GARDEN GROVE : City’s First Woman Postmaster Sworn In

Alyce Alford was sworn in Monday as the first woman postmaster in this city and the first black woman postmaster in Orange County.

Alford, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service, said her employees are giants--”I mean G-I-A-N-T-S”--and that she and they will work “to make Garden Grove the best post office in the nation.”

Alford, who joined the Postal Service in 1967 as a part-time clerk in Los Angeles, has worked her way through the ranks and served in management positions in mail processing and delivery services. Most recently, she was manager of customer services at the Huntington Beach Post Office.

Alford, a mother of six grown children, was appointed to the temporary position of officer in charge in Garden Grove in April. She was appointed postmaster on July 10, but official swearing-in ceremonies weren’t held until Monday.

Santa Ana District Manager Arthur O. Martinez said that local postal employees had strongly lobbied for Alford and that their “consensus endorsement” figured strongly in his decision to appoint her.

Martinez said that he has appointed 27 postmasters in the 10 months that he has been district manager and that nine of them have been women.

Alford will oversee 241 employees at the main post office at 10441 Stanford Ave. and at the West Garden Grove Station, 11947 Valley View St. Her carriers process and deliver about 1.6 million pieces of mail to more than 53,000 delivery points each month.

Alford said she plans to add three contract stations that provide a full range of postal services to make post offices more accessible to residents in all parts of the city. There now are three contract stations in the city.

Alford said she invites comments from customers. “I have an open-door policy and welcome any comments customers may have about our mailing services,” she said.

Alford replaces Ben Torres, who earlier this year was appointed postmaster in El Paso, Tex.