I often try to bring attention to unsung heroes in my columns. Today, I salute the U.S. Postal Service and the men and women who deliver our mail everyday.

So what happens when you have an MIT MBA take the reins of the Postal Service? Expect to see ingenuity, technology, and cutting-edge advertising if Postmaster General Megan Brennan is successful. But will it be enough to help the USPS rise again?

Many are cheering for the post office to make a comeback. After all, they have been there for a long time. Way back in 1775, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general. In 1860, the Pony Express begin. In 1863, free city delivery started. And because of a U.S. Congressman from Georgia, Thomas Watson, free rural free delivery began in 1896. None of this was easy back then.

Those rural carriers sold stamps and money orders, registered letters, and served as traveling post offices. If our new Postmaster General Brennan has her way, you may see that level of service again. Imagine being able to get a passport at your door. That and more is in the works.

She is the first female postmaster general in U.S. history, and she has big plans. Soon, in the Atlanta television market, you’ll see new ads for the post office featuring a postal vehicle adorned with well-known logos who utilize the U.S. Postal Service: companies like eBay, Bass Pro Shops and Harry & David.

Another development underway is Informed Delivery – a mobile app that provides customers with images of mail pieces they can expect to be delivered to their mailbox each day. It’s expected to available is every ZIP Code across the country in 2017.

Postmaster General Brennan will channel her MIT roots and bring more technology to the post office. You may have noticed new computers at your local post office counter.

Tracking is now included free on packages and soon you’ll get a text when your package is delivered. It is the combination of information, infrastructure and technology that the U.S. Postal Service hopes to connect people and products. This focus on e-commerce along with increased days, times and types of delivery will help the USPS compete with the likes of United Parcel Service and FedEx.

The Postal Service is in the process of acquiring a fleet of next generation delivery vehicles. Georgia companies like Deltawing Technologies are competing to be a part of the project. The goal of this acquisition program is to develop a future class of delivery vehicles that will incorporate new technologies to better accommodate a diverse mail mix, enhance safety, improve service, reduce emissions and produce operational savings.

You’ll see USPS also take advantage of printing advancements and interactive technologies including QR codes that launch dynamic videos. All of this, as the postmaster general says, is to create “Irresistible Mail.” The bottom line: expect to see paper and pixels converge.

As we have seen at the Georgia Public Service Commission with industries like telecom and electricity, technology is disruptive. Companies and communities who don’t adjust are left behind. The U.S. Postal Service is working hard to make sure they stay relevant. To all those who bring our mail out there, thank you for your service.