by S. Rotan Hale
Local native LaRue V. Dickerson was proudly sworn in as Roanoke Postmaster during an official installation ceremony Friday, May 30 at Cave Spring Post Office. In his new position Dickerson is the lead postal official for retail and delivery services for both Roanoke City and County areas.
Officiating the ceremony was David Laws, Postmaster Operations Manager (Area G) who opened the service praising Dickerson for his accomplishments achieved along the path which led to the coveted position he now holds.
Gerald Roane, Postal Manager, Virginia District delivered the oath to Dickerson with his hand on a Bible held by his mother, Cheryl Dickerson as a sizable gathering of family and friends looked on. Sitting front row was Mayor Joe Cobb joined by a contingent of various postal officials that included former Postmaster Angela Jones and others.
“As a former Postmaster it has truly been a blessing working with Mr. Dickerson. Over the two years we worked together we experienced some tough times in mail delivery but he was always incredibly committed to moving the mail,” said Jones before reading a letter of accommodation from Virginia Senator Mark Warner congratulating the newly crowned postmaster on his appointment.
Among the family members present for the auspicious occasion was Dickerson’s brother Whitney Dickerson, a sharply uniformed, decorated Chief Naval officer who while speaking highly of LaRue also spoke briefly of growing up as his older brother.
“LaRue told me to wear my “dress whites” uniform to proudly show myself as a Navy officer of standing,” Officer Whitney said. “Here it is thirty plus years later and this guy is still telling me what to do.”
After listing his brother’s accomplishments from prepared notes Officer Whitney explained, “LaRue has continued his personal and professional development by taking USPS leadership training and courses and was also part of the Operational Excellence Pilot Program.
His brother’s litany of praise closed with words of encouraging advise whereby he stated: “leadership is an opportunity not an obligation. Continue to build your team to be the best and by best I mean believe in them, support them, empower them and trust them to do the right thing.”
Shortly after graduation from William Fleming High School in 2000, Dickerson’s postal carrier began at the Roanoke Carrier Annex as a carrier assistant in 2015 and became a full-time carrier in 2016. Taking it to the next level he graduated in 2019 to a 204-B level carrier at the annex. Shortly thereafter he became a customer service supervisor over all local stations.
Among his accomplishments Dickerson was chosen to be on the 2020 Carrier Route Inspection Team for the Appalachian District and in 2021 rose to Yellow Belt Lean Six Sigma certification within the system. He was awarded his first postmaster position in Altavista, VA and soon after in 2022 became station manager at the Roanoke Carrier Annex facility.
“Roanoke is my hometown, and I know many of our customers personally,” Dickerson said during a lengthy speech filled with expressions of gratitude to his family and a host of individuals he mentioned. He praised his team of area postal supervisors who were brought to the front for a moment of recognition.
“I am committed to serving this community, not only as your Postmaster, but as your loyal friend, neighbor and advocate for the community,” he said and went on to explain how… “Ensuring customers receive the best possible service whether it’s mail and package delivery, retails services or customer support, is a top priority.”
Dickerson’s lengthy and well-delivered acceptance speech proved him as a man committed to his profession, his family and the community. Proudly he spoke as a seasoned leader honed by character developed from personal experience – experience gained from years of customer service as a handler of incredibly precious cargo – the mail that matters to all of us as a society.
For more information on the role of local postmasters and on the remarkable modernization progress of the Postal Service, please visit usps.com.
