Watertown postmaster named district manager

Watertown Postmaster Jeffrey A. Sands has been named the U.S. Postal Service's manager of operations for the northern tier of the Albany District.

In his new job, Mr. Sands will oversee day-to-day operations of post offices from Pulaski to Hogansburg.

"Primarily I'll deal with the postmasters of all these offices," he said. "I'll have approximately 90 offices and ensure that we are maintaining good customer relations and working to make sure we're working with them regarding their budget and customer service."

He will retain an office at the Watertown post office on Commerce Park Drive.

Mr. Sands, who said there will be an interim postmaster next week, begins his new duties today. Meanwhile, Maureen P. Marion, public affairs specialist for the Postal Service's Albany District, said there has been no announcement made yet as to who the interim Watertown postmaster will be.

Mr. Sands began his postal career in his hometown of Antwerp in 1986 as a part-time clerk in the village's post office. From there, he transferred to the Gouverneur post office and also was officer in charge in the Redwood post office. In 1990, he was named the postmaster in Wanakena.

A couple of years later, Mr. Sands became the postmaster in Hermon before he was named postmaster in Carthage in 1998. In November 2007, he became the interim Watertown postmaster, and he was named the permanent postmaster here in 2008.

"January marked 24 years for me, so I've worked in several facilities throughout Northern New York," Mr. Sands said. "I think I expected to move up the ladder, but I guess I hadn't really had my eyes set on anything in particular. The post office is such a rapidly changing business right now."

During his tenure as Watertown postmaster, Mr. Sands dealt with the U.S. Postal Service's decision to move the Watertown post office's mail processing operations to the Syracuse Processing and Distribution Center.

About 50 jobs were affected, and some people opted for early retirement while others worked at other postal facilities and some went to work for other federal agencies.

"Certainly we don't relish sending people to work to another facility, but we had to do what's necessary for our business," he said. "Throughout the process, certainly, I had to abide by collective bargaining agreements with each of our unions here, so frequently what was going on were meetings with groups around the clock."

Mr. Sands said he'll continue his work with the Jefferson Leadership Institute and he wishes to participate in the annual Jefferson Cares food drive, which he helped establish two years ago.