VERONA-CEDAR GROVE
Cedar Grove postal worker delivers 'heroic' moment
Joshua Jongsma
Staff Writer, @jongsmjo
Jerell Stanford walks the streets of Cedar Grove all the time, but one day his route took a different turn.
Stanford, 32, came to the aid of an elderly woman who fell on Cedar Ridge Drive. For his action,Stanford was commended by the U.S. Postal Service during a ceremony held
Thursday morning, April 13 in Cedar Grove.
A Carteret resident, Stanford has worked for the U.S. Postal Service since 2007, and in Cedar Grove for five years. The day of Dec. 27, 2016 become one of his most memorable of the last 10 years of his career, though.
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"I was delivering on my route and I observed an elderly lady walking, and when I looked back again she wasn't there," Stanford said of the fateful day. "So I was concerned. I looked harder and I saw her laying on the ground. I went over there and helped her off the ground. She was bleeding from the head, and I asked her does she need medical attention or police, and she refused, but a passerby came and picked her up and took her to the house. I was concerned, so I went up to the senior building and alerted management and they provided her with medical assistance."
For his efforts, Stanford received the Postmaster General Hero Award during Thursday's ceremony. The letter carrier said he was honored and proud to be recognized.
Northern New Jersey District Manager Steven Hernandez read a letter from Postmaster General Megan Brennan congratulating Stanford.
"I want to commend your selfless display of civic duty," Brennan stated in the letter. "You deserve the highest level of admiration for coming to the aid of a customer who needed medical assistance. I am proud of the way you handled this situation. Thank you for being the eyes and ears of your community."
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Post Office Operations Manager Tim Mulligan; Cedar Grove Postmaster John Dial; Mike Rosky, supervisor of customer service in Cedar Grove, and Clint Coley, area representative, were among the U. S. Postal Service officials to commend Stanford on Thursday.
All the praise did not distract Stanford as he continued his work sorting mail prior to his ceremony while officials set up. Once they finished, he returned right back to work.
Cedar Grove Police Chief Joseph Cirasa said Stanford did a great job helping the senior citizen.
"The postal carriers are like having another 20 uniforms out there," Cirasa said. "They know what belongs and what doesn't. They know their routes, they know their customers, so we rely on them to report anything suspicious or unusual."