He’s had his eye on Kingfi sher for a while.

It’s not only home to one of his favorite fishing spots (Lake Elmer), but the perfect fit for his new role as postmaster, Chris Coburn said.

“Kingfisher’s nice and has that hometown feel... kinda laid back, like me,” Coburn said.

Several years ago, when former Kingfisher Postmaster Gary Townsend began to consider retirement, Coburn took note.

As other postmaster positions throughout the state became available, Coburn held off, in hopes of becoming the next to have that title in Kingfisher.

With Townsend officially retiring in August of last year, Coburn, a 26-year-veteran with the United States Postal Service, threw his hat in the ring, hopeful that he would get the position.

In October 2023, he was selected for the position and officially began his duties on Monday, May 20.

Originally from Louisiana, Coburn said he grew up on his grandparents’ farm and loves the outdoors and small towns.

Leaving the farm as a young man, Coburn landed in Beaumont, Texas, where he earned an associate’s degree in business management at Lamar University.

After some time in the workforce, Coburn said a cousin who was a mail carrier in Guthrie encouraged him to consider a career with the USPS.

That was 1997 and Coburn has been at it ever since.

During that time, Coburn worked as a city mail carrier in Guthrie for three years and Bethany for another 14 years.

Throughout the years, Coburn said being a mail carrier not only provided good income for his family, but allowed him to be outdoors, meet new people and develop relationships with customers on his mail route.

As years of walking a route and carrying mail began to take a physical toll, Coburn was ready for a new challenge and started working supervisory positions at different post office locations.

In 2019, Coburn was selected for a supervisor position in El Reno and followed that up with stints as the Officer in Charge (“acting postmaster”) in Hydro and El Reno, before accepting the postmaster position in Kingfisher.

Just getting settled into his new role here, Coburn said he’s trying to get to know the office, learn the town, how it runs and where everything is.

Without a postmaster in Kingfisher for almost nine months, Coburn said, “There is lots of stuff to be done to make sure everything is running right.

“I give myself about a month and I should have everything in line.”

In the short time he’s been in Kingfisher, Coburn said he has been meeting new people in the community while working at the window three or four hours a day and also unexpectedly even strapped on his mailbag to carry a mail route while covering for one his city carriers.

Making sure everything runs smoothly, Coburn said, “Whatever office I go to, I always say, ‘I’m not going to make you do something that I’m not willing to do. I will get out there and do the same thing if I need to.’” Currently residing in El Reno with his wife, Nora, Coburn has five grown children and two granddaughters.

With a strong philosophy of getting involved in the community, Coburn and his wife have plans to move to Kingfisher soon.

“I’m just getting acclimated right now and have been driving around on my lunch hour to check out the town,” he said.

With his love of the outdoors, Coburn said, beyond his love of fishing, he also enjoys taking care of animals, gardening and tinkering on old cars as well as other activities.

As postmaster, Coburn said he is excited to be here and thankful for the opportunity.

“If you have any questions, concerns or problems with your mail delivery, definitely pick up the phone and call me and I’ll see what I can do to get it fixed for you,” Coburn said.

“But, hey, if you’re getting great service, I like to hear that too.”

Often carriers hear the negative, Coburn said, but don’t always hear a lot of positive encouragement, so if they’re doing something right, he tries to share any positive reinforcement he can with them.

While in El Reno, Coburn said he had responsibilities over three post offices and he is glad to be able to have the opportunity to focus solely on the Kingfisher Post Office.

“The office is a nice size and it’s a small town that feels like home to me,” Coburn said.

“I’ll be right here, handson, taking care of this office in this town... and that’s the way I like it.”