Alpine neighbors honor their retiring mail carrier, Julio Cortorreal

Neighbors in Alpine, California, gave their mail carrier a send-off at the post office this month, CBS 8 in San Diego reported. Julio Cortorreal has had the route for 22 years.

Rachel and Jeff Vance organized it. People brought signs that read “Thank you, Julio.”

“He has so much positivity and he brings so much to our community,” Rachel Vance said. “He has such a huge heart asking us how we are doing.”

Jeff Vance remembered some stairs at an apartment complex.

He saw some stairs at an apartment complex that were a little slippery. He took the time out of his own time to put a little bit of grip tape there so that the people weren’t going to slip and fall.Jeff Vance

Mervin Turner, the postmaster, said Cortorreal’s relationships with his customers made him stand out.

Cortorreal grew up in the Dominican Republic. He moved to the United States and served in the Marine Corps before he joined the Postal Service.

“I treat it like my family,” he said of the route. “People like yourselves is what motivates me to come in every day and do my very best.”

Kahoots, a pet store in town, gave him a cockatiel named Hazel. When he whistles, she whistles back. “Look at his personality. He is just alive; he is joyful,” he said.

He wants more time with his family, more Padres games and more golf. His last day on the route is November 30.