ANNA MARIA – Friday, July 25 was Anna Maria Postmaster Sheila Brunger’s last day on the job.
After 31 ½ years with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Brunger is retiring. After using her remaining vacation days and paid leave, her retirement becomes official on Oct. 31.
Brunger began doing temporary work for the postal service in 1988 and she became a full-time USPS employee in 1993. In 2007, she was named the Terra Ceia postmaster, working inside the small, still-standing historic post office building in northwest Manatee County. She was named Anna Maria postmaster in 2012 and assumed those duties in 2013, succeeding Postmaster Gloria Kincade.
A new Anna Maria postmaster has not been named yet and current Anna Maria Post Office employee Kristen Gray will serve as acting postmaster until a new postmaster is named.
When asked what she’ll miss most about being the Anna Maria postmaster, Brunger said, “I’m going to miss the community, the residents and the customers. And I really do love the mail, so I will miss that too. What I will not miss is the drive out here.”
While unable to provide an exact date, Brunger expects the hurricane-damaged post office on Pine Avenue to reopen soon. Until then, the Anna Maria Post Office continues to operate inside a large trailer parked across the street at City Pier Park. Anna Maria is the only city on Anna Maria Island that does not provide home mail delivery, which means residents, seasonal visitors and business owners must retrieve their mail from their P.O. boxes at the post office.
Brunger doesn’t have any big plans for the beginning of her retirement years.
“I’m going to relax. My husband, Scott, is going to retire next year and then I get to hang out with him,” she said on her final day.
One day earlier, on July 24, Brunger attended the Anna Maria City Commission meeting and Mayor Mark Short recognized her many years of service to the community. Before presenting Brunger with a framed copy, Short read aloud a city proclamation that recognized a career that included more than 12 years as the Anna Maria postmaster.
“During her tenure, Sheila provided outstanding and courteous service to the citizens of the city of Anna Maria, becoming a beloved and reliable figure in our community. The city of Anna Maria recognizes and appreciates the steadfast commitment to excellence, professionalism and community service. Therefore, I, Mark Short, mayor of the city of Anna Maria, do hereby recognize and honor Sheila Brunger for her exemplary career and dedicated service; and I extend our heartfelt congratulations to her retirement,” Short said when reading the proclamation.
