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Loveland's seniors to start stamping America's valentines Feb. 2 at Love Stamp ceremony
A ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on 2/2 will kick off the 2004 valentine re-mailing campaign for Loveland, Colorado, the nation's largest program of its kind
(PRWEB) February 1, 2004 --The Loveland Community and Post Office will officially begin stamping valentines from across America and around the world on Monday, Feb. 2. (See next page for Loveland Valentine mailing information, deadlines and dates.)
The Postal Service will kick off this year's program with a 10:30 a.m., Feb. 2, LOVE STAMP ceremony at the Loveland Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Loveland Valentine, Sara Craig, will join postal workers in stamping the very first Valentine letter and postmark. Attending will be City of Loveland and Chamber of Commerce officials, representatives from Sen. Wayne Allard and Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave's offices, Loveland Valentine volunteers and postal workers, and everyone's favorite, "Elmo."
The ceremony will feature an unveiling of the new Love Stamp. Special guests will be the 50-60 senior citizen volunteers who every year stamp Loveland's special greetings on hundreds of thousands of valentines and love letters from around the world.
Now in its 58th year, Loveland has the biggest valentine postmark re-mailing program of any post office and community in the U.S. Loveland former Mayor Ted Thompson, wife Mabel and former Loveland Postmaster Elmer Ivers (now all deceased) started the program in 1947.
Over 231,000 valentine cards and letters were handled last year, from over 100 countries and all 50 states. It's estimated that over 10 million valentines have been re-mailed by Loveland since the program began 58 years ago.
Starting Feb. 2, the enthusiastic senior citizen volunteers meet at 8 a.m. at the Loveland Chamber of Commerce They hand-apply a Cupid pictorial design, including a love verse, on each card or envelope. The envelopes are then stamped with the world-famous "Loveland" postmark by the Loveland Post Office.
Directions: The Loveland Chamber of Commerce is right next to the Loveland Factory Outlet Mall. From I-25, go north and take the Highway 34 Exit and go west for less than a mile. On Highway 34 turn north or right on Rocky Mountain Avenue there at the Mall. Take a right at MacDonalds at the first round-about turn which then becomes Fox Trail. On Fox Trail take the first right to Stone Creek Circle. The Chamber is at 5400 Stone Creek Cr. Park nearby in The Group Real Estate parking lot next to the Chamber.
LOVELAND VALENTINE MAILING INSTRUCTIONS AND DATES
Mailing instructions: To have valentines re-mailed with Loveland postmark, enclose your pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelopes (envelopes should each have 37-cent postage; postcards should have 23 cents postage) and mail in a large stamped envelope to:
Postmaster
Valentine Re-mailing
Loveland, CO 80538
Deadlines for re-mailing/delivery by Valentine's Day, Feb. 14:
Valentine cards/envelopes destined for re-mailing outside of the U.S./internationally should be in Loveland by Tuesday, Feb. 3.
Valentine cards/envelopes destined for re-mailing within U.S. and outside of Colorado should be in Loveland by Monday, Feb. 9.
Valentine cards/envelopes destined for re-mailing within state of Colorado should be in Loveland by Thursday, Feb. 12.
Customers can use a larger envelope and mail your envelopes using Express Mail Service (1-2 day delivery); or Priority Mail Service (2-3 day delivery) to expedite delivery of your valentines to Loveland to meet the deadlines above.
About Loveland's Sweetheart City Celebration
After nearly six decades of the Valentine's re-mailing program helping to make Loveland known around the world as "The Sweetheart City," the Chamber will introduce the Sweetheart City Celebration, a multi-event festival running February 2-14. Contact Gaye Stockman at the Chamber, 667-6311, or visit www.loveland.org, for details or information on how to get involved.
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