Allentown, PA — The first African American woman to hold the position of Postmaster, Allentown, PA will be sworn in as the town’s 37th Postmaster at a special ceremony on June 10 at the Allentown Post Office, 1000 Postal Road, Allentown, 18109.

Byrenda Hatcher-Wilson will be administered the Oath of Office by U.S. Postal Service’s District Manager Gary Vaccarella at the ceremony where she will be joined by her friends, family, and many of the nearly 250 employees she will oversee. Post Office Operations Manager Christina Balliro, who selected Hatcher-Wilson for the position, will also speak.

“It is a great honor to be serving Allentown as your new Postmaster,” said Hatcher-Wilson, whose husband and one of her four sons also work with the Postal Service. “In my 18 years with the United States Postal Service, I have seen firsthand the role the Postal Service plays connecting neighbors and our community to the nation. Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s leadership and Delivering For America, the Postal Service’s 10-year plan, we are maintaining universal six-day mail delivery and expanded seven-day package delivery, stabilizing our workforce, and spurring innovation to meet the needs of our modern customers. Just as the Postal Service continues to provide a vital service for our nation, the staff of the Allentown Post Office will proudly continue that same public service in this community.”

Hatcher-Wilson began her career delivering mail in Newark, NJ before steadily advancing in her career. She will now be responsible for managing 258 employees providing mail delivery, distribution, postal retail, and customer services in Allentown, PA.

Hatcher-Wilson will recite the oath of office that reflects the Postal Service’s 247-year legacy of public service. The U.S. Postal Service traces its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general. The Post Office Department was created in 1792 from Franklin's operation, elevated to a cabinet-level department in 1872, and transformed in 1971 into the U.S. Postal Service as an independent agency.

In the more than two centuries since Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General in 1775, the Postal Service has grown and changed with America, boldly embracing new technologies to better serve a growing population. Once political appointments, today’s Postmaster vacancies are filled through a competitive procedure.  

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