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Carol Bliven will be sworn in during an installation ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday in the Wisconsin Room of the Radisson Hotel in La Crosse.
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Carol Bliven has been named La Crosse's next Postmaster, and the first female to do so.
PETER THOMSON photo |
Two hours before that, she’ll be at the installation ceremony for her husband, Bill Bliven, who has been named postmaster in Winona, Minn. Both previously held positions with the U.S. Postal Service in the Twin Cities area. The Blivens live in Winona and have five sons, the youngest 19 years old.
Carol Bliven, 48, came to the La Crosse post office in early February as officer in charge, overseeing operations until a new postmaster could be named. Jim Armitage, who had been La Crosse postmaster since April 2002, left the post Jan. 20 to become manager of post office operations in Huron, S.D.
“I’m ecstatic” about becoming La Crosse postmaster, Bliven said Monday. It’s the first time she’s been a postmaster, and this is one of the most beautiful areas she has lived and worked in, she said.
“It just adds to the feeling of excitement,” Bliven said of being La Crosse’s first woman postmaster.
As La Crosse postmaster, Bliven is responsible for about 185 employees. The La Crosse post office is responsible for processing all incoming and outgoing mail for La Crosse and 54 associate offices in the 546 ZIP Code area.
“The community and the employees of this facility have welcomed me in a very warm manner,” Bliven said.
“We have some of the hardest-working employees here that I’ve ever worked with,” she added.
Bliven, a Minneapolis native, has nearly 27 years of experience with the U.S. Postal Service. She began her postal career as a distribution clerk at the Minneapolis post office. Before coming to La Crosse, she was manager of customer service operations at the main post office in St. Paul, Minn.
She has a bachelor’s degree in personnel administration from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul.
Steve Cahalan can be reached at (608) 791-8229 or scahalan@lacrossetribune.com.
