EDITOR’S NOTE: During the coronavirus pandemic, there are people throughout the community working on the frontlines. WTOP is honoring essential personnel through its Frontline Heroes campaign. Each day, WTOP chooses two nominees, awards each $100 and donates another $100 to Feed the Fight DC, a D.C.-based nonprofit supporting local restaurants, health care workers and first responders during the pandemic. Some of those honorees will be spotlighted in WTOP.com articles.
The pandemic seems to have sparked new respect and appreciation for the essential personnel who make the world go round — the men and women who cannot work from home but must carry out their duties each day, even during the pandemic.
Americans have been cheering health care professionals, first responders and others on the job, including grocery store clerks and bus operators.
One of the latest Frontline Heroes to win $100 from WTOP and Northwest Credit Union is a veteran of the U.S. Postal Service committed to making his daily rounds in Maryland.
Tim Daly of Kensington has been delivering the mail in the neighborhood for 40 years, encountering all the challenges the men and women of the postal service can face, including tough slogs carrying a heavy bag through severe weather or suddenly facing off with a mean dog.
But nothing could have prepared the 40-year veteran of the postal service for the coronavirus pandemic.
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“When the pandemic started we were all kind of in dark… but we were told early on that we were required to come into work,” Daly said.
“It was unnerving and even still… I don’t know if I’m bringing something home and some people on my route are afraid to get to close to me, so there is definitely a certain level of anxiety about it.”
Daly also recognized that sometimes, pivotal items are sent through the mail.
“I realized that people were expecting medication and different supplies,” he said.
Daly was nominated by his wife, Peggy, who wrote, “He goes in every day. He never complains, and I’m so proud of him.”
The encouraging words matter when duty calls Daly to the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
“On the tough days, she reminds me to hang in there… she’s my biggest supporter. Especially now going into the unknown, she’s right there with me,” Daly said.
Know people who would be good candidates for WTOP’s Frontline Heroes award? Nominate them online, and their actions could be recognized on-air.
