Nearly anyone who has received or sent a package via UPS within Newtown during the past quarter century knows Al Sequeira.

Most may not know his last name. But say "Al from UPS," and the majority of this town's residents and businesspeople will know that you are talking about the man with the short dark hair, equally dark eyes, brisk walking pace, and an easy smile who has been whistling and driving the familiar big brown trucks for years.

Mr Sequeira was recently inducted into the UPS Circle of Honor, a very exclusive group that recognizes UPS drivers who "have not had an avoidable accident in 25 years or longer," according to the international shipping company's website.

UPS Package Center Supervisor Frank Rosa, who heads things up in Brookfield, said it's a privilege for UPS drivers to be inducted into the circle.

"It's for drivers who are accident-free for 25 years," he said May 2. "They have to be inducted into that. It's something special we do here at UPS. We have a wall of our top 25 drivers.

"Our Safety Team, they keep track of it, so each year you accumulate years of service, and if there are any incidents, you are not inducted," Mr Rosa said. Drivers can start the clock again but, as Mr Rosa, pointed out, "25 years is a long time."

UPS defines an accident, Mr Rosa said, as "anytime somebody hits you, or you hit something, or you even run over somebody's lawn. Anything that the vehicles does that it's not supposed to, basically."

Mr Sequeira is one of only 9,349 UPS drivers to be so recognized around the world as of December 31, 2016.

Nearly ten percent of the company's drivers, again according to its website, have gone 25 years or more without a crash.

It also means that Mr Sequeira has not had an accident on the job since George H.W. Bush was in office, when Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the year's top grossing film (but Silence of The Lambs took home the top four Oscar awards), Nirvana released the seminal album NevermindHome Improvement.", C&C Music Factory was determined to make you sweat, and TV audiences were introduced to "

Mr Sequeira's brown uniform now includes a round patch on his left shoulder. On a brown background, yellow stitching includes a large 25 in the center of the patch, while Circle of Honor is stitched around the upper part of the circle and 25 Years Safe Driving runs along the lower circle. A pair of yellow stars separates the two phrases.

A driver for 27 years, the Sandy Hook resident actually reached the 25-year milestone last year "but things fell out of place," Mr Sequeira said this week. "I couldn't do anything about that, but everything got caught up this year."

The UPS distribution center in Brookfield, Mr Sequeira's home base of employment, was the site of a surprise event to honor his milestone a few weeks ago.

"We had a breakfast for all the employees," said Frank Rosa. "We didn't tell Al what was happening, we surprised him. I believe he was overwhelmed with that. It's a nice recognition."

Mr Sequeira was definitely surprised by the breakfast gathering.

"I saw the tables and chairs being set up the day before, and I thought it was going to be for some retirees," he said May 2. "Usually we know what's going on, but this time they really got me. It was a total surprise."

As part of the celebration, a white board with stats was posted. Mr Sequeira has, according to the company's calculations, worked approximately 6,000 days, driven approximately 398,840 miles, and made approximately 705,640 stops.

A large framed shirt has now been hung in Brookfield. The white shirt has Mr Sequeira's name across the upper section, across the shoulders, and the date 2016 has been stitched across the back of the shirt. Lettering across the upper part of the frame indicates Circle of Honor, while 25 Years of Safe Driving is noted along the lower portion of the framed work. It is the latest frame to be placed on the walls at the local distribution center.

"Al is our most recent inductee," Mr Rosa said. "He is one of seven drivers to reach that level here."

Six of those drivers based in Brookfield are still active, according to Mr Rosa. One has retired.

"Our top senior driver, Tim Groski, has 42 years of service, and is a 40-year Circle of Honor driver," Mr Rosa mentioned.

Years of service are honored in five-year increments once a driver reaches the 25-year mark.

UPS began recognizing its safe drivers in 1923. Founder Jim Casey honored the company's first five-year safe driver, Ray McCue, in 1928.

Tom Camp of Livonia, Mich., continues his run as UPS's longest-tenured safe driver. He has driven for 54 years and delivered more than 5 million packages without an accident.

Last year, for the first time, a driver from France joined the circle. Patrick David delivers packages in Chilly-Mazarin, described by UPS as "a traffic-laden Paris suburb."

Of all Circle of Honor members, 576 have been accident-free for 35 or more years, 91 have gone more than 40 years, and ten drivers have topped the 45-year mark.