Longtime driver for UPS ‘never meets a stranger’

It’s the end of the road for driver Steve Rigsby of United Parcel Service. The Perry resident retired Friday after nearly 40 years with the company, and he left with the key to the city of Perry.

Mayor Jimmy Faircloth was on hand Thursday at an informal ceremony at the UPS Customer Center in Unadilla to thank Rigsby, name him an honorary ambassador for the city and present him with the key.

Rigsby began work at UPS in April 1976, working part-time on the evening shift unloading and washing trucks. He became a full-time driver in 1985 and has been delivering and picking up packages in downtown Perry for 29 years.

“When I started, I had no idea it would turn into this,” he said Thursday.

He said there is something special about Perry residents; they are more than just customers to him.

“When you make a friend there, you have a friend for life,” he said, “And if you mess with one, you mess with a bunch of people.”

He said he has seen his customers’ children grow up, been to weddings and funerals, and considers himself a part-time wedding counselor.

“People talk to me; the UPS man is a fixture in the downtown area,” he said.

Although the opportunity to change routes has presented itself over time, Rigsby said he was never interested.

“This is one of the hardest routes we have, but I never wanted out,” he said. “It’s the people you meet who make it such fun.”

Gregory Davis, the facility’s business manager, said Rigsby is the kind of person who never meets a stranger.

“Steve trained me when I came here,” he said. Rigsby has the right attitude about the job, he added.

“Whenever we loaded up a truck, he stepped back, shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘Well, that’s job security,’” Davis said.

Rigsby has about 140 to 150 stops daily on his route.

Senior on-road supervisor Jeff Crews noted that Rigsby is one of only five employees in the South Atlanta District to work more than 39 years without injury. The district encompasses North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Rigsby has been married to his wife, Felicia, for 26 years. They have a daughter, two granddaughters and one great-grandson. Felicia just marked 30 years working at the Headquarters of the Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base this week.

Rigsby’s hobbies include training horses and riding motorcycles, according to his wife, who added there already is a long “honey-do” list for him.

There is one added benefit of retirement, he said.

“This will be the first Christmas Eve I’ve spent at home in 29 years,” he said. “But I’m going to miss this bunch – all of them. We help each other.”

Willie Smith of Cordele, who retired from UPS last year, had this advice for Rigsby.

“I’d tell him to look back over the years and thank God for your career. Enjoy life and just take advantage of opportunities that will come your way,” Smith said.

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