My name is Ron Lantz and I’m a mail processing clerk at the Pittsburgh Network Distribution Center in Warrendale, PA.
When I’m not at work, I’m known as Rockin’ Ron. I’m one of the lead singers and bass guitarists for a band called the Honky Tonk Heroes. One of my fellow bandmates is Tony Lang, a retired letter carrier in New Castle, PA, who recruited me.
We play three or four nights a week and performed 100 gigs this year throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
While I love to play music and cheer people up, my Postal Service job is the most important thing to me.
I have worked for USPS for 42 years. Before that, I served in the U.S. Marine Corps, which is where I learned about postal careers.
I write and compose songs like “Nobody Loves You Like Your Doggie Do” that can be heard on my YouTube channel. I’ve opened for Merle Haggard, the Statler Brothers, Faith Hill, Boxcar Willy, 38 Special, Jerry Reed and Charlie Daniels.
I draw inspiration from Hank Williams Sr. as well as Ray Charles, renowned guitarist Danny Gatton, and Southern rock — but I love all kinds of music.
I also dabble in art and I love cartooning. I created the mural of an American flag, eagle and silhouetted soldier on the wall of the Pittsburgh Network Distribution Center.
I plan to retire April 30 and am excited to spend more time with my wife, Christine, and my kids — who range from 14 to 54 years old — but I’m going to miss working for USPS because it’s also a family.
I love working behind the scenes. If I could leave one message to my fellow Postal Service workers after 42 years, it would be to handle every package and piece of mail like it was going to Mama.
“Off the Clock,” a column on Postal Service employees and their after-hours pursuits, appears regularly in Link.
