USPS Maui postmaster installation event a ‘Family Affair’

The US Postal Service’s Hawaiʻi leadership team visited the Valley Isle last week to recognize and officially install seven Maui County postmasters.

The installation event was a unique family affair, featuring mother and son postmasters Michelle Almeida and Chris Harris, and Danielle Boteilho, a third-generation USPS employee following in the footsteps of her grandmother.

USPS Hawaiʻi District Manager Eileen Veach and Manager of Post Office Operations Ty Sobieraj congratulated and administered the official oaths of office to Almeida (Kīhei postmaster), Boteilho (Makawao), David Boydstun (Lahaina), Jun Cariazo (Kula), Harris (Puʻunēnē), Brandyann Moore (Kaunakakai), and Marlene Nagata (Pāʻia).

“This event is a celebration of family heritage, and of our commitment to the shared values that bind the community together,” said Veach. “These postmasters carry on the legacy of the postal leaders who came before them and lay the groundwork for those who will follow.”

The simultaneous postmaster positions held by Almeida and Harris mirror their experience in 2010 when their tours of military duty in Afghanistan overlapped.

“My mother’s dedication and passion for her postal and military careers have been a tremendous source of inspiration for me, and motivated me to follow in her footsteps,” said Harris. “Her postal career has shown me the value of service and that working hard can make a real difference.”

Almeida notes that she was initially surprised when Harris opted for a postal career. “I was on active military duty and didn’t even know that Chris was applying,” she said. “It surprised me because he had seen the amount of effort and sacrifice that is required of a rewarding management career with the post office.”

Harris took on job assignments all across the state in order to demonstrate his strengths and abilities, and to successfully earn his own standing. Now, the mother and son work at adjacent post offices and are able to collaborate on projects that benefit their customers and employees.

“I’m very proud of Chris,” said Almeida. “Throughout my career I’ve talked about my ‘postal ʻohana’ at my post office, on Maui, and in Hawaiʻi. Serving as postmasters with Chris on the same island seems like a natural extension of that ʻohana.”

Boteilho’s family has served in leadership positions at Maui post offices across three generations. Danielle’s grandfather, Edward Boteilho, served as a USPS employee for 41 years, including eight years as Haʻikū postmaster and ten years as Kahului postmaster. Her grandmother, Anita Boteilho, was a USPS employee for 28 years, including serving as Pāʻia postmaster for nine years and Makawao postmaster for four. Her father, Gregory Boteilho Sr., served as a USPS employee for 41 years and retired as a supervisor at the Kīhei Post Office.

“My family was elated when they learned that I was named the postmaster of Makawao,” said Boteilho. “I’m very honored to continue my family’s legacy of postal service. I take pride in the fact that I’m serving as postmaster in the same office that was once overseen by my grandma. That is very special to me.”