LaPorte postmaster Renee Dubbert started life in Southern California, living the California Dream on the sun-drenched beaches of the Golden State.
Born in Long Beach, Dubbert grew up in nearby Huntington Beach, a favorite haunt of surfers and the laid-back denizens of the region.
“I grew up with all that – hanging out at the beach,” she said.
Renee met her future husband, Rod, a sailor with the U.S. Navy, there. But Rod was intent on moving back home to the family farm near Salina, Kansas, and that’s where the couple raised their three now-grown sons.
“They all grew up in Kansas, working on the farm,” said Dubbert. “But our oldest moved here, and we all ended up living (in Northern Colorado).”
Dubbert began her postal career in 1986 in Salina, while living a few miles north of the city, near tiny Minneapolis, Kan.
In 2004, she was able to get transferred to the main post office in Fort Collins, where she served as a retail supervisor. In 2010, she transferred to Westminster to become a supervisor and station manager.
A year ago – in October 2011 – she received her appointment to LaPorte and started her postmaster duties there in February.
Dubbert and her husband – a retired AT&T worker — live in Johnstown. Their sons all are married and the couple is enjoying their six grandchildren.
Spending time with her close-knit family is one of Dubbert’s favorite pastimes. She’s also a Rockies baseball fan.
She said she also enjoys photography – once being a professional photographer – gardening, sewing and traveling.
The family still maintains its farm, so some of that travel is back to Kansas to bring in the crops and mingle with old friends.
Dubbert said she “loves” her job and especially enjoys being part of a small town like LaPorte.
“I don’t like the big city,” she said. “I like the people I work with – they’re fantastic – and the customers are all so nice.
“It’s a close community, and it just has that home-town feel,” she added. “I just love it.”