New Bellvue postmaster installed

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Seven years after starting a career with the U.S. Postal Service, Patti Halderman is officially installed as the postmaster at Bellvue.

Halderman is carrying on a tradition of Postal Service employees. Her grandmother, Dorothy McCartney, is retired from the LaPorte Post Office. Her mother, Elaine Halderman, is a clerk at the York, Neb., Post Office. "They both thought Postal Service work is a great idea," Halderman said about her decision to join their ranks, "but they warned me there is no guarantee on hours."

As it turned out, growth in Larimer County gave her plenty of work to do when she signed on in Loveland.

Her training has included numerous postal jobs, Halderman said. She started by working the dock and sorting mail. In 2003, she signed up to be in the training program for officers in charge. That put her on a rotating roster to fill in on postmaster duties at other area post offices. One of those rotations was in Bellvue, and when the postmaster job opening was advertised, she applied.

Halderman earned degrees in marketing and management from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She then moved to Colorado for paralegal training and worked in the field for a while before changing her career plans.

Halderman enthusiastically promotes the Postal Service as a career choice. There are opportunities for people with skills in computer science, investigations, marketing and management, she noted, and there is a post office in almost every town.

In Bellvue, Halderman is assisted by Rex May in the office. "He's a great asset to me," she said. "It should have been a dual appointment."

The Bellvue Post Office also has three highway contract routes, bringing the total addresses served to about 1,250.

Halderman wanted to remind her customers that the Bellvue office is open over the lunch hour. Counter hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. She also welcomes people from other communities to come by with their holiday mail because the line in Bellvue is never long.

"I am here and available to help," she said.