On her first day with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in 1983, Sheba Martin walked the streets of Griffin on a cold and rainy November day.

Having worked for another federal government agency for five years, Martin began her USPS career as a city letter carrier and continued in that position for two more years before moving inside the post office as a clerk.

In 1993, Martin became the supervisor of customer service before being sworn in as the Griffin postmaster in 2000. During the last two years, Martin has served as the acting manager of post office operations, a position in which she oversees all post offices that serve the zip-codes starting with 302.

On Tuesday, after 29 years with the USPS, Martin will retire.

“Any job you do in the postal service is very hard, very demanding,” Martin said. “The postal service has always been good to me and my family.”

Martin is one of 324 postmasters in the capital metro area and one of 34 postmasters in the Atlanta District to retire on the last day of this month as part of an early retirement incentive program the USPS has offered.

“The part I will miss will be the people (at the post office),” she said.

Asked if she can think of a special moment or memory during her many years with the postal service, Martin recalled a time several years ago when she was handing out certificates to army veterans — a Veterans Day tradition at the local post office for many years.

One of her employees was serving in the U.S. military in Kuwait at the time, so Martin was going to award the certificate in his absence — or so she thought. After she had read the employee’s name, he came walking through the post office’s back door.

“I’m honored to know such outstanding people,” she said of her employee and the other staff members at the post office.

As for her plans during retirement, Martin said she would like to attend the Justice Center of Atlanta to become a mediator.

“I’ll stay busy. I’ll be doing something,” she said.

Whatever she’ll be doing in the future, she’ll likely be doing it in Griffin.

“I was raised right across the railroad tracks,” Martin said. “This is my hometown. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve always loved serving the community.”