First Native American appointed postmaster is Diné
By Alastair Lee BitsoiNavajo Times
FARMINGTON, January 24, 2013
It's a feat for Begay who is the youngest and first Native American to be the postmaster at the 134-year-old post office.
"I'm not the only one," Begay said about being the first Native American postmaster. "In Farmington alone, I am the first Native American and the youngest ever. Gallup and Window Rock have their own Navajo postmasters."
Though he welcomes the congratulatory remarks, the Shiprock, N.M. native says it requires responsibility. After all, he will oversee the function of the post office, which employees about 50 people and the delivery of about 18 million pieces of mail and 150,000 packages to 21,000 addresses in the area.
"Farmington alone generates $3 million," Begay said about his office's impact in the U.S.P.S and on the economy. "In the private sector, we would be a Fortune 500 company. It's a lot money but there's a lot of expenses."
Prior to becoming the postmaster in Farmington, Begay worked with the U.S. Postal Service as a city mail carrier in Tempe, Ariz., in 1999, after serving in the U.S. Marine Corp. from 1993 to 1997.
Between 1997 and 1999, Begay held various jobs and because of aspirations of being a firefighter or police officer, he applied to both jobs with the Tempe city government and, ironically, a third job with the local post office.
"They're the first one who came calling," Begay said about U.S.P.S. "That's how I started."
Since then, he worked at various post offices, primarily in the Phoenix area, as a city mail carrier for six years, before returning back to the Four Corners region in 2005.
From 2005 to 2008, Begay worked periodically as a city mail carrier and then later as an official supervisor.
"The more I worked and the more I saw the structure of the company, I realized the postmaster was the end goal," he said.
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