Jason Hirschvogel grew up in Russellville and graduated high school in 1993.
He accepted his first job with the U.S. Postal Service in March 2001 as a part-time letter carrier and now is the 31st postmaster for Jefferson City. He was appointed June 14.
"I never probably would have dreamed 13 years ago that I would be here in this position today," Hirschvogel said about his job. "That doesn't happen without a lot of good mentors and guidance from the people I worked with and the people I worked for."
He was a manager at the Tiger Station post office in Columbia for three years before he became postmaster. He attributed the acquisition of his position to chance and good guidance from his colleagues.
"I was perfectly satisfied being a city letter carrier, I loved doing it," he said. "Then coming on board and doing some supervising presented me with new challenges. It kind of challenged you a little bit more throughout the day in a different area."
Hirschvogel oversees roughly 35,000 deliveries on 60 different routes by more than 100 employees. He is in charge of the main post office and the Capitol View office in Jefferson City, as well as offices in Russellville and St. Elizabeth. He also manages the retail transactions of all the aforementioned offices that comprise millions of dollars in revenue for the postal service.
"It can be hectic," he said. "I oversee all functions of that, whether it be city delivery, rural delivery, collections, bulk mail ... and all facets with the finances and operations of that."
When asked what a typical or routine day is for a postmaster, Hirschvogel smiles.
"There is no typical day when you oversee an operation such as this and you get to work with as many people as we do, there is no set routine with any day," he said with an odd sort of comfort. "If there is something you learn in the postal service, it is to expect the unexpected. So each day ... is little a bit different."
Hirschvogel said his goals as postmaster are to maintain what was established before him while adhering to the different and sometimes daily orders from his headquarters.
"The main thing that we can strive to do every day here is deliver top-notch service," he said. "So whatever we have to do as a group, from myself to my supervisor on down to each and every letter carrier and clerk, we are gonna do what needs to be done to maintain high levels in customer service."
The postmaster enjoys what he does.
"At the end of the day, it's all about doing what you love to do and that is what we do here," Hirschvogel said.