8-10-2022 3:39pm

AlamogordoTownNews.com Holloman Post Office Appointment of New Postmaster Rich Merrick

Chris Edwards Editor

AlamogordoTownNews.com Rich Merrick Appointment to Postmaster at Holloman Post Office

Alamogordo local does well and scores the position of new postmaster of the post office facility at Holloman Airforce Base.

Rich Merrick graduated high school in 1983 from Gates New York. He entered the US Army and served in a variety of roles; US Army 52D Generator Mechanic, during 1985 through 1988 he served in Nurnberg Germany with the 317th Mountain Company, from 1988 to 1992 locally he served at Holloman in Army Air Operations. After leaving the army he worked as an over the road truck driver for a period of over 12 years. From there he settled down a bit and opted to grow as career with the US Postal Service. He began as a clerk in Alamogordo working his way up to a city carrier, and then a supervisor with assignments in Holloman, Carlsbad, Artesia and Rosswell. Known for his commitment to the customer and service orientated he was officially named and promoted to the position of Post Master at Holloman Air Force Base Post Office 7/30/22.

Rich and his wife Ronda are well known in the community for community support, championing of causes in support of veterans, the elderly, animals, community growth and even cemetery maintenance. They are each avid champions of the redevelopment of New York Avenue and the success of local small businesses.

Rich is recognized for his big smile and passionate demeanor in ensuring care and justice with a respect to history.

An example of his care for community and service was a passionate plea he made in 2016 for the care of the Monte Vista Cemetery.

On a morning in 2016 when he was fulfilling his duties in the honor guard during a funeral for a veteran when he noticed weeds as tall as 3 feet.

According to news accounts at the time from the Alamogordo News; “In some places the weeds were actually covering gravestones,” Merrick said. “I thought to myself that it wasn’t right, and we should be doing better by our deceased. Whether they were veterans or not, these graves show the history of our town.”

According to Merrick’s research at the time, the City of Alamogordo acquired Monte Vista Cemetery in 1944 from the Daughters of the American Revolution. The agreement made by both parties was that the city would be responsible for perpetual care over new gravesites and the existing graves would be taken care of by families of the deceased.

“They’re supposed to be taken care of by the families but we’re 100 years from a lot of these graves so how many families are still here to take care of these graves,” Merrick said. “There are some gravestones that date back to before the statehood of New Mexico. The history here is amazing and if you’ll take the time it really tells the story of Alamogordo and how people came and built this town to what it is today.”

He said he began thinking of how care could be provided with no fiscal impact and the idea for Project Honor Past was born. Under Project Honor Past, the 12.3 acres of the non-perpetual care area was split into 17 sections and residents take responsibility for a lot under a one-year basis.

“In a week’s time, I now have everything covered,” Merrick said. “There’s no way me by myself could take care of 12.3 acres and so it was a great project to get citizens involved in. The response that I got was immense. I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the people that wanted to help.”

Information about Project Honor Past can still be found on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/projecthonoredpast

The above action reported in 2016, is just one of many examples of public service that people have mentioned to the AlamogordoTownNews.com on behalf of recognizing Rich Merrick for his service to the local community.

In speaking with Mr. Merrick and congratulating him upon his appointment as the new postmaster of the Holloman Airforce Base Post Office he was very humbled and reassuring that his job is all about "providing the best service possible in a clean and hospitable environment to those service members and families we serve."

Mr. Merrick's history has shown he is passionate about service and getting the job done right!

Congratulations from the AlamogordoTownNews.com staff and readers for your appointment as postmaster at Holloman.