April 30 Deadline for Artistic Envelope Competition

WASHINGTON, April 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- April 30 is the deadline for
amateur and professional artists to submit uniquely designed envelopes in a
competition for the 14th Annual "Graceful Envelope Contest," cosponsored by
the Washington (DC) Calligraphers Guild and the National Association of Letter
Carriers union (NALC).

The contest is open to all ages, with separate categories for adults and
children. There is no entry fee. Winning envelopes will be displayed in the
lobby of the NALC Headquarters in Washington, DC.

This year's theme is "C's the Day!" C is for calligraphy, correspondence,
letter carriers and everything C-worthy. Contestants should mail in
hand-lettered envelopes designed around anything beginning with the letter
"C". Inventive relationships between the postage stamp used and the envelope
design are also encouraged. Entries must be postmarked no later than
Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

In addition to promoting the art of calligraphy, the contest celebrates the
role of letters in binding people together and is a reminder that the people
who deliver the mail are government employees who take pride in their work and
care about the communities they serve.

The contest was created in 1995 by the Smithsonian Institution's National
Postal Museum, which delegated responsibility to the Washington Calligraphers
Guild in 2001. The NALC subsequently joined as a partner to sponsor the
contest and exhibit the winners.

All envelopes must be addressed using hand-executed artistic lettering to: The
Graceful Envelope Contest, Washington Calligraphers Guild, PO Box 3688,
Merrifield, VA 22116. Rules and other information are available at the Guild's
website: www.calligraphersguild.org.

The 302,000-member NALC union represents city delivery letter carriers in all
50 states and U.S. jurisdictions employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along
with retired letter carriers.

SOURCE National Association of Letter Carriers

Lorraine Swerdloff of the Washington Calligraphers Guild, +1-202-368-2495,
swerdloff@gmail.com