Here's why you won't have mail delivered on Thursday, Jan. 9

I am especially motivated to take time to draw attention to Vince. In two instances, we potentially faced loss of product – significant loss, but thanks to everyone’s efforts, most notably Vince’s, we ended up with minor re-work and zero loss of stock. He’s patient and thorough, knowledgeable and resourceful. And he’s patient – A Big Plus when dealing with me. Long story short, the guy was able to not only produce a solution, but to prove to me the veracity of it. I hung up the phone saving thousands of dollars in catalog stock, not lost but salvaged, and my department had to spend just a wee bit of time on job re-work (which I was happy to do, all things considered). But I also hung up with a peculiar urge to write about Vince, incongruent as that may be since I rarely am moved to write letters of this sort. So… In a time of crisis, Vince was a terrific asset and ally. If I were his boss, I’d attempt a merit raise authorization, he was that exceptional.