Michael Antenor (above) has a fascinating resume
in addition to being a beloved letter carrier in Fort Meyers.
He emigrated to America
in 1980 from Haiti. "Haiti is a poor country," says Antenor. "I
was always looking for opportunities." Determined to make a better life
for himself, he went to the French, Italian and German consulates seeking a way
out before finally landing a scholarship in Germany.
But a group of his friends,
who were already in the United States, would hear none of
it. So, they convinced Antenor to move to America.
He enlisted in the Navy in
1987 and became a U.S. citizen two years later, which was a requirement in his
field of electronics due to the nature of his work. After serving four years in
the military, he enrolled in New York City Technical College, where he earned a
degree in Electrical Engineering.
Right after graduation, he
began sending out employment applications. In 2003, he eventually landed a city
job with Broward County, FL. But an ex-Marine told Antenor that USPS was hiring
and urged him to give it a try. Soon, he received a letter from the Postal
Service informing him that he had passed the postal exam.
"I told myself, I'm not
going to look for any more electronics jobs." Fortunately, he was still in
the Navy as a reservist, so he was also able to work in the
electronics field. As an Interior Communications Electrician, the military
would send him to the shipyards to work on the submarines. He was responsible
for everything from the radar to the control speed of the ships to the alarms
and communications equipment. He retired from the Navy in 2017.
Antenor is also fluent in
French, Spanish, English, and Creole Haitian. He also studied Greek, Latin,
Italian, and German. "A lot of my customers who know I speak French will
converse with me. I have a mom and her daughter on my route who are both
learning French. There is another customer who wants to keep her French
current."
Antenor has been on his
current mail route for the past six years. "My customers are great. I
couldn't ask for more wonderful people," he said. "They always ask
how I'm doing and around the holidays give me goodies. For example, a customer made
me a mask with a postal design last year."
Antenor says he was never
worried about delivering mail because of the pandemic. "We followed the
advice of the CDC and Postal Service. I remained focused on doing my job and
always had my mask. We continue to take precautions because it's not yet
over."
Antenor has been with his
wife Zoila for 28 years. They have four sons and a granddaughter, all of whom
live in Orlando.
"I have my route with
close to 500 business and residential customers," he says. "I'm happy
with it, so I keep going. I have no plans to retire."
