New Boulder City postmaster sworn in

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

Following her swearing-in, Postmaster Shirley Roland speaks with emotion about her commitment to serving Boulder City as the new postmaster Thursday during the installment ceremony.

By Cassie Tomlin (contact)

Thursday, March 12, 2009 | 6:49 p.m.

On the lawn of the Boulder City Post Office today, Shirley Roland took the same oath as President Barack Obama did in January.

Roland promised to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Beyond that, she promises to see to it that you get your mail on time.

Just after 1 p.m., Roland was sworn in as Boulder City's postmaster for the United States Postal Service.

As the head of the city's post office, she joins the likes of President Abraham Lincoln, author William Faulkner and Benjamin Franklin, who all served as postmasters. Franklin was the nation's first postmaster general.

Twenty years ago, Roland started as a postal clerk in Las Vegas, sorting mail at 3 a.m. for carriers to deliver. She made her way through the ranks of the Postal Service in Las Vegas and Henderson as a carrier and a supervisor.

Now, she makes sure 14 carriers every day get about 48,000 pieces of mail to 8,600 homes and businesses and 1,230 post office boxes in Boulder City, said Craig Colton, manager of post office operations for Nevada-Sierra District.

Roland succeeded Stephan Perea, who was postmaster for more than four years. In December, he took a Postal Service job in Las Vegas.

At the induction, a light breeze swept through the crowd, the American Legion Post 31 presented the flags and the Boulder City High School choir sang the national anthem.

Yul Melonson, who is Las Vegas' postmaster, supervised Roland as a carrier. As a mail carrier, she was consistent and friendly, Melonson said. Even then, he said, he knew she was a leader. She trained hard and took on any challenge, he said.

Grady Griffin, Henderson's postmaster who also worked with her, said everyone can tell Roland loves what she does.

"She enjoys people," he said. "She knows the customers." Roland, who lives in Henderson, came to the Boulder City Post Office last month.

She said she loves the community and feels she is doing important work providing people with mail six days a week.

"I always thought we really touch people's lives," she said. "Everybody lets us in. Whether it's to give you a birthday card or your college acceptance letter or something from your husband in Iraq."

Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or cassie.tomlin@hbcpub.com.