A special delivery: Tallahassee native Vanessa Cobb comes home to become new Postmaster

She's homegrown, homemade, and locally educated: Vanessa Cobb is back home making history as the first Black woman to be sworn in as Tallahassee's 33rd Postmaster.

In the south side of the city ‒ Cobb's own backyard ‒ her friends, family, colleagues, and even some of Tallahassee's well-known political faces gathered in front of Tallahassee's Main Post Office at 2800 S. Adams St.

The event featured a welcome sign for Cobb and balloons in red, blue and white ‒ the colors of the United States Postal Service. Guests sat in adorned seats or stood in the shade provided by the few trees on site.

Among those attending: City Commissioner Curtis Richardson, U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell, Leon Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna, Leon County Property Appraiser Akin Akinyemi and Gadsden County Commissioner Kimblin NeSmith. Richardson, Dunn, Hanna, Akinyemi and NeSmith all are candidates for office in next Tuesday's primary election.

After the pomp and circumstance of Thursday's ceremony, however, come serious challenges for Cobb: Mail delivery remains a sore point for many residents. Alongside letters and packages arriving weeks late, other complaints include intercepted checks, stolen gift cards and more.

Cobb now must oversee facility reviews as part of a plan for mail service improvement. Auditors discovered serious problems plaguing area mail facilities, including improper package scanning and dilapidated buildings.

Before her swearing-in this week, the Tallahassee Democrat requested an opportunity to interview Cobb, which post office officials denied. And after the event, a reporter attempted to ask Cobb questions but was turned away.

In comments during the ceremony, however, Derrick Watson, Manager of Distribution Operations for USPS in Tallahassee said Cobb's "plan to strengthen our relationship between our employees and the community is the vital step to addressing these challenges together."

President Joe Biden in 2022 signed a bill renaming the city's main post office after the late Edwina Stephens, a longtime community activist who spent decades lobbying, organizing and even demanding equality in amenities and services for Tallahassee's south side.

More: Biden signs bill establishing the ‘D. Edwina Stephens Post Office’ on South Adams Street

Richardson told the crowd "how proud we are of you and I have to admit I've known your family for years and watched you ... grow up here on the south side," Richardson said. "We want to thank you for all that you have contributed and all that we know you will continue to contribute."

Dunn, who was the motivating force behind the recent audits, later added: "I'm confident that we have the right person for this job and I can think of no one better suited to take this position."

In fact, Dunn didn't shy away from the bad news in the audit reports.

"The Postmaster Inspector General uncovered some unacceptable delays and processing problems and now we want to address that," Dunn said. "I'm pleased that we were able to get the postmaster general down here to take a look at things – but the job isn't over."

Cobb herself acknowledged that "there have been some struggles here in Tallahassee" but she said that she feels she can get the job done.

"I promise ... to the community that I will strengthen our relationship between my employees and the community so that we provide the best service possible to our customers," Cobb said, echoing Watson.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: A special delivery: Tallahassee native Vanessa Cobb comes home to become new Postmaster