A ceremony was held July 2 at the Plains Community Center for the renaming of the Plains Post Office in honor of the Carters.

The Plains Post Office was renamed in honor of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, with a ceremony held on July 2 at the Plains Community Center. Several representatives of the post office participating, with Manager Brandy R. Jackson, customer relations, made introductions. The colors were presented by the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany color guard, and the invocation was given by Reverend Tony Lowden, former pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church.

Rickayla Jackson, Postmaster of the Americus Post Office, and is also over the Plains Post Office. She never knew Rosalynn or Jimmy Carter personally, but learned about them from the memories of customers and employees. “The mere mention of the Carter name will cause the faces of our employees and customers to light up with joy.”

Jimmy Carter once asked about a former employee, Pat Conger, when she was away on a doctor’s visit. “He even left her a thoughtful note, which became a cherished memento.”

James “Chip” Carter III, the son of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, thanked everyone for coming. “It means a lot to my family.” Chip Carter recalled fond memories of visiting his grandmother, Sallie Smith, who worked at the Plains Post office. “My heart goes out to all those people in the Postal Service.”

Chip Carter expressed his gratitude for the celebration. “I want to thank the Postal Service for naming this after my parents, and I hope all the postal employees in the world get a raise soon, because my grandmother needed it!”

He shared a memory of the Plains Post Office. “I delivered the first mailing when dad ran for governor and lost.” He mailed 500 postcards. “They didn’t appreciate me, but I think they were excited over the years that dad kept writing mail through here, kept the post office alive and going when others were closing in the area.” The Plains Post office had a huge impact on the Carter family. “That post office was the key factor in dad getting elected to most of his offices, in Georgia anyway.”

While Representative Sanford Bishop was unable to attend, Chip Carter thanked him for spearheading the bill to rename the post office after his parents. “Sanford and my father and mother exchanged hundreds of phone calls. If dad needed something really bad, he’d call Sanford and Sanford never hesitated to come down. They prayed for each other.”

As president of the Carter Plains Foundation, Chip Carter seeks to carry on his parent’s legacy. The Carter’s left the foundation money to benefit Sumter County.

When asked if there was anything else he would like to share with the tight-knit community of Plains, Chip Carter replied; “Just that my parents loved them, every one of them, regardless of their politics.”

Lillian Allethea Smith-Wall, sister of Rosalynn Carter, also shared memories. “We didn’t have cell phones back when Rosalynn and Jimmy were dating, so the post office was sort of how they dated.” Jimmy Carter was at the Naval Academy, and Rosalynn Carter, then Rosalynn Smith, was at Georgia Southwestern. “So the post office got a lot of mail.”

Smith-Wall also recalled memories of Sallie Smith, her mother, working at the old post office which is now occupied by the Buffalo Café. “She was there every morning for 27 years.” When Smith turned 70, she faced mandatory retirement. It led her to tears. “She loved the post office so much, she did not want to retire.”

Smith-Wall felt the renaming would have been appreciated. “I thank you all for honoring Rosalynn and Jimmy, and mother would have loved it too.”

Mayor of the City of Plains, Joseph Recker Jr., described the post office as an important part of the community. “It’s where neighbors say good morning, hello and greet each other. It’s where families send letters to loved ones. It’s where generations of Plains residents have come and gone, and now every time we pass through these doors, we’re going to be reminded of two extraordinary individuals whose story began right here and whose service had no boundaries.”

Recker expressed thankfulness for the Carter legacy’s influence on Plains. “To the Carter family, thank you again for continuing to share them with us. To the people of Plains, I thank you for keeping their spirit alive every day, and to President and Mrs. Carter, wherever their names are spoken, may it always be with gratitude, respect, and enduring love.”

Larry Sheets, postmaster of Athens S&DC, read a poem he wrote titled “we who dare to dream” in honor of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Dewaine Johnson, manager of USPS Address Management Systems and Clarence Johnson, retired USPS worker, gave a rendition of “Americus the Beautiful” that brought the crowd to their feet with applause.

Tatiana Calzadilla sang the national anthem, and told what it was like being a part of the ceremony. “It was an absolute pleasure.” Calzadilla is from Miami. “I’ve never really been anywhere like this. It’s incredibly unique and so rich, full of history.”

Calzadilla has been singing since she was a kid, but only started performing for an audience in the last few years. “I was just way too embarrassed to sing in front of people, and then my parents found a video on my phone and sent me out to sing at rodeos. And now I do rodeos, the national anthem, nationwide.”

Calzadilla described the experience as an honor. “Someone like Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, they are so iconic in so many different ways.”