New Postmaster Back on Familiar Ground

The new postmaster at the Northridge post office said her main goal for the station is to take on the mailing service competition and give residents a reason to stay with the more than 200-year-old national institution.

Anita Plata, a Palmdale resident, was installed Friday, slightly more than 23 years after beginning her postal career as a letter carrier in nearby San Fernando.

She said never in her “wildest dreams” did she think she would advance to the top position in a U.S. Postal Service office.

“I’ve been with the service for 23 years and I never thought I’d be able to progress through the ranks like I did,” Plata, 42, said.

Plata has held a number of positions over the years, including superintendent of mails at Mission Hills post office, supervisor of delivery and collection in San Fernando, superintendent of delivery and collection in the Sylmar office, station manager of the San Marino office and manager of customer service at Jackie Robinson post office in Pasadena.

Before she was promoted this year to postmaster, she was the officer in charge in the Lancaster office.

She said the biggest challenge she expects to face is the installation of new automation--the Delivery Point Sequence system that sorts the mail in delivery order. Porter Ranch station, which also is under her command, has already gone through the transition, but the Northridge main office is not scheduled to be automated until 1998.

“It’s very hard for people to accept change after doing it the same way for years and years,” Plata said. “But we have no choice in order for us to survive and be around for another 200 years.”