Pictured at the East Chatham Post Office at the award ceremony are (l to r) Chatham Town Supervisor Maria Lull, District Manager Tom Kelley, Mr. Eigenbrodt, Chatham Postmaster LeeAnn K. Alessi, District Operations Manager Tony Hall and New Lebanon Postmaster Melissa Eigenbrodt. Photo by David Lee

EAST CHATHAM–Tab Eigenbrodt has been the rural carrier for the East Chatham Post Office for many years.

Last year he received the Million Mile Award for having driven one million accident-free miles to deliver the mail. And on January 31, Albany District Officials came to East Chatham to present Mr. Eigenbrodt with another award, this one for heroism.

Mr. Eigenbrodt knows the people on his route and he noticed that one of his customers had not picked up their mail for several days. “I have people who might leave their mail for a month, but this was really unusual for this person. They would usually be in the doorway waiting for their mail,” he said.

Knowing that after three days, something was wrong, he went to the neighbor’s house to see if they knew anything. The neighbor, who had a key, opened the house and found the person lying unconscious on the floor where they had been for days. Mr. Eigenbrodt understood that the person was recovering from a surgical procedure and that may have been the cause for their debilitated state.

His actions have been credited for saving the life of this customer.