AUSPL welcomes

Larry Magdovitz

as its new President!

Dear AUSPL Members,

As the new President of the Association of United States Postal Lessors, I want to introduce myself and give you an update on where I hope to take the AUSPL in the upcoming year.

I have been a member of the AUSPL Board of Directors since August 2018 and served as the Vice-President for the last three (3) years. I frequently speak at our AUSPL events about the claims process against the USPS. My family has been leasing post offices to the USPS since 1980 and our company continues to lease several hundred locations to them.

As a postal lessor, the recent news involving the USPS and its future is reason to take notice. The news is rife with ominous soundbites concerning privatization and economic downfall of the Postal Service. The AUSPL leadership is constantly reaching out to Washington, DC, both in the federal government and the USPS leadership, to ensure that we provide our members with up-to-date information about where the USPS is heading and sorting rumor from fact.

In late April, several of the AUSPL Board traveled to Nashville, TN to attend the National Postal Forum which is a USPS-sponsored educational venue, trade show and networking event for the mailing and shipping industry. We listened to the Acting Postmaster General Doug Tulino and other senior USPS leaders discuss their plans for making the USPS more efficient and financially sound in the years to come. The bottom-line is that the USPS is making drastic changes in how the mail is handled, sorted and delivered, specifically the USPS transportation process. They are trying to make fewer, more efficient trips in their revamped sorting and delivery network. The USPS does not anticipate major changes to the retail side (read the use of post offices) whether those facilities are leased or owned. As a postal lessor, I took comfort in the USPS presentations and in our discussions with senior USPS leaders.

However, I remain committed to continuing our open channel of dialogue with USPS leadership and our Congressional leaders to ensure that the AUSPL does its part to advocate for and defend the USPS. While we all have a business interest in the continued health of the Postal Service, I know our members also recognize that the USPS is a vital part of our shared American experience.

The AUSPL is currently analyzing the location and timing of our conferences to determine if more regional conferences would reach more members than a single annual conference. Please let us know your thoughts by emailing us at auspl@auspl.com or calling (800) 572-9483.

I appreciate the confidence the Board of Directors has shown in electing me President and I look forward to serving you over the next year.

Sincerely,

 Outgoing President Keith LaShier

Dear AUSPL Members:

This will be my final message to you as President of the AUSPL.  Reflecting on my three years as President of the AUSPL, it has been my honor to serve our membership and I appreciate your support, your attendance and your participation in our Regional and National Conferences.  I will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors and look forward to seeing many of you at our next event.

In 2024 and 2025, our focus continues to be on the larger issues facing the USPS and potential impacts on postal landlords.  However, we will continue to be diligent in the management of our insurance program, increase our interactions with the USPS on issues impacting our members, and answer the day-to-day calls and inquiries we receive from our members seeking assistance on issues affecting their USPS-leased property.

AUSPL Regional and National Conference Recap

We held a Regional Conference in Las Vegas, NV on November 13, 2024. Over 100 members attended this event.

Our AUSPL National Conference this year was held in Washington, DC on March 27-28, 2025. We also held a Hill Day event on March 26^th. Because this year’s event was held in Washington, DC we were able to have USPS and Congressional leaders attend and speak to our members.  Sen. Jacky Rosen, US Senator from Nevada, and Congressman Pete Session from Texas both spoke to our conference attendees about the importance of the Postal Service to our country and in particular, the rural areas that rely on the Post Office as the sole government building for miles.  They both fielded questions from our members in attendance.

Peter Pastre, USPS Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy shared details on the Delivering for America (DFA) plan.  John Althen and Jean-Phillippe Ducasse of the Office of Inspector General provided information on how the Postal Service is governed and how it is different than privately funded and managed corporations.

Our Hill Day event had over 40 AUSPL members attend and was so popular that we had a waiting list for participants! and those individuals met with their congressional representatives and their staff to discuss the importance of universal postal services and the benefits of the USPS having a large, leased facility inventory.

Attendees at the national conference remarked that the venue location was awesome as they could walk to many national sites and this year could witness the blooming of the  annual Cherry Tree blossoms.  They remarked that the presentations by the congressional representatives were encouraging as they provided strong support for the continuation of the Postal Service meeting the daily needs of our citizens.   The USPS speakers were given high marks for the information shared with everyone and also their openness to questions from the attendees. The variety and location of the sponsors and exhibitors provided an area for networking and gathering more information on services available to postal lessors.

USPS Issues, Legislative Initiatives and Presidential Administration Talking Points

The USPS has been in national news stories for much of 2024 and 2025.  Most of the media’s attention was on mail service delays and financial losses. The USPS for the past few years has embarked on a ten-year plan to transform the USPS process for mail processing and delivery services. The Postmaster General had initiated a Delivering for America (DFA) plan that would have the postal service transport more mail via highway transportation versus airline contracts, and they would construct different types of mail processing and distribution facilities.  The $40 Billion ten-year plan had not gone as planned for the USPS  as they experienced cost overruns and mail service disruptions in many locations.

Congress initiated several hearings with the USPS Postmaster General in 2024 as they were concerned with the mail delays and cost overruns.  They requested the USPS slow down the activation of new Regional Processing Distribution Facilities.   The USPS agreed to some delays, but they continued to open new Sorting and Delivery Centers (S&DC) and relocated delivery routes from Post Offices to the larger and partially automated S&DC’s.

During January – April of 2025 there were numerous USPS highlighted news stories.

• Postal Regulatory Commission issued an Advisory Opinion on January 31 expressing concern with the DFA initiative and a plan to delay mail service to rural communities.
• USPS issued a rebuttal to the PRC Advisory Opinion the first week of February.
• PMG Louis DeJoy announced on February 18 his intentions to step down as Postmaster General.
• Numerous media stories on February 20 reported that the Presidential Administration was considering privatization of some aspects of the USPS.
• PMG letter on March 13 to key members of Congress highlighted the successes of the DFA plan.
• PMG announced a partnership with GSA and DOGE on March 17 to assess numerous issues affecting the USPS, including the renewal of retail Post Office leases.
• PMG announced on March 27 he will resign his position this date.

The AUSPL Board, staff and key committee members have been in continual communication with key congressional leaders and the Postal Regulatory Commission. We sent several of our representatives to Washington DC in early March to meet with numerous members of Congress who have supported our program.  After the national AUSPL Conference, Congressman Pete Session, part of the DOGE House Caucus, requested a face-to-face meeting with some of our leadership to resume discussions on numerous USPS issues.

AUSPL Board Actions

The Board of Directors met in late April 2025 and selected new officers for the 2025-2026 term.

President – Lawrence “Larry” Magdovitz, II

Vice President – Steve Roberts

Secretary – Joyce McCutcheon

Treasurer – Mark Karolczyk

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your President these last three years and I look forward to continuing my service to the AUSPL membership in the years ahead.

Sincerely,

Keith LaShier

AUSPL President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUSPL Conference 2025

The 2025 AUSPL Conference in Washington, D.C. was a success.  Reviews are in and the Conference attendees gave outstanding comments.  Thank you to all attendees for their participation!

Speakers included Sen. Jacky Rosen from Nevada, Representative Pete Sessions of Texas.  Additionally, Pete Pastre from the USPS as well as John Althen and Jea-Phillippe Ducasse from the USPS OIG were there to share their perspectives.

In addition, this year a Hill Day event was added to the Conference.  Participants visited the offices of 42 legislators to inform them about leased postal facilities.