offered at future annual meetings.  Topping off the conference was a visit from Ralph Yates, the “inventor of CUMSA”.

First time attendees: Saint Mary’s College, Raleigh, NC; Claflin College, Orangeburg, SC; University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; Mercer University,

Macon, GA; University of Montevallo, Montevallo, AL; Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA; Berry College, Mount Berry, GA; Clayton State University, Morrow, GA.

 North Carolina was represented by Appalachian State University, Brevard College, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Campbell University, Cape Fear Community College, Davidson College,

Gaston College, Guilford College, Forsyth Technical Community College, North Carolina State, North Carolina Central, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Wake Forest. Representing the state of South Carolina were Coastal Carolina University, College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina, The Citadel, Charleston Southern, Limestone College. Florida rendered Florida Community College and Jacksonville and University of Florida. Attending from Virginia were Clinch Valley College, Longwood College, Northern Virginia Community College, Southwest Virginia Community College, Virginia Wesleyan. Other states represented were Pennsylvania – Carnegie Mellon; Louisiana Tulane University Medical Center; Tennessee – University of the South, Pellissippi State Technical Community College; Utah – Brigham Young; Texas -Lamar University.

CUMSA Cruisin’ on the Beach in ‘98 was the theme of our 11th annual conference held at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and hosted by Coastal Carolina University. Along with beautiful weather, we had informative sessions, and a very successful vendor show. Again, IPMA’s Certified Mail Manager testing was administered. Representatives from the National Association of College and University Mail Services (NACUMS) updated their achievements and promoted the benefits of regional members joining the national membership. Accomplishments from the Association of College and University Mail Services (ACUMS) were also reported. Our program also consisted of sessions dealing with non-profit updates, Private Express Statutes, and contract postal units which were led by USPS personnel. Sessions concerning cultural diversity and communication, C & U contract units and the top ten most frequently asked questions were led by CUMSA membership. The vendor area was set up with all the latest equipment needed in mail services. MS. Charlene Reinquist, a USPS representative for higher education was our luncheon speaker. Mr. Henry Pankey, USPS Vice President, Mid-Ateducation,,,,,,gion, spoke to us about the future USPS has for college and university mail.

First time attendees: Clemson University in South Carolina; Kennesaw State University of Georgia; University of West Florida, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida; Elon College, Catawba College, Pitt

Community College, Alamance Community College from North Carolina. Bates College, Maine; University of St. Thomas, Minnesota; University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts; Rutgers University, New Jersey; University of California, California.  Other institutions represented were College of Charleston, Furman University, The Citadel, Charleston Southern University, Limestone College from South Carolina; Northern Virginia

Community College, John Tyler Community College, Virginia Wesleyan College, University of Richmond, Southwest Virginia Community College, Washington & Lee, Longwood College from Virginia; Berry College, Clayton

College and State University, Mercer University from Georgia; Middle Tennessee State University, University of the South; Florida Community College at Jacksonville; Wake Forest University, UNC at Asheville, Chapel

Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Pembroke, Davidson College, East Carolina University, Cape Fear Community College, Central Piedmont Community College, Durham Tech Community College, Salem Academy and College,

North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, Appalachian State University, Duke University, Guilford College, Campbell University from North Carolina; Carnegie Mellon University; University of Montevallo, M I T and Brigham Young University. We’re looking forward to Raleigh.

After receiving an invitation to become a member, someone asked “Why

CUMSA?” Glen Hulme of Texas Christian University and President of TACUMS (Texas Association of College and University Mail Services) responded, “I will be brief. Caring Unselfish Mentors Serving All. They just happen to be a great bunch of unassuming good ole southern people who would improve the quality of your life if you visited with them once a year.” 

On March 28-30, 1999, North Carolina State University hosted the 12th annual College and University Mail Services conference. Along with the vendor show, we were fortunate to have two of our own members bring their equipment and do “hands-on” demonstrations for mailings using SmartMailer and Postalsoft. A USPS representative leads a session on actual preparation of non-profit mail. Other sessions covered Y2K impact, address issue updates, Postal Explorer and how to communicate motivate-celebrate in our workplace. Wasn’t it at the Awards Banquet that we saw what some people can become…under hypnosis?

 The institutions represented for the first time were, Savannah College of Art & Design, University of Iowa, York College of Pennsylvania, Southwestern Community College, East Carolina University Medical School, and Shaw University.

 North Carolina was represented by Appalachian State University, Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Davidson College, North Carolina State University, Warren Wilson College,

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Elon College, East Carolina University, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Pitt Community College, Salem College, Cape Fear Community College, Peace College,

Duke University, Brevard College, East Carolina University School of Medicine, Winston Salem State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Alamance Community College, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Campbell University. From South Carolina came College of Charleston, Charleston Southern University, Francis Marion University, Furman University and Coastal Carolina University; Savannah College of Art & Design and Berry College from Georgia; Virginia Wesleyan College, Southwest Virginia Community College, Hampton University, Clinch Valley College, Longwood College, Washington & Lee University, Northern Virginia Community College from Virginia; Carnegie Mellon University from Pennsylvania; University of Florida from Florida; Middle Tennessee State University, Pellissippi State University, University of the South and East Tennessee State University from Tennessee.

The 13th annual College and University Mail Services Association convened on February 5, 2000, in Gainesville, Florida. The University of Florida was the host school. Besides being bitter cold (27 degrees) …too cold for bats to fly…the conference was a huge success.

Including the University of Florida, the sunshine state was represented by Pensascola Junior College, University of West Florida and the University of South Florida. Coming from North Carolina were representatives from East

Carolina University, Warren Wilson College, Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina State University, Cape Fear Community College, Appalachian State University, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Davidson College, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Furman University, The Citadel, and College of Charleston were representative of South Carolina; Middle Tennessee State University, University of the South, Pellissippi State Technical Community College from Tennessee; Berry College from Georgia; University of Missouri from Missouri; Brigham Young University, Utah; Longwood College and Southwest Virginia Community College from Virginia.

The IPMA’s Certified Mail Manager test was administered and two CUMSA members received their certification. CUMSA is proud to recognize members who have attained the CMM designation:

 Dave Pitts, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

 Thom Clark, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

 Lea Holt, East Carolina University

 Connie Lawson, Wake Forest University

 Tommy Brickhouse, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

 David Weeks, Washington & Lee University

 Lori Stephens, Kennesaw State University

 Edward Smalls, College of Charleston

 Chuck Sparks, Elon College

 Ron Feilner, University of Missouri

 Jane Biggerstaff, Davidson College

 Tammi King, Berry College

 Derrill Young, North Carolina State University

 Carson Rasnake, Southwest Virginia Community College

Our program consisted of sessions ranging from recharging our personal batteries, ideas for developing productive employees, the benefits of combining print & mail, managing change, to the ever-popular roundtable discussions. Mr. Bill Tyler, USPS Communications Specialists, spoke of postal history and shared with us the cause of his North Florida District:

                  PRIDE:   Professional

                                   Results

                                   In

                                   Daily

                                   Efforts   

Not one of us can forget the entertainment presented by the World’s Funniest Hypnotist and seeing Derrill, our fearless leader, doing his Elvis impersonation.

Next year our host will be Middle Tennessee State University to be held in Nashville, Tennessee…..sounds good to me! See you there!

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University, the oldest, largest, and fastest-growing public university in central Tennessee, welcomed the 14th annual College and University Mail Services Association. To make our ‘Networking in Nashville’ a festive occasion, wonderful weather had been ordered to go along with the fabulous food and very enlightening sessions. Following a welcome from Dr. R. Eugene Smith, Interim President, MTSU, and the business meeting, we suited up for our ride in space with Dr. Rhea Seddon, a retired NASA Astronaut. Dr. Seddon, born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is a three-flight veteran with over 700 hours in space. In 1996 she was detailed by NASA to Vanderbilt University Medical School in Nashville. She assisted in the preparation of cardiovascular experiments which flew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on the Neurolab Spacelab flight in April of 1998. We felt like we were in the capsule with her during a fourteen-day flight in which she and six other crew members performed neurovestibular, cardiovascular,

cardiopulmonary, metabolic and musculoskeletal medical experiments on themselves and rats expanding our knowledge of human and animal physiology both on earth and in space flight. This mission was accomplished in 225 orbits of the earth in over 336 hours. Dr. Seddon is now Assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group.

 On Monday, while vendors were demonstrating their products, workshops were in progress featuring Access/Excel, PowerPoint,

Understanding Shipping Hazardous Materials, How to Motivate

Employees, How to Deal with Upper Management, and Web Page Design. On Tuesday, a representative from the United States Postal Service gave us updates on E-commerce, Delivery Confirmation and Signature

Confirmation. We also had a session in Professional Development in which

CMM and CMDSM testing concerns were discussed. How to Manage Your Operation and Safety Tips for Mail Center Employees were afternoon sessions – then it was time to get ready for dinner and ride on the General Jackson. Because our Round Table Discussion is an important part of our conference, we adjourned on Wednesday to the campus of MTSU to problem-solve before touring MTSU Mail Services and Post Office, Bookstore and Aerospace Building. From this conference we had yet another member receives the IPMA CMM certification. Congratulations to Jack Broach, University of West Florida.

 Schools represented at this conference were: University of St. Thomas, Minnesota; Harding University, Arkansas; Western Kentucky University, Kentucky; Illinois State University, Illinois; Wesleyan University, Connecticut: Berry College, Spelman College, Kennesaw State, Morehouse College, Georgia; Cedarville University, Ohio; University of West Florida, University of Florida, Florida; Randolph Macon, Washington & Lee, University of Virginia at Wise, Virginia; Wake Forest University, UNC Chapel Hill, Brevard College, Catawba College, Davidson College, Warren Wilson, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, North Carolina. Lipscomb University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of the South, Vanderbilt University, Pellissippi State Technical Community College, University of Memphis, East Tennessee State University, Tennessee; College of Charleston, Charleston Southern University, Furman University, South Carolina.

Back in the state of North Carolina for our 15th annual conference, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and Wake Forest University graciously accepted the challenge of hosting this group of mail personnel. Great sessions were offered which included ‘Operation Guide’, ‘Cost Center Operations’, ‘Print to Mail Operation’, ‘Internal Package Tracking’ and ‘Security Issues’ to name a few. For those of you who are still “Out to Sea”, please try harder to get back on shore.  Expectedly, North Carolina was the state with the most attendees: Warren Wilson College, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Davidson College, Catawba College, Guilford College, UNC-Chapel Hill, Appalachian State University, UNC-Charlotte, Wake Forest University, Campbell University, Cape Fear

Community College, North Carolina A & T University, Pitt Community College, North Carolina State University. From South Carolina, College of Charleston and Trident Technical College. Virginia schools were Washington & Lee University, Southwest Virginia Community College, and Northern Virginia Community College: Tennessee was represented by East Tennessee State University; Western Kentucky University represented the state of Kentucky and a first-time attendee from Oregon – Central Oregon Community College.

Next year’s conference will be held in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Asheville. Warren Wilson College – a college that emphasizes a triad of academics, work, and service – will be our host.

Sometimes nothing could be finer than having two conferences back-to-back in Carolina. And it was ‘a finer’ in Asheville. What a great time we had in the mountains of North Carolina. The weather was just what the doctor ordered. A full day of visiting with our vendors and seeing the latest in technology for the ailing industry was an added attraction to the educational sessions. We even made the ll:00 o’clock news on WLOS-TV News 13. On the second day we traveled to the campus of Warren Wilson College. This is the first meeting place for CUMSA that had a “Dean of Work” on the program. He explained the work requirements of students and the work responsibilities necessary for a student to stay enrolled at Warren Wilson. Not listed on the program was surprise after-lunch entertainment from a first-time attendee who shucked her shoes to dance to the music played by a group made up of the President of the College, the Registrar, the Dean of Students, the Director of Admissions and a student. Combining work and play is essential at all conferences. We were able to take time out to visit the Biltmore Estates, Garden and Winery. At the Annual Awards and Recognition Dinner we said goodbye and Godspeed to three of our member institutions representatives: Thom Clark (UNC-Charlotte), Derrill Young (NC State) and Ann Bass (Florida State University). We shall miss them and are grateful for the support they have given this organization.

Representatives at the conference were from North Carolina: Pitt Community College, Salem College, Catawba College, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Guilford College, Duke University, NC State, Davidson College, Warren Wilson College, Wake Forest University, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, and first timer Catawba Valley Community College; from Georgia – Berry College; from Florida –

Florida State University, University of West Florida and first time Northwood University; from South Carolina – College of Charleston; from Tennessee – University of Memphis, East Tennessee State University,

Lipscomb University; from Virginia – University of Virginia at Wise, Northern Virginia Community College; from Kentucky – Western Kentucky University and first timer Berea College; from Arkansas – Harding University; from Texas – Texas Christian University – welcome back, Glen!

From the mountains to the sea, next year the College of Charleston will host its annual conference in historic Charleston.

Wild Dunes Resort was selected as the next appropriate place to convene for our meeting with the College of Charleston in association with The Citadel and Medical University of South Carolina as hosts. An exceptional destination describes Wild Dunes, and an exceptional description describes the program that was planned and presented. The Fish Philosophy reminded us that our energy, power, focus and commitment are important aspects of our work and in our daily life. It is always good to get a look at trends, issues, and challenges for the coming year from the United States Postal Services as well as seeing the newest equipment from our vendors.  I’m still not sure there really was an alligator in that little pond… Representatives at the conference from South Carolina were College of Charleston, The Citadel, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston Southern University, Furman University; from Florida: Florida State University, University of West Florida, Northwood University; from Georgia:  Berry College, Valdosta State University, Spelman College, Morehouse College; from Kentucky: Western Kentucky University, Berea College; from Arkansas: Harding University; from Virginia: UVa’s College at Wise, Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Wesleyan College, University of Richmond; from Tennessee: Lipscomb University, Belmont University (first time in attendance), University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, University of the South; from Minnesota: Gustavus Adolphus College (first time in attendance); from North Carolina: University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Pitt Community College, Cape Fear Community College, Wake Forest University, Appalachian State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Catawba College, Catawba Valley Community College, Davidson College, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Guilford College; from Delaware: University of Delaware.

Our 18th CUMSA Conference was held in April with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosting. And, yes, we did put our order early for a Carolina Blue sky while we were there.

Our first day began with our keynote speaker, Dr. Elaine Griffin, Assistant Provost for Institutional Effectiveness at Lipscomb University, sharing with us her very interesting talk on “You Have to be Present to Win”.  Her presentation referred to leadership skills that we as mail center managers provide to those who work with and for us. Leaders do more than lead, they serve. She reminds us that there are two types of employees – those who do the work and those who take the credit.

Dr. Griffin says, “Try to be in the first group; there is much less competition there.”  Ms. Barbara Buchanan of Millersville University in Millersville, Pa. gave a presentation on “Merging Print to Mail” and how effective this works at her university.  Many operations wish they could combine the two processes. If you are making plans to combine and need some pointers, give Barbara a call. She’ll be glad to help you out. The local United States Postal Service personnel presented sessions on ‘The Power of Merlin’, ‘Mailpiece Design’ and ‘Move Update – Are We in Compliance’, ‘Contract Stations-What’s New? ‘Veering away from mail, we had sessions on ‘Essentials of Leadership”, ‘Positive Management: Employee

Performance Evaluations, Interviewing, Hiring’. And it’s always good to see our vendor friends.

One of our sessions was a “study session” for those interested in taking the test to receive the Mailpiece Quality Control Specialist certification from the USPS. As a result of this session, 20 certificates and pins were issued. Those proudly wearing the MQCS pin are Tammi King, Berry College, Ed Smalls, College of Charleston, Veronica Smith, Belmont University, Horace Lytch, UNC-Charlotte, Jane Biggerstaff, Davidson College, Harvey Byerley, East Tennessee State University, Jean Good, University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Midge Zimmerman, Virginia

Wesleyan College, and from Harding University: Tobey Nickels, Randy Smith, Brandon Kellar, Betty Webb, Melissa Westerholm, Linda Landis, Wanda Guice, Kay Williams, Katie Taylor, Billie Gibbins, Virginia Bradley, and Cindy Fridell. Go Harding! Congratulations to each one of you.

Visiting Duke University Mail Services was an inspiration. Have you ever seen a machine as big as the one they have sorted their morning mail? Does it serve breakfast too? Wow! Thanks to Mike, Rocky, and Kathryn for making our visit to Duke’s campus a great part of our conference.

We had a good conference with lots of information and fun. We’re proud to announce that Jack Broach, Coordinator of Business & Financial / Auxiliary Services at the University of West Florida was the recipient of the Mail Manager of the Year award. Ronnie Farris, CPU Manager at Lipscomb University, received the Golden Stamp of Approval Award. (See the list of previous winners of the Mail Manager of the Year award and the Golden Stamp of Approval award at the end of CUMSA History.) Congratulations to both hard workers in the mail industry.

And thanks to Ronnie’s wife, Susan, for putting together “CUMSA COOKS” from recipes turned in from CUMSA members.

Then the really big thing happened! We won’t take all the credit, but I believe our presence in Chapel Hill…and some of us were seen on Franklin Street celebrating… had a lot to do with those Tar Heels bringing home that NCAA National Championship while we were there. Well, it’s possible.

Representatives to the conference from North Carolina were Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Cape Fear Community College, Davidson College, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Catawba College, Appalachian State University, Central Carolina Community College, Guilford College, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, North Carolina State University, Duke University, North Carolina A & T, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center; from South Carolina: Winthrop University, College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina University; from Tennessee: Middle Tennessee State University, Belmont University (first time in attendance), Lipscomb University, East Tennessee State University, University of Memphis, The University of the South; from Georgia: Valdosta State University, Berry College, Gwinnett Technical (first time in attendance); from Florida: University of West Florida, Northwood University, Barry University (first time in attendance), Florida Community College; from Virginia: George Mason University (first time); University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Virginia Wesleyan University; from Arkansas: Harding University and from Pennsylvania: Millersville University (first time).

Congratulations to Elva Scarborough, Associate Director, Service Enterprise, Campbell University. Elva, a charter member of CUMSA, was recently honored by the USPS and the Postal Customer Council for 32 years of continuous service. Among other points of her involvement within the mailing industry, the Greater Triangle Area PCC recognized her specifically as a member of the committee whose insights resulted in adjusting national policy. As a result of the council’s recommendation to Postal Service Headquarters, it is now a regulation in the Domestic Mail Manual to accept a “0.00” postage meter strip on metered mail to correct an incorrect date.

Another CUMSA member recognized – Jim Lauer, Director of Student Services at Warren Wilson College, received the 2005 Academic Year Staff Teaching Excellence Award. This award included a stipend and, in the past, has been awarded only to professors. Congratulations, Jim.  In March of 2006 we will gather in the Gulf of Florida on the shores of Pensacola Beach. University of West Florida mail personnel are already working on getting a program together that will be beneficial to all in mail, and they’ll offer warm sun, blue/green water, and white sandy beaches on the side. Start packing!

The staff of the University of West Florida really had the red carpet out for us when we arrived on the shores of Pensacola for our 19th get-together for “Networking the Mail.”   Along with presentations by representatives from USPS, Mr. Mark Fallon of The Berkshire Company and Mr. Quint Studer of The Studer Group shared valuable information with us. Mr. Orin Fosberg of Tulane University told his amazing story of handling Tulane’s mail after Hurricane Katrina. Our trip to the Naval Museum and Joe Patti’s Fish Market and entertainment by Dr. Breeze were extraordinary but the first annual Polar Bear Dip really took us off the charts.

Representing North Carolina – Wake Forest University Baptist Medical School, Duke University, Davidson College, Warren Wilson College, UNC- Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, Catawba College, North Carolina A & T University, Meredith College, Appalachian State University, Cape Fear Community College, UNC-Chapel Hill; from Arkansas – Harding University; from Pennsylvania – Harrisburg Community College; from Tennessee – Belmont University, Lipscomb University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of the South; from Minnesota – Gustavus Adolphus College; from Virginia – UVA at Wise, University of Richmond, George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College; from Illinois – University of Illinois; from Louisiana – Tulane University, Louisiana State University; from Georgia – Chattahoochee Technical College, University of West Georgia, Kennesaw State University, Valdosta State University, Berry College; from New York – University of Buffalo; from South Carolina – College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina University; from Florida – University of West Florida, Florida State University, Pensacola Junior College, Florida A & M University, Northwood University, Central Florida Community College; from Alabama – University of Alabama.

Next year we will celebrate our 20th Anniversary in Boone, North Carolina hosted by Appalachian State University. See you there.

Our 20th year celebration/conference was held April 22-25, 2007, in Boone, North Carolina. Greg Foster and his staff at Appalachian State along with our President Jack Broach and the members of the Planning Committee really had an outstanding program for us. Along with our vendors, speakers, and outstanding sessions, we were especially honored to have as our special guests Mr. Ralph Yates, the ‘inventor’ of this organization, Ms. Connie Lawson, Mr. Thom Clark and Mr. Tommy Brickhouse, all charter members and past officers of CUMSA. You all have invitations to be at our 25th celebration. Mark your calendar now.

Several attendees were able to get their Mailpiece Quality Control

Specials designations: Christine C. O’Toole and Sarah Williams from The Citadel; Jean Good from the University of Virginia at Wise; Adam Jones and Veronica Smith from Belmont University; Ed Smalls from North Carolina Central University; Teresa Lawler, Melissa Smith and Tammi King from Berry College; Barbara Miles from Walters State Community College; Laura Rice from University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Ronnie Farris from Lipscomb University.  We’re glad to be able to offer this “study session” to those who are new and to others who wish to renew every two years.

Representatives to the conference from North Carolina were Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Cape Fear Community College, Appalachian State University, Davidson College, Duke University, Brevard

College, North Carolina A & T University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, at Chapel Hill, at Wilmington, Guilford College, Wake Forest University, Meredith College, Catawba College and North Carolina Central.

From the bordering state of South Carolina, these schools were in attendance: The Citadel, College of Charleston, Trident Technical Community College, Coastal Carolina University, and Furman University. Bordering to the west of North Carolina, we had Lipscomb University, Pellissippi State Technical, Maryville College (first time), University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, Bryan College (first time), University of the South, Walters State Community College (first time), Belmont University, Austin Peay State (first timer) and East Tennessee State University all from Tennessee. Virginia Wesleyan College and University of Virginia at Wise represented Virginia; Harding University came from Arkansas; Auburn University (first time) from Alabama and Cedarville University came from Ohio. From Florida we had Northwood University, Pensacola Junior College, University of West Florida and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. From Georgia, schools represented were Berry College, Kennesaw State University, Georgia Tech, and Valdosta State University. Plans are already being made for the 21st annual conference in Georgia hosted by Berry College and Kennesaw State. Check the website (www.cumsa4u.org) periodically for dates.

The planning committee did an excellent job in selecting the place and the agenda for our 21st annual conference held on the beautiful grounds of WinShape Resort/Retreat in Rome, Georgia. It was definitely ‘a caring, safe place for growth and transformation’. We’ve never held a conference at such a beautiful, serene place – with no TV, no phones, and no internet.

Wow! Didn’t hear of one person leaving early because of the quietness! Oh, and was that the Fonz combing his hair getting ready for Elvis to appear?

Representatives at the conference from Tennessee were University of Tennessee (first time), Belmont University, Pellissippi State Community College, Walters State Community College (first time), Middle Tennessee

State University, Bryan College (first time), East Tennessee State University, University of Memphis, University of the South and Austin Peay State University. From Georgia, we had Kennesaw State University and Berry College (our hosts), Brenau College (first time), Shorter College (first time) Reinhardt College, University of West Georgia (new), Chattahoochee Technical College, Valdosta State University and Georgia State (new). From North Carolina we had UNC-Wilmington, Guilford College, Catawba College, UNC-School of the Arts, UNC-Charlotte, Appalachian State University, Davidson College, UNC-Chapel Hill, Brevard College, Duke University and Wake Forest University. University of Virginia (new), Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Wesleyan and University of Virginia at Wise came from Virginia. Gadsden State Community College came from Alabama, Harding University from Arkansas; University of West Florida from Florida; Brigham Young University from Utah; Rutgers University from New Jersey and College of Charleston from South Carolina. In 2009 we’re heading to Virginia Beach so plan now for next year’s get-together.

This was the year that the economic outlook looked gloomy, and budgets were beginning to be cut at several colleges and universities. Decisions had to be made about whether to continue with plans to have a conference or put it off for a year. The planning committee decided that too much time and effort had been put into having our annual conference hosted by Virginia Wesleyan to turn back. So, on March 22-25, 2009, we gathered at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hilton and had a great conference “Soaring to the Future” even with fewer attendees.  Neptune, the goddess of the sea, didn’t make a move when we gathered all around on the cold day to have our group picture taken.

We had a packed agenda with special guests from the United States Postal Service – Delores J. Killette, USPS Vice President and Consumer Advocate along with Pamela O. Stewart, National Account Manager. Ms. Killette is responsible for being the voice of the consumer to postal managers. MS. Stewart serves large national business mailers and keeps them informed of upcoming changes.

Also, on the agenda we had several of our members presenting. Lea Holt from UNC-Chapel Hill took care of our ‘ice breaking’ session.  Thom Roylance (Brigham Young University) showed us how to reduce the cost of handling, how to deal with the significant changes in campus printing, copying and mailing and gave us the latest NACUMS update.  Laura Rice (UNC-Charlotte) taught us how to measure our mail – what’s the old saying “you can’t measure what you can’t count” (I think that’s from Ed Talley at Northern Arizona University, the father of benchmarking). Mike Lloyd (UNC-Wilmington) brought the Move Update declaration to us from the USPS and what we all needed to do to be in compliance. And thanks to Jack Broach (University of West Florida) for mentoring the new members.

We had several new member institutions in attendance: University of Florida, Harrisburg Area Community College, Franklin College, Johnson C. Smith University, Old Dominion, and Drexel University.

Representatives at the conference from Virginia were: Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Wesleyan, University of Virginia at Wise, and Old Dominion. From Florida – University of West Florida, University of Florida; from South Carolina – College of Charleston; from Tennessee – Belmont University and Lipscomb University; from Ohio – Franklin University; from Pennsylvania – Harrisburg Area Community College and

Drexel University; from Georgia – Kennesaw State University; and from North Carolina: UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, Davidson College, Appalachian State University, Wake Forest University, Duke University and Johnson C. Smith University.

In July 2009, NACUMS held its annual conference in Charleston, South Carolina. Several members of CUMSA were able to attend but one of the highlights was the recognition of two CUMSA members at the awards banquet. Kenny Greene (College of Charleston) won the NACUMS Excellence in Management Award and Tina Cole (Wake Forest Baptist Medical) won the NACUMS Outstanding Team Member Award.

2010 is around the corner and we’ll be going to the beach … but hopefully a much warmer beach…UNC-Wilmington wants us there.

The economy seemed to get worse for college and university budgets. Even private institutions were hard hit. Travel budgets and continuing education budgets were cut to the bone. To go or not to go. A decision had to be made before we were locked into contracts that would be too expensive to get out of. Thinking caps were plugged in. Young minds on the Board came up with a virtual conference. Well, whoever heard of such a thing? Well, it came to pass. A ‘save the date’ card was mailed announcing there would be a CUMSA Virtual Conference in 2010, hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill. Topics at this conference included Benchmarking, Outsourcing, Mail Etc., and an Open Forum. Forty-four colleges/universities signed up. We were even able to do the open forum with several members of the Board in the studio at Chapel Hill and registrants could call in to chat about different postal/mail concerns. It was an interesting experience…different.

We had several new participants – Regent University, Missouri State University, Idaho State University, Western Washington University, Susquehanna University, Delaware Technical & Community College, University of Albany, Harvard University, Westmont College. Representatives from Georgia were Georgia State University,

Chattahoochee Technical College, Ringling College of Art and Design, Kennesaw State University; from North Carolina – UNC-Charlotte, UNC- Chapel Hill, Catawba College, Guilford College, NC State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Appalachian State University, Elon University, Wake Forest Baptist Medical, Davidson College, and UNC- Wilmington. From South Carolina – College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina, The Citadel, Coastal Carolina University; from Arkansas – Harding University; from Virginia – Virginia Wesleyan College, Old Dominion and UVA’s College at Wise; from New Jersey – Brookdale Community College; from Tennessee – Lipscomb University and Belmont University; from Indiana – Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; from Texas – Lamar University; from Illinois – Southern Illinois University; and from Florida – University of West Florida and Northwood University. 

In 2011, we will try to head to the beach at Wilmington. They still want us there!

The CUMSA planning committee met in the charming port city of Wilmington to make plans for a great conference in 2011. Hoping that the budget restraints were lifting, we wanted 2011 to be a ‘comeback’ year. The goal was to present opportunities through idea-sharing, insight, and proven practices for creating and sharing a new era of mail service. So many informative sessions were scheduled – from Results Driven Marketing in a Down Economy, Intelligent Mail & Design standards,

Securing Your Mail Center, Disaster Planning, Customer Service, Managing Mail & Print to Establishing a Passport Operation on Your Campus. Our sessions were held on the beautiful campus of UNC Wilmington and a trolley came to the hotel for us every morning and brought us back every afternoon.

One new participant was Virginia Western Community College from Roanoke, Virginia along with another ‘oldie’, University of Virginia at Wise; another new participant was from Alpharetta, Georgia – Kaplan University. Also, Chattahoochee Technical College and Brenau University, Kennesaw State came from Georgia, Ringling College of Art & Design and College of Central Florida attended from Florida; from North Carolina came Wake

Forest University, UNC- School of the Arts, Duke University, North Carolina State University, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, Catawba College and Davidson College. The Citadel, College of Charleston, and Medical University of South Carolina represented South Carolina. From Tennessee, we had Middle Tennessee State University, East Tennessee State University, Belmont University, Walters State Community College and Lipscomb University.

In 2012, we will be near the coast again as the College of Charleston, The Citadel and the Medical University of South Carolina will co-host.

“Moving forward in a digital era” was the theme in Charleston. Great topics were on the agenda. It is always nice to have session presenters as guests of CUMSA, but we have some awesome talent among our membership who always agree to do some of these sessions. This year John Golding, Mike Lloyd, Lea Holt, Kevin South and Richard Boudrero, Sarah Williams and Kenny Greene lead sessions. Arriving on Sunday is a good way to reconnect with colleagues as much of the day on Monday is spent in the Vendor Exhibition Hall where we see the latest and greatest equipment pertaining to mail. Tuesday was a tour day. After having breakfast at The Citadel, we toured this military school then went on to tour the College of Charleston, lunched there before going over to the Medical University of South Carolina.  Much networking was done on ‘wheels’ this day as we traveled to these sites. It is always interesting to see how different we all do the same job – mail! Then there was the open market – such a fascinating place!

We were privileged to have several new college/universities represented this year– Franklin University from Ohio, Harvard University from Massachusetts, Rollins College from Florida, Guilford Tech Community College from North Carolina; Ogeechee Tech from Georgia, Midlands Tech and Piedmont Technical College from South Carolina and Tennessee Tech from Tennessee. Attending from Indiana was Rose-Hulman; from Florida – Ringling College; from Utah we had Utah State University; University of Virginia at Wise, Old Dominion University, and Northern Virginia Community College came from Virginia; Kennesaw State and Chattahoochee Community College represented Georgia. Belmont University, Middle Tennessee State University, Lipscomb University, Pellissippi State Community College and Vanderbilt University attended from Tennessee. From South Carolina, The Citadel, Medical College of South Carolina and our host, College of Charleston were present and these represented North Carolina: Wake Forest University, Duke University, Johnson C. Smith University, UNC-Wilmington, Warren Wilson, Guilford College, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Davidson College, NC-Chapel Hill, and UNC-Charlotte.

Saddle up for next year as we will head to Ocala, Florida – the horse capital of the world!!

“Keeping our Services in House” was the theme in Ocala, CUMSA being hosted by the College of Central Florida. The weather was as great as the agenda which was prepared by the planning committee. We enjoyed sessions on improving employee morale, with another session providing tips on managing our departments to keep them strong, and another session with facts about generating revenue in our operations. At our conferences, there is always personnel from the United States Postal Service to provide us with new rules and regulations coming out of Washington with thoughts on helping us save on our mailing costs.  And the vendors always are glad to show us the newest and greatest equipment that is available to make our operations run smoothly. But, if you’re horse crazy – mount up and gallop on over to Ocala’s horse country. Amid its rolling hills of limestone-rich grass is the world’s concentration of horses.  We can verify that it is a great place to be.

Representatives at the conference from Tennessee were Belmont University, Lipscomb University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Tech, East Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University, Pellissippi State Community College, Walters State Community College; from Georgia were Kennesaw State University, University of West Georgia, Georgia Southern University, Valdosta State University, Georgia Tech, Albany State University; from Florida: College of Central Florida, Ringling College of the Arts, Rollins College and Saint Leo University. Attending from North Carolina were Warren Wilson College, Duke University, Wake Forest University, Johnson C. Smith University, Davidson College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at Charlotte, at Wilmington and UNC School of the Arts. From South Carolina, the College of Charleston, the Medical College of South Carolina and The Citadel were present. Old Dominion University represented Virginia and Gadsden State Community College came from Alabama.

Next year, the conference will be held in race country – Charlotte, North Carolina hosted by UNC-Charlotte, Davidson College, and Johnson C. Smith. Rev up your engines and plan to learn how to put your mail in the fast lane.

The 27th annual CUMSA conference – “Put Your Mail in the Fast Lane” was held March 23-27, 2014, in Charlotte, North Carolina hosted by Charlotte, Davidson College, and Johnson C. Smith University.  As always, the program was well planned, the vendors were top notched, the presenters had lots of information for us, and the attendees were the best! Our vendors are very important to us. When changes in the postal rules, regulations, and postage increases hit us from Washington, DC, we rely on our vendors to help us keep our employers mailing costs lower and sometimes lower than low by showing their products. Our vendors help us also to keep our conference costs to a minimum.

 We must acknowledge something we have not had at a conference before and that is “Yoga On The Bus.” On the trip from UNC-Charlotte up to Davidson College to tour their Mail Center and have lunch, a lot of activity was happening on the bus. Or was it? Isn’t Yoga quiet? Then we had a surprise visit from a group of Davidson students (all girls) known as “The Delilahs” who serenaded us at our lunch hour. You see, our conference is not ALL about mail!

Representatives at the conference from Florida were Lake Sumter State (first time), Rollins College, Saint Leo

University and College of Central Florida. From Georgia, Georgia State, Kennesaw State University, Albany State, Ogeechee Technical (first time), Valdosta and Brenau were represented. From Virginia, Old Dominion

University came. From Alabama, the University of Alabama represented. From Kentucky, Western Kentucky University; from South Carolina, the College of Charleston, The Citadel and Medical University of South Carolina were represented. Attending from North Carolina were Western Carolina University, Catawba College, Warren Wilson College, Johnson C. Smith University, Wake Forest University, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington and

UNC-Chapel Hill, and Davidson College. Hailing from Tennessee were Tennessee Tech, Middle Tennessee State University, Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Lipscomb University, Belmont University and East Tennessee State University.

Next year, pack your boots and guitar! We’re heading to Nashville, Tennessee where we’ll visit Music Row, dance and oh yea, hear new things about mail. Hosting us will be Belmont University, Lipscomb University and Middle Tennessee State University.

 The 28th Annual Conference was held on March 15-18, 2015, in Nashville,

Tennessee and hosted by Belmont University, Lipscomb University and

Middle Tennessee State University.  Excellent classes on Lean

Management, Postal Metrics and Benchmarking were offered. Also, helpful sessions for mail operations, including Enhancing Mail Center Revenue, the top ten ways to save money and lower costs in your Mail Center Operations were popular classes too.

 Always, too, are our partners who show their equipment on Vendor Day.

Attendees representing North Carolina were UNC-Charlotte, Davidson College, UNC-Wilmington, Johnson C. Smith University, Wake Forest University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Warren Wilson College and UNC-School of the Arts. From Tennessee, these schools were in attendance: Belmont University, Middle Tennessee State, Lipscomb University, Walters State Community College, University of Memphis, University of the South,

Pellissippi State Technical Community College and East Tennessee State University. From the state of Georgia, Valdosta State University, Georgia State University, Ogeechee Tech, Kennesaw State, Brenau University.

From Ohio, Franklin University; from Utah, Utah State University; from Arkansas, Harding University; from Virginia, Old Dominion University; from Florida, Rollins College, Saint Leo University, University of West Florida, Lake Sumter State College, and from South Carolina, College of Charleston, The Citadel and the Medical University of South Carolina.

 2016 at Rollins College. The conference was held a little later in the month of March than we usually meet. Great weather- warm but not hot. Our accommodation was at the Rosen Plaza in Orlando. Mr. Harris Rosen, a visionary entrepreneur to philanthropist, welcomed us on the first morning of the conference. If you’ve never heard of him, google him. His success story— “Building a Dream, My Journey from Hell’s Kitchen to the Hotel Business” is quite a story. It was awesome to have him welcome us. Extra time off was given to those who wanted to go across the street to Disney Land.

These schools were represented at the conference: Georgia Tech, Belmont University, Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Bowling Green State University, University of West Florida, The Citadel, Middle

Tennessee State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, East Tennessee State, Asusa Pacific University, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb University, Ogeechee Technical College, Rollins College, UNC-Wilmington,

Georgia State University, Austin Pea State University, Saint Leo University, Brenau University, Old Dominion University, UNC-Charlotte, Meredith College, Harding University, Lake Sumter State College, Johnson C. Smith

University, Davidson College, Ringling College of Art & Design, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Central Florida, College of Charleston, Wake Forest University, Valdosta State, UNC-School of the Arts and North Carolina A & T University.

 2017–Next year – wear blue as we will be in Carolina Blue Country hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill….not Duke blue, Carolina blue!!!

Our Association met for the 29th time in Chapel Hill on March 12-17, 2017. “Heeding Your Postal Challenges” was the theme. The partners had their very best equipment and information for us and we were given time to get as much information as we wanted or needed for their products. The United States Postal Service Headquarters from Washington, DC sent three to speak to us about many programs they are involved with and changes that might be coming to us. Mr. Kevin Bray, Mail & Package Visibility spoke on the USPS Delivery Partner Program; Ms. Kai Fisher, Address Management Analyst, had lots of information about addressing technology and business strategy and student mail forwarding. Also Mr. Antonio Cuevas, Manager of Retail Partners and Services spoke about retail and customer service operations. While our colleges and universities are handling more packages than first class letters, an Amazon representative was on board to talk about the package situation. It is in the interest of the higher education industry leaders to open the lines of communication between campus mail operations, Amazon and the United States Postal Service, with hopes of effecting resolution to the issues with the receipt, handling and delivery of these packages. Attending from Georgia were these schools: West Georgia University, Georgia Tech, Albany State University, Kennesaw State, Ogeechee Technical, Armstrong State University, University of North Georgia and Valdosta State. From

South Carolina, College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina. From North Carolina, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, UNC- Wilmington, Warren Wilson College, NC A & T, Wake Forest University,

Winston Salem State University, UNC-School of the Arts, Meredith College. Elon University, Duke University, Davidson College, Appalachian State, Shaw University. From Utah – Utah State University; from Tennessee; Lipscomb University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Memphis, Pellissippi State Technical Community College. From Indiana – Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; from Florida, Lake Sumter State College, University of Central Florida and from Virginia: Old Dominion.

 Next year for our 30th, Warren Wilson College located in Swannanoa, North Carolina will host. Hope to see you in the cool higher elevation.

On March 13-16, 2018, the 30th Anniversary Annual CUMSA Conference opened and Warren Wilson College was the host. The objectives of CUMSA are still to promote, develop, and unite educational postal employees. The meeting agenda was very well planned with special time to visit with our business partners and get answers to “mail” questions from our educational sessions. In the shadow of the Biltmore House, these states attended this special conference: from Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State University, Pellissippi State, Lipscomb University,

Ogeeechee Technical College, Austin Pea State University and East Tennessee State University. From Georgia came representatives from Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, University of West Georgia, Brenau University and University of North Georgia. From Ohio – Clark State Community College. Virginia Tech and Old Dominion attended from

Virginia; from Florida – Ringling College of Art & Design and University of Tampa; Gustavus Adolphus College from Minnesota; from Texas – Dallas Theological Seminary; North Carolina – UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte,

Wake Forest University, Davidson College, Meredith College, Appalachian State University and Western Carolina University. These sent attendees from South Carolina: Medical University of South Carolina, College of Charleston and University of South Carolina.

There have been conversations that next year the CUMSA organization will be asked to co-partner with the National Association of College and University Mail Services (NACUMS) when they have their annual conference in July. Stay tuned for the decision on that.

2019 was a busy year for CUMSA! We were honored to co-host the

NACUMS conference in July, held at Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. With an attendance of over 100 people, this was one of the better attended NACUMS conferences in several years.

Along with outstanding session presentations from member schools and roundtable discussions, there were sessions by the USPS and other partners in the mailing industry and our featured Keynote Speaker this year was author Eric Papp who wrote “Leadership by Choice.” Additionally, as part of our time together, we were able to secure the services of the Disney Institute for an approximate half-day seminar for learning how Disney operates and serves its guests.

This portion included a teambuilding field experience at Disney’s Epcot Center. We celebrated with the CUMSA family at our annual dinner held at the hotel.

The awards ceremony was the highlight of the evening. The Connie Lawson Mail Manager of the Year Award was given to Vanessa Pearsall from Ogeechee Technical Community College. Vanessa transitioned into a new facility for her school and has refined mailing processes and is helping the school re-imagine how mail can be a useful tool for the future. Vanessa is known for her dependability, honesty and trustworthiness and for her hardworking friendly attitude, especially to those who know her.   Walker Cheatham was honored as the Outstanding Team Member Award winner for this year. Particularly associated with Walker is his ability to give directions to student mail services staff members at Lipscomb University and his daily dedication to make all who work at Lipscomb know that postal services is a vital part of their lives.

 Additionally, Walker was instrumental in transitioning the university post office from the use of physical mailboxes to a high-density delivery system and was helpful in reporting the workspace for better flow and efficiency.

CUMSA is blessed to have outstanding servants whom we can recognize, and we are blessed to have caring team members in all our colleges and universities.

The 2020 CUMSA conference is scheduled to be in Charleston, South Carolina in the spring. More information will be coming soon! Stay tuned!

CUMSA Conference scheduled to be held in Charleston, SC in 2020 had to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

CUMSA Conference for 2021 was a Virtual Conference based from North Charleston Marriott with Board members in attendance. There was free registration for attendees and all new member attendees received free membership until June 30, 2021.

CUMSA Conference for 2023 was held in Johnson City, Tennessee hosted by East Tennessee State University led by CUMSA President Don McCarty. Highlights were MSMA testing after a study session and AOSP test for certification.  Participants (four) were able to do the online sessions. The visit to the Railroad Museum was enlightening and was a reminder that trains are not seen in many towns anymore. We visited Don’s Passport and Printing Services and Mail Center.

During the awards ceremony UNC=Charlotte won the Horace Lytch Mail Center of the Year Award; the Connie Lawson Mail Manager of the Year was won by Sylvia West from the University of Florida; the Presidential Award was presented to Haley McDaniel from the University of North

Georgia and the Ralph Yates Stamp of Approval Award went to Haley McDaniel, University of North Georgia; Outstanding Team Member Award presented to Valerie green, University of North Georgia  Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Jan Wilson.

 Election results: President, Ronnie Farris; President Elect, Haley McDaniel; Treasurer, Kenneth Greene; Secretary, Tracey Copeland; Members at Large: Marshall Gray, Vanessa Pearsall, Edward Smalls and Chuck Brantley.

2024 is taking us back to Florida where Ringling College of Art & Design will be the host. Hearing “Ringling” automatically make some of us oldies think immediately about a “circus’ but that’s not what this Ringling is about. Come join us to explore the business of art and design or computer animation or creative writing.

The Mailpiece Design Certification (study and testing) was available at this conference. The Keynote Speaker was Steven Mills from the United Stated Postal Service. The evening dinner cruise on Marina Jack II boat was very relaxing after visiting with the business partners and hearing new ways to ship and also save on postage costs. The campus tour was great and the Madeby Gallery was a place to enjoy the talents students have and show in their art and design projects. At the awards ceremony, Vanessa Pearsall was presented the Presidential Award and Jan Wilson received the Outstanding Contribution to Conference 2024.

Next year – 2025 – takes us back to Charleston, South Carolina. What a great place to go when there is so much snow in Pennsylvania, New York and Colorado. Even in March, it’s pleasant in Charleston.

The 37th Annual CUMSA Conference was held in Charleston, South Carolina hosted by the College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina.  In March of the year, one never knows what the weather will hold from the mountains to the sea but this March (2-5, 2025), the weather was perfect at the sea.  There were thirty-four attendees and eleven new attendees.  One of the specialties of each conference is the Business Partners, whom many of us know personally because we use their equipment.  It is always good to have them come and show what is new in the mailing industry to help us work more efficiently in our workplace.  The United States Postal Service representatives are with us too informing us of any changes or price increases coming this year.  Ten attendees took the test for The Office Services Professional Certification II and certifications were given.  Two special events were our keynote speaker, Mr. Mark Fallon from the Berkshire Company, and the evening dinner cruise from Charleston Harbor.  The weather was noted ‘cool’ that night.  We were invited to tour the College of Charleston’s mail services, bookstore and have lunch there. It’s always a learning experience to see how others operate their mail services and all the other things that are happening in a ‘mail room’.  Next year we travel to blue water again to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  

Participants from Tennessee were Lipscomb University, Freed-Hardeman University, East Tennessee State University, and Austin Peay State University; from Georgia came Ogeechee Tech College, University of North Georgia, Georgia State University, and Georgia Gwinnett College; attending from Florida was Ringling College of Art & Design and the University of Florida; from Mississippi was folks from the University of Mississippi; from North Carolina there was the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Greensboro, Wilmington, Duke University, Elon University, North Carolina Central; from Virginia came Old Dominion University. from Alabama we had Auburn University with us and from South Carolina these schools were represented: The Citadel, Tri-County Technical, the Medical University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston.  Hope you all plan to be with us next year celebrating our 38th year in port city Wilmington.

Info coming soon