Houston’s new postmaster takes over amid many challenges
Houston’s new postmaster — who previously led U.S. Postal Service operations in Katy — brings three decades of experience to her latest leadership position and will oversee a revenue stream that exceeds a half-billion dollars annually.
Chenise LeDoux, who has been serving as Houston’s acting postmaster for the last year, was installed Friday before 150 people, including friends, colleagues and relatives.
The 50-year-old officially now oversees mail service at 66 stations staffed by more than 3,700 employees, according to the Postal Service. Her area of responsibility covers 1,855 city routes and 151 rural routes.
Annually, the Houston jurisdiction delivers roughly 1.2 billion pieces of mail and generates more than $530 million in revenue with an expense budget exceeding $330 million.
LeDoux, a graduate of Queens University in Charlotte, started her career in 1987 as a clerk in North Carolina. She has ascended through the postal service ranks in five districts across the South — serving as postmaster in Katy, Lake Charles, La., and, most recently, Tampa, Fla.
“The oldest job in the postal service is postmaster. Today, Chenise joins company with people like Ben Franklin ... and Harry Truman ... and Abraham Lincoln,” Postal Service Southern Area Vice President Shaun Mossman said. “There are thousands of jobs in our organization, but the postmaster is the one that manages, leads and directs the most people in our organization every single day.”
LeDoux offered remarks that included the
aim to guide her team to superior “customer contact” and “retail customer experience” through a safe and productive work environment. Her goal is to resolve each issue to the consumer’s satisfaction.
“We are going to provide our customers with excellent service every time they come into one of our facilities,” she said. “We want to deliver the service that they pay for.”
Nationwide downsizing
For several years, the Postal Service has been selling properties as part of a nationwide downsizing effort to cope with declining revenues. The effort has changed the longtime locations of post offices in several Houston communities.
In 2013, the agency unveiled plans to move or consolidate six Houston stations: Memorial Park at 10505 Town And Country Way; Julius Melcher at 2802 Timmons; Greenbriar at 3740 Greenbriar; University at 1319 Richmond; Medical Center at 7205 Almeda and Southmore at 4110 Almeda. In a rare victory for advocates, the Southmore station was spared and continues to operate at its original address.
By 2014, the Yale Street station and downtown’s Houston General Post Office at 401 Franklin were for sale. The Yale Street station has been sold and reopened last year in a remodeled annex near the former location.
Unresolved relocations
In 2015, the downtown post office — built in 1962 and renamed in 1984 for pioneering Houston Congresswoman Barbara Jordan — moved services to a remodeled annex on Hadley Street in Midtown and sold the complex on Franklin.
The Postal Service also announced the possible sale of the Fleetwood Station at 315 Addicks Howell along the Katy Freeway in the Energy Corridor.
LeDoux said she did not know the status of unresolved relocations and closures.
“We haven’t had any dialogue on any of that,” she said, referring additional questions to Postal Service corporate communications, which did not provide an immediate response on Friday.