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FedEx Archives: 1998 Press Releases

( BW)(RPS)(FDX) RPS Teams With Area School to Preserve Wildlife Habitat; Environmental Efforts Recognized by American Trucking Associations

    Business Editors, Environmental Writers
    NOTE TO MEDIA: Photos are available in a Smart News Release(TM)
    on Business Wire's Home Page at www.businesswire.com

    WILLINGTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 1998--If you were asked to name some of the leading initiatives undertaken by trucking companies, "preserving wildlife" probably wouldn't be at the top of your list. However, that's exactly what RPS, Inc., the second-largest ground small-package carrier in North America, has done in conjunction with students from an area high school at the company's consolidation and distribution facility in Willington.
    When RPS purchased the land to construct its hub on Ruby Road in the early 1990s, the company made a pledge to the community to preserve 59 acres of the site. That pact included protecting the wild turkeys, deer, bluebirds, wood ducks and other wildlife and plantlife from development by retaining the tract in its natural state. With the help of an environmental consultant, RPS formulated a Wildlife Habitat Management Plan to monitor the pasture land, upland woodlands, marshland swamp, meadows, stream and several wetland areas after the hub opened in 1997.
    "Our efforts to protect the wildlife at the Willington hub are part of our commitment to give back to the community for being so supportive of our business endeavors," said Paul Chicoine, the hub maintenance manager for the Willington facility who has spearheaded the Wildlife Management project on behalf of RPS. "Preserving this tract of land for future generations to enjoy has been a top priority for us."
    As a result of the endeavors in Willington, RPS was recently recognized as one of five finalists for the Environmental Excellence in Trucking Award, an annual program which was launched last fall by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Safety Kleen Corp. to honor and celebrate outstanding environmental projects and initiatives by the trucking industry.
    To help implement the action items outlined in the Wildlife Habitat Management Plan, RPS found a formidable partner in the students enrolled in the Agricultural Education Program at nearby E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Conn.
    "When we were first approached about participating in this project, we were excited because it was right up our alley," recalled Program Director Peter Sepe. "It's been a great hands-on collaboration for our students."
    The relationship between RPS and E.O. Smith has been a win-win alliance. The students, some of whom have parents who work at the RPS facility, earn credit for their participation in the project, while RPS benefits from the assistance. Approximately 35 students have been instrumental in building and installing bluebird nesting boxes throughout the area and growing and planting flowers at the site.
    "It's been so rewarding to work side by side with the students," added Chicoine. "We've gotten to see our hard work pay off firsthand by watching the wood ducks in our pond raise a brood of chicks and the bluebirds take up residence in our nesting boxes. I think our efforts have also helped to raise the overall environmental awareness of employees throughout the company."
    RPS plans to maintain an ongoing relationship with the students enrolled in E.O. Smith's Agricultural Education Program and has established an annual scholarship to recognize outstanding environmental achievement. Additionally, the carrier has also set aside an area on the property that will be "adopted" by students of the Center School of Willington next spring.
    RPS, Inc., a subsidiary of FDX Corporation (NYSE:FDX), entered the business-to-business ground small-package market in 1985. Since then, the company has expanded throughout the United States, achieving 100 percent coverage of North America in 1996. RPS recorded annual revenue of $1.7 billion in fiscal year 1998.
    FDX Corp. (NYSE:FDX), a $16 billion holding company, provides comprehensive transportation, logistics and supply chain management solutions on a worldwide scale. Its primary operating subsidiaries are Federal Express Corp. (FedEx), the world's largest express transportation company; RPS, Inc., a business-to-business ground package carrier; Roberts Express, Inc., a critical-shipment carrier; Viking Freight, Inc., a supplier of western U.S. freight services; and FDX Global Logistics, a contract logistics provider.

    Editor's Note: If you would like additional photos, please call Dina Gruey at 330/864-5882.

     --30--cdt/clv*

     CONTACT: Dina Gruey, 330/864-5882

     KEYWORD: CONNECTICUT
     INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TRANSPORTATION ENVIRONMENT ENMED
     PHOTO: snr2