Amherst Post Office letter carrier Veronica “Ronnie” Shulfer was recently honored with an Outstanding Service Award from the Lakeland District of the US Postal Service and a congratulatory letter from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. According to Amherst Postmaster Rose Kearns, “The award is given to postal employees who have gone above and beyond to show the true meaning of the word ‘service’ in the term ‘Postal Service.’ ”

Shulfer, a 20-year employee of the Postal Service, was nominated for the award by one of the customers on her mail route, who wrote a letter to DeJoy extolling Shulfer as a “shining example of what kindness and caring is about.”

She added, “Ronnie checked on me when my husband died. She sent a card and delivered a hot turkey meal to our home. Recently, I was gone for five days. Ronnie became concerned and checked on my wellbeing and why my mail wasn’t being picked up. I so appreciate that someone like Ronnie is concerned enough to check on this 69-year-old lady living alone.”

The nominator added that Shulfer is instrumental in community fundraising for many area organizations and raised funds to sew face masks for members of the community in the early days of the pandemic. Shulfer is also the leader of the local Boy Scout Troop.

Lakeland District Acting Manager Eddie Masangcay wrote in his congratulatory letter to Shulfer, “Your actions have helped to ensure the sustainability of the United States Postal Service by improving our image with our customers. Our image is important in maintaining customer satisfaction.”

In his letter, DeJoy wrote, “Delivering the mail may be our primary service, but it is the dedication of employees like Ms. Shulfer that truly characterizes the men and women who sustain our organization’s rich legacy.”