Chamber salutes postal worker

Teri Knutson loves spending time outside, and not just on sunny, warm days. In fact, she'd rather strap on her mailbag in the dead of winter than during the dog days of summer. It's her dedication to delivering the mail that has earned her the designation of Employee of the Month for July.

Knutson, a Fordville, N.D. native, moved to New Rockford more than 20 years ago when her husband Jeff accepted his drafting job at Cash & Carry Lumber. She worked as a technician in the Carrington Health Center pharmacy for 14 years before her position was eliminated.

While looking for a local opening, she came across an ad for a rural carrier substitute with the U.S. Postal Service. She took the job in 2015 and soon found that she enjoyed the work. After about a year, she accepted a new challenge- the city career position. The work was similar, but the route was bigger and the responsibility went from as needed to daily.

It was this role as carrier that garnered Knutson recognition. She was nominated by Gloria Rubio, who submitted her for consideration during this past bitter cold winter. "The weather has been so cold and blustery, and Teri faithfully delivers our mail without complaint," Rubio said. "Many times she has to walk on unshoveled and slippery sidewalks."

Right now humidity, mosquitos and wandering pets are bigger threats than ice and snow, and Knutson continues to fill boxes across town with letters, cards and packages when asked to fill in. New Rockford's main city route has 491 possible addresses, and the route is expected to take 8 hours to complete. On Wednesday when she covered the route, there were 426 mailboxes to fill. That's 53 boxes per hour, or little more than a minute to serve each resident!

Knutson had the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities at the New Rockford Post Office in 2017. She then accepted the role of postal clerk, and with that came new tasks such as preparing postal reports, clearing packages, sorting mail and helping customers with their letters and parcels.

Knutson said the transition to clerk was "overwhelming," as she went from orientation right into a 52-hour training program to familiarize herself with the mailroom work, computer software and systems. She also engages in regular ongoing training, which is often online.

Local postmaster Traci Harrington said that Knutson is now able to do any job in the local office. "She's very flexible and willing to step up and help out whenever needed," Harrington noted. "She's a very valuable employee."

And help out she does, as Knutson often travels to other area post offices such as Ft. Totten, Sheyenne and Oberon to cover for the clerks when they are on vacation. She also often fills in on the city carrier routes in both New Rockford and Carrington. In postal terms those roles are called "cross-craft" assignments.

Knutson says the post office training programs are designed to make working these "cross-craft" assignments as seamless as possible, as all the post offices have the same software, procedures and programs. The biggest challenge is knowing the layout of each individual office, which varies.

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." These words are chiseled in gray granite over the entrance to the New York City Post Office on 8th Avenue as a tribute to the nation's postal workers. The quote actually originates from Book 8, Paragraph 98, of "The Persian Wars" by Herodotus, but the sentiment is a true depiction of Teri Knutson's dedication to her craft.

Have you experienced great customer service from an employee of a local business? If so, please consider nominating that person for this award. Nomination cards and forms are available in the table tents and on bulletin boards at local businesses. Forms can be printed from the organization's webpage, http://www.cityofnewrockford.com/chamber. Nominations are also accepted via email to [email protected]. One person receives the award each month.