Delivering Smiles

For Sonja Bruton, her work as Postmaster at the Flat Rock Post Office is more than a job. It is a calling. And for the residents of Flat Rock, that is a very fortunate thing.

For the past seven years, Sonya has been greeting, helping, advising, and generally brightening the day for thousands of Flat Rock postal customers. Her happy voice and bright smile can turn an ordinary postal experience into a better day. And she loves her work. “I enjoy interacting with people and seeing all the people come and go. In Flat Rock, people tell you their stories, you get to develop relationships.”

When Sonya Bruton became Postmaster in Flat Rock in the summer of 2012 she had already been with USPS for nearly 25 years. After finishing school in Asheville, she started working at the Asheville mail processing center on the advice of her mother. She liked the work and her first real job turned into a career that now spans over 30 years.

Sonya eventually left the processing center and started working in the Post Office’s retail locations. She first arrived in Flat Rock in 2003 working in a staff position. She was then promoted to Officer in Charge - responsible for the office when the Postmaster was not present and then was promoted to Postmaster in 2008. 

That first promotion to Postmaster took Sonya on a journey to other Post Offices in the region - including Lake Toxaway and Mars Hill. But she always wanted to come “home” to Flat Rock and when the position opened up in 2011, Sonya applied and the following year became the 32nd person to oversee the Flat Rock Post office since John Davis was first appointed in December of 1829.

Sonya supervises a staff of four and can also serve as an unofficial tour guide for Flat Rock.  “People come here wanting to know the history. They want to know about Carl Sandburg and the Flat Rock Playhouse and all the summer camps in the area.”

Despite the decline of traditional letter writing, business at the Flat Rock Post Office is still growing. Sonya attributes the increase in mail volume to good customer service and the convenience of a small-town post office. “People like being able to walk right up to the counter and having a relationship with us. It just feels more like family here in Flat Rock.”

The holiday season is looming and Sonya and her staff are getting prepared. “Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. It is crazy,” she laughs!  “But I love it. I'm used to it and I know how to get my mind right for it. My goal is to get people in and out and get them what they need for Christmas. At Christmas, everybody is relying on us the help them get their cards and their packages to loved ones. So it is important to them. And to us!”

With her trademark optimistic outlook on life, Sonya has more good days than bad days at work. “I have a lot of days where I just get a lot of gratitude from customers. And not just because I'm looking for it, but they just give it to me and I love that. It makes me feel like I'm doing a good job.”

Of course, there are difficult situations in any job, but Sonya is determined not to let the challenging situations get the best of her … or her customers. Including the grumpy customer that kept coming back to see her. “He's was grumpy but he kept coming back. So I knew I had him! He actually started talking and was more pleasant. I just knew that he was good inside.”

Ultimately, Sonya’s work is more than just a job. She believes that she has been called by her strong faith to help people.  “Serving people, helping people, being nice to people. I just get great joy in helping people. God instilled the joy of himself in me and I like to pay that forward.”

The next time you are in the Flat Rock post office and see Sonya, be sure to tell her hello. It will make her day. Sonya’s big smile and enthusiastic greetings are sure to make yours.