Where Are They Now? Harrington enjoys career with postal service

Most Eddy County residents recognize the friendly face of Traci Harrington, the Postmaster who is in charge of all of the packages and letters at the downtown New Rockford Post Office. Many folks don't know, however, that Traci also heads the Sheyenne, Oberon, Fort Totten and Fessenden post offices. This means that she oversees six full-time and 10 part-time employees. After first working in the retail business and then as a daycare provider, Traci now utilizes her amicable personality and fun sense of humor as she works "behind the window" to serve United States Postal Service (USPS) customers.

Traci has her parents' personalities in her genes; that is certain! Her mother Vicki Ryan retired in 2015 after working as the office administrator for Transcript Publishing for over 40 years. Her hearty laugh and comfortable demeanor were perfect for this kind of job. Richard, Traci's father, was superintendent for Border States Paving out of Fargo. He retired in 2009 after 30 years of working for this company. Richard conducts himself quietly and always displays a genuine smile. Traci has gained these wonderful qualities from parents who appreciate the importance of a good work ethic.

Five years separate Traci from her only sibling, Patti Cosgriff, who lives in Fargo with her husband John. Patti is the Vice President of Business Banking at Northwestern Bank. John's work title is Incubator Manager at NDSU Research and Technology Park. He is also Vice President/General Partner with InvestAmerica Investment Advisors. Patti has two children, Brooke (Rick) Ramirez and Dalton Hanson and is the grandmother of three.

Both Patti (New Rockford Class of 1983) and Traci (New Rockford Class of 1987) worked as lifeguards at the local swimming pool in the summers during their high school years. Traci was quite involved in a variety of extracurricular organizations and sports, but neither her involvement nor her classes instilled a "calling" for a specialized field of study when she went off to college at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Even though she started out as an "undecided" student, she earned a degree in business/retail management, fashion merchandising.

"One of the highlights of college would be when I traveled to New York City to experience the buyer's market side of retail. Another high point was when I participated in the Heritage Festivals Choral competition in Chicago," Traci recalls. After college, she worked in retail in both Grand Forks and Fargo before returning to New Rockford in 1993. Her desire to return to her hometown was primarily triggered by wanting to raise a family in a smaller community.

After caring for children in her home from 1993 to 2000, Traci decided to seek another line of work. With the hope that a position would open at the post office within the next 5 years or so, Traci took the postal exam, a test that, at the time, was offered only every 3 to 5 years. A couple of local retirements occurred after she completed this written test in the fall of 1999, and a position opened in the New Rockford office in February of 2000, much sooner than Traci had anticipated. She started as a part-time city carrier and window clerk for the USPS, and by 2014, she had taken over the duties as Postmaster.

As Postmaster, Traci also supervises the four additional Remotely Managed Post Offices that are listed in the first paragraph of this article. She manages staffing and the day-to-day operations of all five post offices.

Traci has been married to Scott Harrington for 7 years. He retired in 2012 after 30 years of working for electric cooperatives in Oliver-Mercer, Robinson (his hometown), Carrington and Garrison.

A very proud mother, Traci proclaims that her three daughters are by far her greatest accomplishment. She says, "I have been blessed to watch them grow into successful, hard-working, kind-hearted women." Like their mom, Jessica, Kortney and Lauren Roscoe are also NR-S high school graduates, in the Classes of 2010, 2013 and 2018 respectively.

The oldest, Jessica, graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., with a degree in communications and global studies in 2014. She moved to Massachusetts and worked as a Program Coordinator in the Students Against Destructive Decision's (SADD) national office. In 2017, she enrolled at Boston University School of Law to obtain her doctoral degree. She graduated in May 2020 and is currently studying for the bar exam.

Daughter Kortney is the middle child who was schooled in cosmetology at JZ Trend Academy in Bismarck. After 2 years as an assistant manager of Men's Hair House in Fargo, Kortney came back to New Rockford to live and work. Since 2016, she has been the owner and stylist of Hair Brilliance. In 2019, Kortney diversified her schedule to take on a part-time position as the administrative assistant for Lake Region District Health, which allows her to work with Eddy County Public Health Nurse Danette Schmid.

Lauren, the youngest, is a current college student at Valley City State University where she is studying elementary education. Her goal is to graduate in 2022 with a degree in elementary education with kindergarten and reading endorsements and a coaching certificate. Following the same path as her older sister Jessica, Lauren has held national offices within the SADD organization. National SADD conferences have allowed Traci to travel with Jessica and Lauren to Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Phoenix.

Traci is also stepmother to Taustin (Julie Ybarra) Harrington, Taylor Harrington, and Taysha (Tim) Johnson. Taustin and Taylor graduated from Carrington in 2007 and 2009, and Taysha is a NR-S Class of 2013 graduate. The three adults reside in Carrington, San Francisco and Jamestown, respectively.

Family is the center of Traci's active life, and trips bring her family members together, whether it be with her girls, parents, or her sister and her family. A favorite travel destination is to Disney World. Tracy has been twice, once in 2005 and again in 2011. In 2016, a family group of 12 flew to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, to enjoy warm temperatures and tropical food. Other special trips have been to Jamaica, Mexico, and, of course, to Boston to visit Jessica.

Now that readers have gained quite a few interesting biographical facts about Traci Harrington, conversations about more than just how much packages cost to mail them can take place at the "window." Incidentally, a fun trivia detail that this writer learned when interviewing Traci is that a full-time mail carrier in New Rockford puts on 10 miles each day he or she delivers mail. The part-time route consists of 5 miles of walking. That's a lot of steps!