Neither rain, nor sleet -- nor the fact that he’s been on the job since September -- will stop the postal employees from planning a celebration to welcome Rapid City’s new postmaster.

Mark Herreid will officially be sworn in and installed at a Jan. 25 ceremony, replacing Dan Doran, who retired last May.

The 57-year-old Mitchell native came to Rapid City from Flagstaff, Ariz., where he held a similar position.

This isn’t his first stop in Rapid City, however. He started his career in Spearfish, working for the post office while attending school at Black Hills State College. He was transferred to Rapid City in 1976, where he worked one year as a city carrier.

“No one remembers me from those days,” he said, laughing.

As postmaster, Herreid now is responsible for the retail, delivery, processing, transportation and collection of the mail. Millions of pieces of mail go through the local office annually, which operates around the clock, 365 days a year. “We never shut down.”

“There are currently 150 career employees who are working on night shifts and behind the scenes,” he said.

That number also includes those familiar faces at the post office windows and on the carrier routes, he added.

All of those employees have been stretched lately to do even more after a reduction in the postal work force saw 11 positions eliminated at the end of November. Herreid blamed the falling volume of first-class mail, billing and advertising with the lingering effects of the recession for the belt-tightening measures that forced the layoffs.

“It happened gradually, from the end of October to the end of November,” Herreid said of the job cuts. “There were some early employee outs and people who retired early without penalty.”

Despite the challenges, he has enthusiasm for what he and his staff can do locally to help meet the challenge to do more with less.

“We have exceptional people working here who know their customers and care for their customers,” Herreid said. “I want to tap into that for improved service.”

He said despite lowered letter volume, the U.S. Postal Service does well against competing delivery companies in package delivery. The postal service offers the most economical rates, he said, that many commercial competitors use the postal service to deliver their packages.

“While we lost in one area, we gained in another. That’s the challenges out there -- how to adapt the commercial use to what we offer,” Herreid said.

Lavon Hanson, longtime postmistress at Howes Corner, said Herreid has taken on some pretty big responsibilities overseeing all the processing of mail from most of western South Dakota, which includes diverse populations including Rapid City as well as her rural post office, located about 135 miles northeast of Rapid City.

Looking at the changes in post office services and delivery over the past decade, Lavon Hanson said Herreid doesn’t have an easy job.

“I do wish him well,” Hanson said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.