When Renee Dubbert passed required tests and signed on to work 20 hours a week as a distribution clerk at the U.S. Post Office in Salina, Kansas, in 1986, she thought she’d found the perfect part-time job.
She had three small boys at the time, and only two of them were in school.
Her first week at work, she clocked in 20 hours, but from then on the job was full-time — and then some. Most weeks she averaged 60 hours. Eventually she became manager at the Salina Post Office.
When the family moved to Johnstown in 2004, Dubbert transferred and worked as a financial supervisor in the Fort Collins Post Office and as acting station manager at Harris Park Post Office in Westminster.
In October 2011, she became postmaster in the LaPorte, Post Office where she retired, after completing her 28th year in the postal service at the end of January 2014.
Clerks in the LaPorte Post Office are sorry to see her go. Dubbert was “a great boss. We’re going to miss her,” Karen Sarf said.
Dubbert said her management style has always been to treat those she works with as equals, and because of that, her co-workers have become close friends.
“I’ll be back to have lunch with them,” Dubbert promised. “And the people of LaPorte have been so wonderful, it will be hard not to see them frequently.”
Postal carrier Nancy Easley said Dubbert will be missed for her personable approach to customers and the relationships she developed with her co-workers. “People looked forward to coming to the post office because of Renee. She’s a gem,” Easley said.
Too many years of manually sorting mail for 10 to 12 hours a day resulted in the need for carpel tunnel surgery on both hands for Dubbert in early January. After less than a week, she was back at her job, completing her weeks of service.
With seven grandchildren, a love of gardening and travel, and Rod, her husband, who retired 10 years ago from AT&T, Dubbert is excited about the possibilities that retirement brings.
“We’re planning a pre-Christmas trip to New York City next December to soak up the holiday atmosphere — something I’ve always wanted to do,” Dubbert said. She and Rod will also visit family in California, Kansas and Costa Rica.
In the interim, before a new postmaster is named, Bill Ferguson is serving as officer in charge.
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