Allison Grose started delivering mail for the United States Postal Service when she was 21.
After driving a rural route as a mail carrier, she realized that management appealed more to her, and followed a management path that led to her becoming postmaster in Denton in 2005. Three years later, she became officer-in-charge at the Kernersville post office, a job she held until being named postmaster in Kernersville on Aug. 29, taking over for Linda Trogdon, who retired.
Grose, 34, a Trinity resident and mother of two preteens, has become acclimated in Kernersville to the 24 rural routes and 12 city routes that encompass the local post-office territory.
The local area includes 23,000 delivery points and 1,300 post-office boxes. Grose has ridden with each mail carrier, who delivers to 500 to 700 households or businesses. All in all, the local post office handles about 20,000 pieces of mail daily, or about 5 million pieces a year.
Grose is responsible for the nearly 70 employees in the office, a number that has increased steadily as Kernersville's population has risen. Two supervisors assist Grose in overseeing the daily operations. One satellite postal contract station opened at Juicy Java this year, and negotiations are under way with another business to open another contract location.
"What many people don't realize is that we have a shift come in at 3 a.m. to begin sorting the mail," Grose said. "No matter the weather, these employees come to work. There are people who have worked here for over 36 years, which is longer than I have been alive. It's neat to hear about the tremendous changes they have seen through the years."
John DeBoer, the acting customer-service supervisor in Kernersville, said he has enjoyed having Grose as a boss.
"I've worked for the post office for 25 years and she is probably the best postmaster I've ever worked for, even if she is young,'' DeBoer said. "You can tell she wants to help. She comes alongside of us and pitches in."
Since Grose's transition into the job, she has made changes to processes to speed up delivery. Mail carriers, for example, begin their days earlier.
DeBoer said he likes the change.
"The process flows easier with the carriers getting out sooner,'' he said. "This can affect safety since in winter months it gets darker earlier and some would be delivering mail after dark."
Grose also is pushing people to use a machine in the lobby that sells stamps for letters and packages.
"This machine cuts down on time spent in line," Grose said.
Grose also wants to encourage more school and civic groups to tour the behind-the-scenes world at the post office.
She has given tours to school groups and had young students design their own stamps. Grose plans to offer passport fairs where people can come get their passports made or renewed, another service offered at the post office.
"People have gotten away from writing letters. Some kids don't even know how to address an envelope. I definitely want to focus on community-related events and invite people in," she said.
cyoung9@triad.rr.com
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement