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ENLARGE
Caroline Cutler is the new postmaster at the Incline Village post office.
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ENLARGE
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Postmaster Caroline Cutler speaks with clerk Myrna Salminen about an address Friday at the post office in Incline Village.
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Caroline Cutler always wanted to come back to Incline Village to be closer to her friends. The new postmaster at the Incline Village Post Office started as a postal worker there in 1989 before taking a series of jobs that would lead her to Truckee and Tahoe City. But, Cutler said, she kept her eye on the Incline job when she was posted most recently in Tahoe City.
“I was looking forward to this opening for a long time,” Cutler said. “This is a bit of a homecoming for me, it’s where I raised my children and where most of my friends are, I’m excited to be back.”
Cutler started as Incline’s postmaster early in August and said the position has made her very happy. She earned it by interviewing with the postal service’s regional branch and said the process was “very competitive.” An Incline resident since 1981, she said getting the news she got the position on July 17 was a very exciting day for her.
But, it was a happy day for bigger reasons than the change in her office’s postal code. Cutler was in Puerto Rico, visiting her son Travis and her first grandchild, a girl born on July 4.
“That was a very happy day for me altogether,” Cutler said.
She comes back to Incline after a four-year stint as the postmaster in Tahoe City and spent the four years before that as the postmaster in Truckee.
It’s a job title that, like her Southern accent, runs in her blood. Her father was a postmaster in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where Cutler grew up and eventually attended the University of Alabama.
“He was my mentor and hero and convinced me this was a good career choice,” Cutler said. “And his advice did not lead me astray.”
After college Cutler moved around a bit and came to Lake Tahoe in 1981. She eventually ended up in Incline, where she raised son Travis and daughter Heather. In 1989 she started with the post office as a carrier, something she says is valuable in her position at the top of the office.
“One thing I bring to Incline is the fact that I’ve done just about every position,” Cutler said. “I have an understanding and empathy for what goes on in every part of the office.”
She says she plans on working hard to find ways to improve postal service to Incline Village, especially for businesses, and says she also plans to get the office more involved in the community.
“I think one thing that was successful in Tahoe City was to join community organizations because it has such a tight-knit community, a lot like Incline,” Cutler said. “I’m interested in doing the same here, to help with community events like Red, White and Tahoe Blue. I enjoy that sort of thing and think the post office is important to the community.”
Cutler is also quick to point out the post office is the only direct link most people have with the federal government on a daily basis. She said changes may come at Incline’s post office, adding maintaining good customer service is very important to her.
“I definitely want to reach out to the businesses and teach them about all the services we have available at usps.com, like free recycled packaging, ordering stamps by mail and the ability to pay for postal box rentals online,” Cutler said. “I want to help this whole community and do everything we can to improve service.”
She also said her previous experience in Tahoe City and before that Truckee is very valuable, adding she was able to grow the Truckee branch and heal labor relations which had been volatile before she arrived.
When Cutler isn’t focusing on the business of running a branch, she enjoys painting from her home and at Ski Beach. A few of her works adorn her office, and Cutler said art is an important part of her life.
Some of her other favorite activities include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and spending any time she can outdoors. She said she also likes to spend time with friends and at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, where she attends.
“I was looking forward to this opening for a long time,” Cutler said. “This is a bit of a homecoming for me, it’s where I raised my children and where most of my friends are, I’m excited to be back.”
Cutler started as Incline’s postmaster early in August and said the position has made her very happy. She earned it by interviewing with the postal service’s regional branch and said the process was “very competitive.” An Incline resident since 1981, she said getting the news she got the position on July 17 was a very exciting day for her.
But, it was a happy day for bigger reasons than the change in her office’s postal code. Cutler was in Puerto Rico, visiting her son Travis and her first grandchild, a girl born on July 4.
“That was a very happy day for me altogether,” Cutler said.
She comes back to Incline after a four-year stint as the postmaster in Tahoe City and spent the four years before that as the postmaster in Truckee.
It’s a job title that, like her Southern accent, runs in her blood. Her father was a postmaster in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where Cutler grew up and eventually attended the University of Alabama.
“He was my mentor and hero and convinced me this was a good career choice,” Cutler said. “And his advice did not lead me astray.”
After college Cutler moved around a bit and came to Lake Tahoe in 1981. She eventually ended up in Incline, where she raised son Travis and daughter Heather. In 1989 she started with the post office as a carrier, something she says is valuable in her position at the top of the office.
“One thing I bring to Incline is the fact that I’ve done just about every position,” Cutler said. “I have an understanding and empathy for what goes on in every part of the office.”
She says she plans on working hard to find ways to improve postal service to Incline Village, especially for businesses, and says she also plans to get the office more involved in the community.
“I think one thing that was successful in Tahoe City was to join community organizations because it has such a tight-knit community, a lot like Incline,” Cutler said. “I’m interested in doing the same here, to help with community events like Red, White and Tahoe Blue. I enjoy that sort of thing and think the post office is important to the community.”
Cutler is also quick to point out the post office is the only direct link most people have with the federal government on a daily basis. She said changes may come at Incline’s post office, adding maintaining good customer service is very important to her.
“I definitely want to reach out to the businesses and teach them about all the services we have available at usps.com, like free recycled packaging, ordering stamps by mail and the ability to pay for postal box rentals online,” Cutler said. “I want to help this whole community and do everything we can to improve service.”
She also said her previous experience in Tahoe City and before that Truckee is very valuable, adding she was able to grow the Truckee branch and heal labor relations which had been volatile before she arrived.
When Cutler isn’t focusing on the business of running a branch, she enjoys painting from her home and at Ski Beach. A few of her works adorn her office, and Cutler said art is an important part of her life.
Some of her other favorite activities include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and spending any time she can outdoors. She said she also likes to spend time with friends and at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, where she attends.
