LITHIA, FL —Lithia Postmaster Matthew Strauser comes from a long line of Postal Service employees.  "My wife is a clerk, my stepson is an officer-in-charge, my sister is a clerk, three nephews are letter carriers, and my stepdaughter is a clerk," he lists. "We are a postal family."

Strauser began his postal career in 1999 as a part-time flexible letter carrier in North Olmsted, Ohio. He became a career letter carrier and a supervisor, first in Ohio and then in Florida. These days he manages one retail unit and 32 employees in Lithia, a suburb of Tampa.

"Becoming a Postmaster and molding the new workforce on postal policies and customer service is the most rewarding for me," he says.

"I am grateful for an advertisement I saw for postal jobs in an unemployment office," he says. "I was at a career-changing point in my life, and the Postal Service was an excellent choice.”

"We often talk about Delivering for America,” he says. "We have to adjust to the changes with our customer's needs. The Postal Service has lost letter and flat mail volume and has gained a market share in the parcel delivery market.”

"We are molding our business to change as mail makeup changes," he adds.

Strauser says he enjoys spending time with his family in his spare time. "I have one daughter, one son, two stepsons, and one stepdaughter."

"I come from a family of 15. I have ten brothers and four sisters," he says. "Family is very important to me."

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