Christy Ratliff grew up in Brookhaven and has continued to live there throughout her adulthood, but she found her dream job in Wesson.
Ratliff is Post Master at the U.S. Post Office in Wesson, a position in which she has served for the past twelve years.
Growing up as a Brookhaven girl, she recalls walking the downtown streets there with her brother, and learning dance and to twirl the baton. "I wasn't an athlete, but did play basketball in junior high school, and was the bat girl for the high school baseball team," she relates. Mostly, however, she was a diligent student. She served on the staff of Brookhaven High School yearbook, and the BHS faculty and staff chose her for the National Honor Society.
After graduating from BHS in 1995, it was off to Co-Lin where Ratliff thought she might want to become an accountant, but decided after the first semester of her sophomore year that college wasn't for her and took the Post Office exam on the suggestion of her father, a long-time postal service employee who retired in 2019. She scored well on the exam, but worked for five months at Super D Pharmacy as a technical assistant before the Post Office hired her for a night job at McComb where she unloaded letters and packages from mail tucks for distribution in the 396 zone encompassing Meadville, Brookhaven and Monticello.
Ratliff never looked back, and has continued to pursue a postal service career. She got her first taste of the Wesson Post Office as a clerk. Unlike her father who remained in postal craft jobs, however, she decided to go into management, applying for Officer in Charge (OIC) jobs, temporary positions where post masters had moved on or retired. "I loved Wesson -- the people, a place where you became friends with all the other employees," she recalls. "My goal was to come back to Wesson as post master someday."
OIC positions opened for Ratliff at Mendenhall, Port Gibson and Terry, where she became post master in 2008. When the long-time post master retired at Wesson in 2009, she returned to take her dream job.
"I'll stay here as long as they let me," Ratliff affirms.
While pursuing her postal career, Ratliff also started a family with Kelly Ratliff, who works on natural gas pipelines for Marlin Services. They have two children -- Lauren Smith, a sophomore at the University of Southern Mississippi; and Piker Ratliff, a Co-Lin freshman.
What are your hobbies? Kelly and I like to travel to places that are warm, have a beach and sand and host music festivals where we can enjoy country. I cook for family and friends, get outdoors to care for my yard and jog to stay physically fit.
Are you a reader? I follow current events and have enjoyed recent books by Fox News commentators Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. I am also an avid Wesson News reader.
Do you enjoy movies or theater?
I am into Indiana Jones movies and follow the Hell's Kitchen and Good Doctor television series.
What kind of music do you like?
Kelly and I took our kids to Jimmy Buffet and B.B. King concerts. We have attended performances of Jerry Jeff Walker and Robert Earl King at the House of Blues in New Orleans. We also enjoy the local music scene -- Topher Brown, Cody Dunaway and others -- at Magnolia Blues in Brookhaven, which features live music along with a steak and barbeque menu.
What would you do with lottery winnings if you were so lucky? I've always wanted a home on Key West. I would donate to local charities. Mississippi Special Olympics particularly. Of course, I would take care of family needs.
How would you change the world? Nice breeds nice. So I would try to smile and be nice to all people, encouraging them to be nice, too.
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