Delivery!
People in Quitman and throughout Clarke County enjoy hearing Ched Kissinger announce that he has arrived with an anticipated package each day. His vibrant smile and genuine love and compassion for those around him are things that everyone looks forward to seeing.
While Ched has been able to learn about different people in Clarke County through brief interactions as he is delivering packages, he was finally able to take a short scheduled break to let others know a little about himself.
“My real name is Edward Charles,” informed Ched. “They took the ch from Charles and the ed from Edward and got Ched instead of Chad.”
He is a very dedicated and hard worker. Although he initially started his well-known position with UPS to get through college, he has remained dedicated to the company and officially worked with them for 30 years.
“I graduated from Laurel and then went to JCJC and graduated from there. In 1991, I started working with UPS. I applied for a part time job to go to college and started out working on the docks. UPS always hires part time and then promotes to full time from within,” explained Ched. “After 11 years working part time, my turn was to go full time. My manager is over Meridian and Laurel and told me he had a full time opening in Meridian if I wanted it. That was in 2004 when I started my full time job.”
Despite not working in Clarke County all those years, he has officially become the face of Clarke County as he delivers countless items to businesses and individuals. He loves to be able to learn about the different people in the community and spreads his optimistic attitude whenever he is able to speak with others. His love for his job and all those around him is evident.
“Quitman has been my route for the last seven years. I really enjoy Quitman and the surrounding areas. I really like it and the people here,” expressed Ched. “It’s just a little town, and then I have the countryside I get to deliver to and see. It’s just a real strong knit community where everybody knows everybody. I love keeping up with everything, especially when I go see everybody.”
With all his deliveries, Ched has found something that makes him proud of Clarke County. It isn’t always easy to locate homes, but the address system that the county uses helps him tremendously.
“Make sure your address is visible on your mailbox and house,” advised Ched. “Clarke County is actually the best at 911. When I go down the road, there’s a system to the addresses. I can set my odometer, and if a house has an 1154 address, it will be just 1.1 mile down the road; you just have to know which end of the road it starts on.”
Other than the benefits of being surrounded by a community who considers him family, Ched’s excellence has also been recognized by the company.
“I got the 15 year safe driving award from UPS,” said Ched.
While he does love his job, Ched also has other responsibilities that he enjoys. He loves his church family at First Baptist Church in Sharon and has taken on a leadership role in the church that he loves.
“I am the president and cook for our brotherhood at First Baptist Church in Sharon,” stated Ched. “We do the brotherhood cooking once a month, and I’m over that.”
When he is not working, Ched is usually doing what he loves the most: just being with his family.
“I have two boys, Isaac and Bryce. My wife, Melissa, and I like to follow them in their sports. My oldest son plays football, and my youngest one plays baseball. They keep us on the go,” declared Ched. “We like to fish and hunt and spend time together. My boys like to duck hunt and deer hunt a lot, so that’s usually what we do. We also dove hunt. We’re big Disney World fans.”
They don’t always leave the house to spend time with each other. As long as they are together as a family, he is usually ecstatic and satisfied.
“We just got an outdoor grill at our house that we made under a little patio in our backyard. We’ve been doing that the last few Saturdays and Sundays,” expressed Ched. “We just enjoy doing that and spending our evenings in the backyard.”
No matter what he does, Ched makes sure to spread joy and love to others each day, especially through being the friendly face behind a UPS delivery.
