SANTA ANA : City Gets Its First Woman Postmaster

Lining a wall at the Sunflower Avenue post office are the portraits of two dozen or so men who over the past 120 years have served as the city’s postmaster.

But the wall will soon be graced by a picture of Rosemarie Fernandez, the city’s first woman postmaster since the position was created in 1870.

Fernandez, 34, assumed the job as manager of the area’s 600 postal employees and 11 facilities last week.

“I think this is really exciting,” Fernandez said Monday. “It’s an indication that the Postal Service is no different from the rest of the country. Women are moving into more significant positions.”

A 15-year Postal Service veteran, Fernandez began her career at age 18 as a clerk in the Van Nuys office. She rose through the ranks, eventually receiving a Special Achievement Award. In 1990, she was appointed postmaster for Rancho Cucamonga.

The Santa Ana post office is one of the largest in Orange County. About 1.75 million pieces of mail are delivered to 130,000 addresses every day.

Fernandez said “quality service and customer satisfaction” are her main goals as postmaster. She also vowed to ensure that postal employees have the tools to offer customers “the service they deserve.”