After three decades of public service, Atmore postal supervisor Angelia Knight has clocked out for the last time.
Knight retired from the U.S. Postal Service after a career that included 20 years with the Postal Service and 10 years in the U.S. Air Force. Her last day at the Atmore post office was Wednesday, Sept. 30.
“Helping People”
Looking back on her years in Atmore, Knight said the most rewarding part of her job was helping people and making sure both customers and carriers were satisfied.
That balance is at the heart of a postal supervisor’s job. Supervisors oversee daily operations, help ensure mail moves through the office and out on routes on time, support the carriers who deliver it and handle customer concerns at the counter. In a small community like Atmore, the post office is a place many residents visit regularly, and its staff often know their customers by name.
From Carrier to Supervisor
Knight started her postal career as a mail carrier, the front-line job that brings letters and packages to homes and businesses six days a week in all kinds of weather. She later moved up to supervisor.
Moving from carrier to supervisor gave her firsthand knowledge of the routes, schedules and challenges her carriers faced. Many postal managers start in craft positions such as carrier or clerk before moving into supervision.
A Decade in the Air Force
Before her postal career, Knight served 10 years in the U.S. Air Force. Military veterans make up a significant part of the Postal Service’s workforce. Federal hiring rules give eligible veterans preference, and military service can count toward federal retirement when certain requirements are met.
Together, her military and postal careers add up to 30 years of service to the country and her community.
What’s Next
Knight said her first plan for retirement is simple: doing nothing for a while. After that, she said she is interested in taking classes in medical coding and billing.
Medical coders and billers translate diagnoses, procedures and services into standardized codes that health care providers use to file insurance claims and keep records. Training is available through community colleges, technical schools and online programs, and many people enter the field later in life.
A Family Celebration
Knight has been married for 29 years to Thomas Knight. They have three children, Dominique Jones, Thomas Jr. and Racquel Knight, and two grandchildren, Marco Jones Jr. and Tommen Knight.
Atmore’s Post Office
The Postal Service traces its roots to 1775, when the Second Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin the first postmaster general. It has operated as an independent agency of the federal government since 1971, after the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. Even in an age of email and online shopping, the local post office remains part of daily life in small towns across Escambia County, from mailing bills and buying stamps to picking up packages and renting post office boxes.
Atmore residents who know Knight from the counter, the workroom or her years on a route will now have a new reason to say hello: to congratulate her on a well-earned retirement.