Greater SC postal district manager, Nicholas L. Rinaldi, administers the oath of office to new Columbia Postmaster, James A. Antill, as his wife Linda serves as witness.

In a tradition that dates back to 1792, Columbia's new Postmaster, James A. Antill, took the oath of office on Wednesday, June 25 at 11 am. The invitation-only event was held at the Pine Island Club.

Joe Pinner, of WIS-TV fame, performed as master of ceremonies. Nicholas Rinaldi, district manager of the Greater South Carolina Postal District administered the oath of office. Richland Northeast High School NROTC served as honor guard. Soloist Angie

Perez performed the National Anthem. Gail Sanders, president of the Midlands Postal Customer Council, welcomed the new postmaster as did local union representatives Velva Hudgins of the APWU and Cosmo Boccomo of the NALC.

The Columbia Post Office, South Carolina's largest, includes the main office at 1601 Assembly St., and eleven stations and branches in the metropolitan area. In 2007, Columbia's 487 postal employees delivered 182 million pieces of mail to 159,217 delivery points on 263 routes.

As an independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, which consists of 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. The Postal Service has an annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.