Area mail carrier honored with $450 portrait
A Leesburg citizen who carries mail in Lebanon, Bryon Morris, holds the portrait of his large delivery job for Anna's Gourmet Popcorn. By his side is artist Deedee Burnhardt. Both were honored in Sinclair Community College's exhibition honoring "Everyday Heroes." (Submitted photo)
A deserved surprise greeted Leesburg citizen Bryon Morris Sept. 27 when his downtown Lebanon postal patrons gifted him a painting of a busy day on his job.
The Christmas season is always a busy time for the U.S. Postal Service. In early December 2022, the Lebanon business of Anna’s Gourmet Popcorn had an oversized order.
When the mail carrier arrived, he found 120 priority boxes of popcorn that needed to be taken to the town post office to make their way to Anna's customers.
Eager to do his best on the job, Morris started loading. The order completely filled his mail truck. Anna Donovan, the owner of the business, took a picture of Morris diligently at work.
This past summer, Sinclair Community College hosted an exhibition which honored “Everyday Heroes.” Donovan had posted her picture on Facebook as a way to honor Morris’s dedication to his job. An artist, Deedee Bernhardt, found the photo and decided to paint it. When completed, it was a masterpiece that was sold for $450.
With a little encouragement from Donovan, an amazing group of Lebanon shop owners on Morris’s route took up a collection to purchase this as a gift and surprised Morris with the portrait.
Bernhardt had the honor of presenting Morris, their downtown Lebanon mail carrier, with his painting from the Everyday Heroes Exhibition. The postal carrier performing his job and the artist who caught his work on canvas were both named “Everyday Heroes” in Lebanon.