Many who know Pat Williams say that she delivers; a nice skill to have working inside the U.S. Postal Service.
Williams’ record throughout a quarter of a century of service has earned her an appointment as the 45th Postmaster of the United States Post Office in Dallas. She becomes the first African American woman to hold that position in Dallas.
The appointment comes over 100 years after Minnie Cox was named the nation’s first African American female postmaster by President Benjamin Harrison. Cox served as postmistress of Indianola, Mississippi in 1891, but resigned in 1903 when racist threats of violence forced her to leave town for a period of time.
The first African American postmaster to serve the nation was Henry Turner. Turner had been appointed as postmaster of Macon, Georgia by President Ulysses Grant in 1869. Racial tension also caused him to resign his position shortly after his appointment.
“You’re in good hands with Pat Williams,” said Mesquite Postmaster Yulonda Francis-Love, during the swearing-in.
Williams now has in her hands the daily operations of 44 post office branches that deliver to over 600,000 households a day, in the nation’s ninth-largest city. She was officially sworn in Friday at the Dallas Arboretum by Susan Plonkey, who was Dallas’ 42nd Postmaster before moving to Washington, D.C. to become Vice-President of Customer Service for USPS.
“Not only does she takes care of her customers, but she demonstrates empathy and commitment to her employees, her peers and anyone who has crossed her path in functions performed,” said Francis-Love.
Williams began her postal career in 1981 and moved up the ranks steadily, serving in several roles, including Supervisor of Mails, Acting Superintendent and Station Manager in several delivery stations.
“I’ve served as a manager at postal stations, north, south, east and west, in Dallas,” Williams said. She was then elevated to Customer Service Operations Manager and then Manager of Operations Program Support. Williams also oversaw the renovation of the downtown Dallas station.
“I bring 25 years of experience, knowledge, honesty, integrity and a commitment with a burning desire to satisfy our customers,” Williams said.
Floretta Reed, a retired Metro Operations Manager who supervised and mentored Williams, confirmed her reputation.
“The employees and managers respected her,” Reed said. “The clerks and carriers knew her. Now, you might say, ‘well, why wouldn’t they?’ This is not always the case.
“Pat knew all of the political and community leaders, the union representatives. Whenever we had a problem in Dallas, Pat knew who to contact and get things done. She has all the skills of an ideal postmaster.”
Dallas City Councilmember Don Hill concurred that Williams truly earned her way to the prestigious position.
“There’s no way you would be here without having been tested in many ways in proving yourself to be worthy of this high position,” Hill said. “We sometimes take for granted the job the U.S. Postal Service does. The reason why that is, is that you do it so well and your margin of error is so small.”
Congratulatory messages helped Williams realize the importance of being the first African American female with the title.
“Sometimes you take things for granted because you’re in the position,” Williams said. “You really don’t see it as [being as] significant because you’re there. All of the people around me expressed such admiration.”
Williams said that she earned the position because of her strong work ethic and a constant pursuit of excellence, however it was not necessarily her intention to become Dallas’ first African American Postmaster.
“It just happened,” she said. “But I also worked at doing the best at everything I was given as a task. I just tried to stay focused on whatever job was at hand.”
Dallas District Manager Carl January also spoke at the ceremony. The Dallas U.S. Postal Choir provided entertainment.