KINGSPORT, TN – Kingsport’s downtown post office – previously on the market for about 18 months – is now serving a new role in the Tri-Cities region.
A portion of the two-story building is now home to a Rural Carrier Training Academy. Susan Wright, acting communications programs specialist with the U.S. Postal Service, said the academy was established at the downtown site earlier this summer.
“It’s already begun. They’ve had at least one class there already,” Wright said. “We’ve been storing some equipment there and they just moved it out to save a little bit of travel time for new employees coming in to the postal service for their training.”
Previously, rural carriers could be trained in Knoxville or Johnson City, but not in Kingsport. Rural carriers receive three days of classroom training, three days of on-the-job training and driver’s training depending on the type of vehicle used for the route, Wright said.
Kingsport Times-News: Downtown post office home to rural carrier academy
