MONTEREY, CA — At 11:30 a.m. today, Thomas Allan Barnes followed a tradition that dates back to February 23, 1849, when William van Voorhees, a mail agent, was commissioned by the U.S. Postmaster General to be the first Monterey Postmaster. Barnes raised his right hand and was sworn in as the new Postmaster at the Monterey Post Office, 565 Hartnell Street, Monterey, CA 93940. The Monterey Post Office was the first Post Office west of the Rockies.
Barnes is a military veteran and served four years under the 7th Group of the U.S. Army based in Fort Story, VA. During that time, he was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in support of Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch. He also served in Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy.
Barnes started his U.S. Postal Service career in 1997 as a city letter carrier at the Seaside, CA, Post Office. In 1999, he graduated from the Postal Service’s Associate Supervisor Program. He has worked as a customer services supervisor in the Monterey, Capitola, Marina, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Watsonville and Salinas Post Offices. He was promoted to the customer services manager of the Bataan Carrier Annex in Salinas in 2007. In 2013, he successfully completed the National Dispute Resolution Process training course in Washington D.C. and served in the Labor Relations Department for the Bay-Valley Postal District.
“I am humbled by the honor that being the Postmaster of Monterey brings with it,” said Barnes. “The city of Monterey has a long line of firsts in history. The first capital, the first theatre, and the first Post Office in California. I am proud to be included in the history of this city and of the Postal Service’s role in Monterey. I will continue to uphold the highest standards of service and loyalty to our customers and to the city of Monterey. I want the Monterey Post Office to be a reflection of the hard-working and unique people and businesses of this great city.”
Barnes is a single father of three, Peter, 21, graduated from Monterey High School; Ireland, 18, a graduate from Santa Catalina School in Monterey, and Kyle, 15, is a junior at Monterey High School. Barnes grew up playing sports and studying martial arts. Currently, he enjoys surfing, playing tennis, mountain biking, and scuba diving. Barnes coached baseball and softball for the city of Marina for five years and was eventually elected to the Board of Directors, serving for three years as the softball director of Marina’s Pony Baseball/Softball Association.
As a member of the Surfrider Foundation, he has participated in hundreds of hours of beach cleanup and restoration. Through the American Red Cross, he has volunteered numerous hours instructing swimming, water safety and CPR.
As Monterey Postmaster, Barnes manages all operations at the Monterey Post Office with a total of 30 mail carrier routes plus one highway contract route and 17,780 delivery points (residential and business addresses) and 2,677 PO Boxes. He manages 60 employees who process and deliver an average daily volume of 101,000 pieces of mail.
Aron Jones, manager, Post Office Operations, administered the official oath of office. Barnes replaces Frank Ledesma who retired.
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