Where do you live and/or where is your place of business?
The US Postal Service has said many times that ZIP codes, created in the 1960s, were never intended to be about anything other than the sorting and delivery of mail. This may be true for the U.S. Postal Service but the rest of the country knows better.
Where do you live and/or where is your place of business? Within the city limits of Mauldin, there are four different ZIP codes – 29662 (Mauldin), 29607(Greenville) and 29680 and 29681 (Simpsonville). Consequently, you can live in the city limits of Mauldin and have a Greenville, Simpsonville or Mauldin mailing address. The ZIP code 29662 is unique to Mauldin and is not shared with any other city. As annexation continues for the City of Mauldin the ZIP code quandary grows.
The U.S. Postal Service’s ZIP code policy has created many conversations over the years. But more than anything else, it has been a hindrance to the City of Mauldin in establishing their real identity. Often people search the internet by ZIP code for businesses or other matters. It is very possible to search 29681, 29680 or 29607 and conclude that your search is exclusive to either Simpsonville or Greenville, when in fact it could be in the City of Mauldin.
A Mauldin City Council member lives in the City of Mauldin but has a Greenville mailing address. He reports that he often has to explain to the voting public this ZIP code paradox. There have been instances when a new business moves into the city of Mauldin, and the media reports it is a Greenville or Simpsonville addition, thus excluding the City of Mauldin from important economic recognition.
A gross misrepresentation occurs when businesses or schools such as Mauldin Elementary School, Mauldin Middle School, Bethel Elementary School, Verizon Wireless, Ford Motor Credit, Charter Communications and others that are in the City of Mauldin but have either a Simpsonville or Greenville address are included in promotional literature by neighboring cities, however, it would literally take an Act of Congress to change this paradox.
Mauldin city leaders are very much aware of these issues, and their only option is to continue to press the media for the recognition the city deserves and to remind the public that the City of Mauldin is a 4-ZIP-code city! In our Chamber membership alone, many businesses are in the city limits of Mauldin but have a Greenville or Simpsonville mailing address.
Pat Pomeroy
President / CEO
Greater Mauldin Chamber of Commerce