We all know who the postmaster is at the Italy Post Office. Just like people in other towns know who their postmaster is. But what about the people behind the scenes that no one hears about? I want you to meet Jacque Martin.

Jacque Martin has worked as a rural route mail carrier for twenty six years. She started out working for the Milford post office as a mail carrier and now works for the Italy Post Office.

When asked how she got started in this career field, Jacque replied,“Milford Post Office had a substitute clerk position open which I had applied for but the postmaster had already filled the position. I was asked if I would be interested in the rural route. I really had to think about it because I was thinking, could I fix a flat tire? At the time I was married and had children and decided yes, I can do this and excepted the position and as they say, the rest is history.”

For twenty one years Jacque worked as a substitute rural mail carrier and when Lynn Lawson retired she became a full time employee for the Italy Post Office. But for ten of those years she held down another job at the same time. “I worked at Owens Corning making fiberglass for ten years, it was hot, hard work, twelve hour days but the money and benefits were good. I was a single mom at the time and working both jobs was really hard, but I needed the money. I really thought about quitting the rural route but I had kept my job at the post office for so long waiting for Lynn Lawson to retire so I could go full time that I decided to stay on.” Jacque worked for twenty one years as a substitute mail carrier and now has been full time for the last five years for the Italy Post Office.

I asked Jacque in all her years as a rural route carrier was there any experiences that just stood out in her mind. Jacque replied, “There was an elderly gentlemen on my route that met me once a month at the mail box when his check was to be delivered. Every month he was there like clock work waiting for his check. Well one day his check did not come in. We all dreaded telling him that his check did not come in. But he just knew his check was in my pickup somewhere. He wanted to go through my pickup to find it. I kept telling him I was so sorry but your check didn’t come and he kept saying I know that check is in your pickup. I think about that now, and realized he was living on a fixed income and needed his check. But he was bound and determined I had his check. I directed him to the postmaster for him to go and talk to her so she could help him. It really shook me up and made me sad, I wanted him to have his check but I didn’t have it.”

Jacque is a valued employee of the Italy Post Office. Terry Adams, (postmaster for Italy) said, “When I thought about coming back to Italy’s Post Office, a big plus was that the route one carrier was Jacque Martin. Having worked with Jacque before, I knew she was a real team player and really cares about the service she extends to her customers. That care and concern is displayed in the extras she puts into her customer service. The Italy Post Office and it’s customers are really lucky to have someone like Jacque.”