Female In Mailroo
City's New Postmaster Defies
Tradition To Achieve Goals
in challenging hersel
h tbc task
It's this ob-..
10 tcbdOl in UN e.irh l
gain the knowledge she !■■
Her high school education mm I a
knew that So, she worked during
.ittemle<l classes at night, and, whi
nur her husband and three childi
She took courses at Shaw I'niversitv.
College and the I'niversity ol Virginia
The jobs she rilled along the waj
She would use that experience to help
the top, and. besides, they needed the money.
Mrs. Mixon ignored the research reports that
proved a black woman's chances of getting into
a managerial position were slim at best Instead, she set her goals and gathered knowledge
that would help her overcome the obstacles
ahead
As the barriers began to fall, the goals edged
interview at her office tn the main branch of the
post office She smiled graciously from behind
her large executive desk, which is still too new
to have acquired the mound:
spawned by months on the jot
" >ver the Southern n
is people from 11 states could ;
Ik.
. applle.
never to lose my cool; another had excellS
marketing skills; and another possessed on-
standing administrative skills My ideal isfe
composite of these." Tj
As she did volunteer work in PTA and churcl!
Enola Mixon Getting Accustomed To New Office
Such optimism has played a major role in her
trip along the road to success. It has also
accounted for her ability to fit comfo
the managerial role, one she has trained for
rigorously.
post office in 1966 as a postal clerk and. after
proving her expertise in that position, was able
to fill other clerical positions in airmail and
distribution Nine years ago she was appointed
director of employee and labor relations for the
Greensboro office as well as 117 other offices in
She also served as the officer in charge at post
offices in Winston-Salem. Greensboro and Burlington and was a finalist in competition for the
postmaster's job in Durham
practice the leadership qualities she was leaning long before she needed them on the job
"Pulling together a group of people for a
leadership
When M:
" she ss
Mixon was notified in February
nao oeen selected for the job. she a; J
her husband, who is retired from the milll
and works at the bulk mail center in Greer
boro, began looking for a house in High Poirn
Unlike times past, schools are no longer
consideration since their children are on th<
own. A son graduated from UNC-Chapel HU1
daughter graduated from Fisk I'niversity ;
another son is a sergeant with the Arn
has more free time to concentrate on her plans for
improving services at the local postal facilities
She has already begun contacting large bulk
mailers in the area, soliciting their suggestions on
improvements for the system.
She is also seeking suggestions from the public at
large — and is even interested in their complaints
subject to error On any given day we may have one
or two pieces of mail delayed needlessly, but look
how many make it through on time
"I encourage anyone who would like to see how
his or her mail is processed to make arrangements
to come down and watch it go through People
would be amazed at the volume we handle "
"The postal service has been the I
3kes nationwide," she said. "Some
ut most are not. Although 95 percent of
rrives on time, it's the other 5 percent
deserved.
; undergoing onentatioi
it Fort Bragg.
"Most people don't realize the enormous amount
of mail that is processed each day. In High Point
n average of 106,250 pieces of mai'
on says she is impre:
are hard feelings becau
Just as in the past.
POSTMASTER =
(FROMPAGf IE)
x&zzsex'xszjz
in management
"I want to encourage managers to give their
women employees a chance to look beyond
the sex of a worker and to see her potential A
lot of women have management
there's nobody around to pull out their talents
and nuture them
"Doors are opening to women, but they're
afraid to venture in The) w< so accustomed to
being told its a man's job
"Women need to critique their skills and
shortcomings, to pinpoint areas lhe\ need to
improve, then do something about it '
"Success is out there vou .
after It"
