Campbell eyes retirement after delivering over three-decade career with US Post Office in Flint

Dan Campbell, a lifelong resident of Flint, will officially retire from the Flint Post Office on Monday, July 31, completing a tenure of 32 ½ years. Campbell began as a Rural Carrier Associate on Saturday, Oct. 27, 1984.

PHOTO COURTESY NANCY CAMPBELL

Posted Tuesday, July 18, 2017 10:00 pm

By Micah McCartney

For over three decades, one thing has been constant in the life of Dan Campbell: his job with the United States Post Office in Flint.

Now, with an average of 10-15 job changes in a worker’s lifespan, Campbell is about to embark on a new adventure, as he will officially retire from the Post Office on Monday, July 31, ending a career spanning a total of nearly 33 years.

“I’m excited and looking forward to my retirement,” said Campbell. “After 32 ½ years, I’m sort of ready to enter that next phase of my life of where I can do some things that I want to do, and perhaps my wife and I can start doing some traveling and vacationing. I’m just excited for this next adventure.”

Campbell’s tenure with the Flint Post Office began on Saturday, Oct. 27, 1984 after he accepted the substitute role of Rural Carrier Associate, filling in for full-time carriers who were either sick or off work.

“The position of Rural Carrier Associate ensured that I would get to work at least one or two days a week, which was the most we got that that point in time,” said Campbell. “I was also working a part-time job on the side as a way to supplement my income.”

Later, Campbell was able to step up into the position of a full-time carrier, thus fulfilling his desire when he started at the facility.

“Becoming a full-time worker at the Post Office was my initial goal when I began working there,” said Campbell. “I was very excited when that happened and really had a feeling of accomplishment. I felt that I had a career that I could work at until I retire from it.”

Campbell said the experience of observing an employee of the Flint Post Office when he was a young boy initially drew him to the position.

“When I was growing up in Flint, we only had one rural route,” said Campbell. “It always fascinated me when the gentleman who was the carrier then would run his route. I would see him in the back of the office sorting through the letters, and then, in just a short amount of time, he would be out driving his route. The job was also one of the really good jobs that was available to those who did not have a college degree, which I don’t have. I felt very fortunate to get a job where I could provide for my family, have a good retirement, and have good benefits.”

During his tenure, Campbell was able to witness firsthand the explosion of growth that trickled down from Tyler down Old Jacksonville Hwy. and into the cities of Flint and Bullard.

“This area has really exploded over the past 30 years,” said Campbell. “At the Post Office, we’ve grown from one original route to four routes when I started in 1984. Now, we’ve more than doubled and have a total of nine full routes, all in the span of 30 years. My first little route had about 60 miles and about 400 boxes; the route I’ll be retiring from at the end of the month is about 40 miles long with 635 total boxes. There’s still homes being built all over the place, and so there’s a potential for more boxes on each route.”

In addition to USPS mail, Campbell said the parcel mail delivery business boom of late had also had an impact on his route.

“The parcel delivery business has definitely picked up over the past three years with companies like Amazon,” said Campbell. “Our mail volume has just exploded because of that.”

Looking ahead to his retirement in just 12 short days, Campbell said not working at the job he has worked at for over 30 years will take some getting used to.

“It’s going to be life-changing,” said Campbell. “I’ll really miss my co-workers and my Post Master, who has been a great supervisor to work for. In fact, one of the other carriers and I recently discovered we’ve worked at the Flint Post Office for 27 ½ years, so we go back a long way. It’s going to be a change, but I hope to remain in touch.”

As far as immediate retirement plans go, Campbell said he intends to attend his son’s senior year activities and games, while completing tasks on his ever-growing “honey-do” list. Despite retirement, Campbell said

“I wouldn’t rule out anything as far as part-time work goes, if the right thing comes along” said Campbell. “But right now, I’m not worried about that; I want to get some things I want to do done, enjoy the time, and relax a little bit.”

Campbell contributes his long-term career with the US Post Office in Flint to his desire to work within the community he grew up in, as well as interact with its residents every day.

“As far as the postal service goes, I didn’t want to work anywhere but Flint,” said Campbell. “I had everything down pretty well and knew that going to work in another office would just be crazy. I knew the town of Flint well. As hard as I worked, I had no desire to quit and start over again somewhere else.”

Campbell is married to his wife, Nancy. The couple, who will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in November, has one son, John, a senior at Bullard High School.

http://www.bullardnews.com/stories/campbell-eyes-retirement-afterdelivering-over-three-decadecareer-with-us-post-office-in,113939