After four months as Ironton’s postmaster-in-charge, Kathleen Patrick can now assume the full title of postmaster.

Wednesday, June 07, 2000

After four months as Ironton’s postmaster-in-charge, Kathleen Patrick can now assume the full title of postmaster.

United States Postal Service officials recently announced that Ms. Patrick will be the next chief of the Ironton office.

"I’m excited," Ms. Patrick said. "It’s a challenge and I love a challenge."

Originally from New York, Ms. Patrick moved to southeastern Ohio about 19 years ago. Her first position with the local post office was as a rural carrier in Gallipolis.

"I was a rural carrier for 12 years, then supervisor for four years," Ms. Patrick said.

She was then moved to Proctorville, where she was postmaster for one and a half years before moving to South Point for a year. She was named officer-in-charge in Ironton Feb. 1.

Ms. Patrick has never regretted her decision to work for the Postal Service.

"I had a family to support and I needed a good job and this has been the most exciting opportunity I ever had," she said.

And she plans to continue to improve the services offered by the post office, Ms. Patrick said.

"I’ve already made a few changes to the outside of the building," she said. "The outside of a post office is important to the morale of the customer and the employee. I also just plan to make (the post office) as efficient as it can be."

Ms. Patrick won’t stop there, however.

"I love community service and I think it’s a real important part of the post office," she said. "If the community isn’t being served, then we can’t do our job. That’s our job – to serve the customers."

In the four months Ms. Patrick has been at the post office, she already has given tours of the building to five school groups.

"When I was in South Point, we did participate in the Ironton Memorial Day Parade," Ms. Patrick said. "But it was impossible for us to do this year. We’re planning on it next year."

And Ms. Patrick is always looking for new ways to serve the community.

"If the community knows of anything they would like to see us do, tell us," she said. "My door is always open. It doesn’t matter how busy I am, I am always willing to help."

A postmaster’s job is never finished until all the local residents are satisfied with the service, Ms. Patrick added.

"Customers are my primary concern," she said. "Sometimes people want things that are not possible, but we try to do things by the book so everybody’s served equally."