RENSSELAERVILLE—Dianne Schanz has worked her way up the ladder. When she be-came a rural postal carrier in Berne in 1979, she thought the postal service was a good career move, she said. She turned out to be right.

Schanz was sworn in last Tuesday as the postmaster for the Rensselaerville post office. Though she was appointed a year ago, the manager of post office operations, Joe Fannan was not available for the ceremony until this week.

The best part of her work, Schanz said, is interacting with the community.

"Working with the public is most satisfying," she said.

Schanz is a Berne native and a graduate of Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School. She still lives in Berne, with her husband, David.

As a postmaster, Schanz is responsible for, among other things, sorting mail, waiting on customers, and supervising a rural postal carrier.

As the only representative of the federal government in a small town, Schanz views herself as a "goodwill ambassador" to the people of Rensselaerville.

"Part of having us there is having us as a role model," Schanz said.

Before coming to Rensselaerville, Schanz worked for eight years in the Altamont post office.

Post offices are central to a small town, and acknowledging that, Rensselaerville postal customers welcomed her with open arms, Schanz said.

"The customers have just been so generous and so kind," Schanz said. "They just really took to me."