{"id":39493,"date":"2026-05-24T12:53:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/?p=39493"},"modified":"2026-05-24T12:53:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:53:54","slug":"usps-announces-stamp-encore-contest-winner-welcome-back-to-the-neighborhood-mister-rogers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/2026\/05\/24\/usps-announces-stamp-encore-contest-winner-welcome-back-to-the-neighborhood-mister-rogers\/","title":{"rendered":"USPS announces Stamp Encore contest winner – Welcome Back to the Neighborhood, Mister Rogers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BOSTON \u2014 5\/24\/26 – Today at the Boston 2026 World Exposition, the Postal Service announced the winner of its Stamp Encore contest: the Mister Rogers stamp from 2018. To celebrate the organization\u2019s 250th anniversary, and gear up to celebrate the country\u2019s 250th anniversary, the public was invited to vote on their favorite of 25 stamp panes from the Postal Service\u2019s recent past.<\/p>\n

The Mister Rogers stamp was re-issued \u2014 along with a new, four-image Mister Rogers souvenir sheet \u2014 in a ceremony as part of the exposition\u2019s favorite stamp theme day. The stamps and souvenir sheet are exclusively on sale at the Boston 2026 Expo through May 30, and will then be available at Post Office locations nationwide and online at\u00a0The Postal Store<\/em><\/a>\u00a0starting June 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we issued the Mister Rogers stamp in 2018, we ordered a print run of some 12 million. That may sound like a lot, but Mister Rogers really took us by surprise,\u201d said Isaac Cronkhite, the Postal Service\u2019s chief processing and distribution officer and executive vice president. \u201cWithin just a few weeks, the stamps honoring this humble, softspoken man had sold out completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFred Rogers often shared the idea that \u2018You are not just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been.\u2019 In this context, I believe the Mister Rogers stamp resonated with the child in each of us \u2014 and the children and former children who cast so many votes,\u201d Cronkhite said, linking the positive public response to how Rogers addressed childhood insecurities in a calm, reassuring manner that helped viewers feel safe in a sometimes-frightening world. \u201cAlthough his show allowed him to speak to millions, his gift was communicating in a way that spoke directly to each child, on subjects both serious and silly,\u201d he said. \u201cHe showed tremendous respect and compassion for everyone and knew how to nurture the best in all of us. It seems especially fitting that Mister Rogers is the winner because Fred Rogers was a passionately loyal postal customer and a huge advocate for the power of mail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFred Rogers considered the space between the television set and a viewer to be \u2018holy ground,\u2019\u201d said Emma Lee, Director of the Fred Rogers Institute. \u201cThe mail children sent to Mister Rogers, and his letters back, became an essential extension of that sacred connection. Reissuing this stamp beautifully honors the enduring ties he built with his television friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCelebrating Fred Rogers\u2019 legacy as the Stamp Encore honoree during such a historic year for our nation is a profound privilege,\u201d said Paul Siefken, President and CEO of Fred Rogers Productions. \u201cWhen people use this stamp, we hope\u00a0it\u00a0serves as a small, daily reminder of Fred\u2019s enduring belief in the inherent worth of every human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Stamp Encore competition gave the public 10 weeks to vote on their favorite stamp by mail, in-person at first-day-of-issue ceremonies and online. Over 500,000 votes were received, with the Mister Rogers stamp securing the win by more than 40,000 votes over the next highest contender.<\/p>\n

Fred McFeely Rogers was born on March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, PA. Envisioning the potential for creating quality programming for children, Rogers helped found the educational television station WQED in Pittsburgh in 1953. There, Rogers co-produced \u201cThe Children\u2019s Corner,\u201d a 1-hour show for which he was musical composer, organist and puppeteer. In 1963 Rogers was hired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to host a daily children\u2019s television show, \u201cMister Rogers.\u201d He shortly thereafter began to produce a half-hour version of the show for WQED. The following year, several East Coast public television stations aired the program, which was later renamed \u201cMister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every episode of \u201cMister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood\u201d began with Mister Rogers welcoming the audience into his television house as he put on his trademark cardigan, changed into sneakers, and then introduced the day\u2019s topic. The show featured a Trolley visit to \u201cThe Neighborhood of Make-Believe,\u201d where the personalities and interactions of many characters helped impart real-life lessons. Rogers addressed young children\u2019s concerns and emotions, helping them to feel good about who they were, to appreciate others, and foster curiosity about the world.<\/p>\n

After the announcement of the Stamp Encore competition last July, the city of Pittsburgh campaigned for the stamp to make a comeback. Social media posts highlighting the potential return earned over 20,000 likes and shares, and even more votes. Rogers\u2019 influence can still be seen today in the award-winning PBS KIDS series \u201cDaniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood,\u201d produced by Fred Rogers Productions and featuring characters based on those from the original \u201cNeighborhood of Make-Believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp. \u201cIt\u2019s all about the man, and his universal appeal, which will carry on,\u201d Noyes said, \u201cThe best I can do as a graphic designer is to portray him clearly, straightforward, without special gimmicks, just as he would have wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original stamp features Walt Seng\u2019s photograph of Rogers in a red cardigan and includes King Friday XIII, a puppet character hailing from \u201cThe Neighborhood of Make-Believe.\u201d To mark the occasion, Noyes also designed a Mister Rogers souvenir sheet with four new stamps, featuring additional images by Seng with other characters from the \u201cNeighborhood,\u201d a fitting keepsake to further honor Rogers.<\/p>\n

USPS has produced several exclusive Boston 2026 Exposition products featuring Mister Rogers. In addition to the Fred Rogers souvenir sheet, there is a writing kit, a premium stamp pin, a Field Notes memo pad and many more. All show exclusive products will be available online at\u00a0The Postal Store<\/em><\/a>\u00a0starting June 1.<\/p>\n

The Mister Rogers stamps are being issued as Forever stamps in a pane of 20. The Mister Rogers souvenir sheet is being issued as Forever stamps in a pane of four. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate.<\/p>\n

News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag\u00a0#StampEncore<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Postal Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through\u00a0The Postal Store<\/em><\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0usps.com\/shopstamps<\/em><\/a>, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through\u00a0USA Philatelic<\/em><\/a>, or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the\u00a0USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon<\/em><\/a>. Additional information on stamps, first-day-of-issue ceremonies and stamp-inspired products can be found at\u00a0stampsforever.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

\n
<\/figure>\n

The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to more than 170 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is celebrating its 250th year of service to customers amidst a network modernization plan aimed at restoring long-term financial sustainability, improving service, and maintaining the organization as one of America\u2019s most valued and trusted brands.<\/p>\n

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2014 5\/24\/26 – Today at the Boston 2026 World Exposition, the Postal Service announced the winner of its Stamp Encore contest: the Mister Rogers stamp from 2018. To celebrate the organization\u2019s 250th anniversary, and gear up to celebrate the country\u2019s 250th anniversary, the public was invited to vote on their favorite of 25 stamp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking","category-usps-news","last_archivepost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39496,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39493\/revisions\/39496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}