New postmaster at helm at Tupper Lake PO

New Tupper Lake Postmaster Hannah Falkenmeyer stands in front of the local post office on Cliff Avenue. (Rich Rosentreter photo)

by Rich Rosentreter

There’s a new postmaster at the helm at the Tupper Lake post office, but it’s not a new face. Hannah Falkenmeyer has worked the window for the past few years and was recently promoted to the head role by the U.S. Postal Service – replacing Kevin Hanlon, who transferred to another office.

Hannah’s first day as postmaster was August 15, 2020, but she first started her postal career in Saranac Lake and quickly transferred over to Tupper Lake on April 30, 2016 when an opening popped up as a clerk – a position she took because it promised more hours of work. She moved to Lake Clear in 2017 with her husband Josh and two dogs.

Background

Hannah, 28, grew up on a farm in Schoharie and first came to the North Country as a student at Paul Smith’s College to study Hotel Resort and Tourism Management. After staying on campus as a freshman, she moved to the North Country permanently after her second year at the college.

Just like so many others who fell in love with the Adirondacks and Tri-Lakes area, she wanted to stick around.

“I decided that I didn’t want to be in Schoharie anymore,” she said, adding that before too long, she also began to change her career path at some point during her studies. “I wanted to be a party planner, an event planner. But I realized three semesters into that it’s not what I wanted to do, but it’s a great communications degree, and I really I can’t complain because I’ve learned how to communicate with all different people of all different ages.”

Hannah stayed in the area and worked at some businesses in the area, including a restaurant and retail business in Lake Placid and later worked at American Management Association (AMA) in Saranac Lake for about a year. Along the way she lived in Saranac Lake and Vermontville.

“I thought I wanted to go into marketing. I interned at AdWorkshop for a year,” she said.

Hannah and her husband Josh skiing in Chamonix, France last year. (Photo provided)

Then came a pivotal moment for Hannah when a mutual friend of her husband told her about an opening at the post office in Saranac Lake.

“I decided to apply for it,” she said, adding that she got the job, went to the job orientation, but did not spend much time working at that post office.

“The day I got back from orientation, the position in Tupper Lake was available, and it was more hours than I was getting there, so I decided to go for it to see if it would happen,” Hannah said. And the rest is history.

Another year later she was awarded a full-time clerk position at the local post office and she was on her way.

“I can’t complain - it’s a great place to be,” she said.

Doing the job

When Hannah first started her job in Tupper Lake, her clerk position eventually brought her up to the window to serve customers. After several years on that job, she was able to not only learn many aspects of the postal job and allowed her to handle a variety of situations, but she even developed a keen awareness to customers' needs.

“You’re on your toes the whole day. You don’t know what someone is going to ask you when they walk in the door. You’re happy when they have a package or something in their hands because you know that’s what they want,” she said. “When someone pulls out their wallet, you sort of know they’ll want stamps. Everyone has the same look on their face when they want a change of address card because those are not in the lobby and they come in and start looking around.”

Hannah said after several years as a window clerk, she was eventually given the opportunity to get a taste of a managerial post when she was recommended to fill the Officer in Charge (OIC) position, which is the second-in-command spot and the person in charge when the postmaster is absent.

Hannah began her OIC post in August of last year and quickly embraced the idea that she would be able to move up the postal managerial ladder – and was aided by the tutorage of then-postmaster Kevin Hanlon. She said she learned a lot from her mentor.

“I wound up running the office a lot when he was gone. I filled in for him on Saturdays or any days that he was out,” she said. “He was great, he taught me an awful lot. He was really cool to teach me a lot of the higher level things. Kevin and I worked very well together, and I still lean on him when I need help.”

Getting the postmaster job took some determination, a will to learn – and some tense moments from the timeline to decide if she wanted to apply for the job to learning whether or not she would land the position.

“I had about two days to make the decision to apply for the postmaster job or not,” Hannah said. “I decided it would be a good experience to have the interview and go through the process whether or not I got the position. I wanted to see how the process would go and work on the resume stuff, so I decided to go for it. I thought I should still try and even if I didn’t get it, I was still going to have my clerk position and if I did get it, I was going to have a seat in this office.”

Hannah had an early-morning phone interview on a Thursday and from there the anticipation and excitement grew.

“I had never done a phone interview before, so it was stressful,” she said, adding that other people were being considered for the postmaster job, including someone from Saranac Lake with four years supervisory experience to Hannah’s none. But she did recognize some of her selling points.

“I think the bonus is that I’m young, I have a long-term possibility and I could be a great resource for other people who are starting here as the other people who are postmasters that I’ve reached out to are for me,” she said.

Then later that evening, Hannah received the phone call with the life-changing good news that she was waiting for. She got the postmaster job.

“I very nicely said ‘Thank you so much,’ and then I threw my phone and Josh and I jumped up and down. It was exciting,” she said. “I was at home, and I never really had that kind of exciting reaction to getting a job before. I was like ‘Holy Cow, is this happening?’ You know, this is a career. I’m going to be here until I’m done. There’s no reason for me not to.”

Duties

In the postmaster role, Hannah’s job duties have changed from being a clerk and the level of responsibility has increased as well.

“I do a lot of reporting. I report all of our office information through our systems,” she said looking over her checklist. “I tell how much mail we received, how much mail was late, what time the carriers should be out, make sure all the scanners are working everyday. If there’s issues with things I have to reach out to people that are in charge of those systems.”

There is also a separate system that deals with complaints, and that saw a lot of activity over the holiday period as there was a delay in package delivery across the nation.

“It’s hard because it’s all things that we can’t do anything about, we have to wait for the tracking to do something,” she said, adding that keeping the customers informed and happy is part of her mission. “If someone replies, you have to get back to them. It gets a little redundant at times, but that’s what customer service is and I like customer service.”

Moving up to postmaster has posed Hannah with some challenges.

“Going from a clerk to being a supervisor is one of the hardest parts because I’ve worked with these people. It’s a little bit different because there’s a different dynamic but I feel like I’ve come into it a little better than I did at first, she said.

Although the job has its challenges, Hannah said she truly appreciates the fact that she is always learning more about doing her job.

“It is fun. I’m learning every single day and that’s something that’s something that I never had in a job before,” she said. “I’m learning constantly and I’m challenged constantly, and it’s interesting – usually.”

When asked if the correct terminology for her position is postmaster or postmistress, Hannah said she doesn’t mind being called postmaster.

“Just as long as it’s boss,” she joked.

Rewards

Now even with only five months on the job, Hannah said she has a rewarding feeling about working in a small community – and she wouldn’t want to work in a big city environment.

“It’s refreshing when I go out of my office and customers see me and say ‘Oh, we miss you so much’ or ‘I haven’t seen you in a while, how are you doing?’ I can hear people ask ‘Is Hannah still here?’ It’s been really nice. Tupper Lake is a really nice town,” she said, adding that the reaction by the community has been positive. “All the people and customers who do know have been very supportive, very excited and very happy that it’s someone who they knows cares as well. They see my face, they know my face.”

Hannah described one of the little things the community does to help her, and others in the Tupper Lake post office, feel appreciated.

“The thank you cards I get, just saying thanks for doing what you do. It’s the small stuff like that that lets us know that we are remembered and we do matter,” she said. “It is nice to have someone say thank you.”

Of course, she also recognizes that the post office is a team of players who work hard to get the job done.

“I have such a great team here. I’m more than lucky in many ways that the carriers know what their job is. The clerks know their job. I don’t need to be micro-managing anybody,” she said, adding that the post office is still a big part of the community and people’s lives.

“It’s incredibly important especially in rural areas,” she said, as she also manages the mail heading to Piercefield and Cranberry Lake. “We get their mail first and get their mail to them. We handle medication, we handle correspondence, we are a resource and we are a lifeline for some people.”

“I grew up in a rural area,” she said, and she remembers the excitement of getting mail. “I was just happy to get a catalog in the mail because it was a piece of mail and it had my name on it!”

Although she is now the postmaster, Hannah said there are some things she misses about being up at the window on a daily basis.

“I miss the customers a lot. Once in while if the clerk needs to do something, I’ll hop out there and work the counter for a few minutes.,” she said. “I miss being a clerk a little because there was a lot less responsibility, but at the same time I’m happy to be where I’m at because I’m secure and hopefully this is where I’ll be for the next twenty years.”

Hannah said her goal as postmaster is simple.

“To get the job done. Every day is different. I want us to stay efficient,” she said. “I do the best I can at giving the best that I can and that’s the best that I can do. I am a people person and I try my best to be a people pleaser. I am a customer service person, I love it.”

Her message to the community is simple as well – she truly loves being the postmaster of Tupper Lake and will continue to do her best to serve the community well.

“I’m here for it. This is a great little town to be in. I love to cross country ski at the golf course. I love to walk around town on my lunch break. I had a great summer being able to do that before I got this position,” she said. “I love being able to go get lunch or a cup of coffee around the corner, and being able to know so many faces here. It’s great that this town is just so nice. People are nice to us here and people are nice to me.”