Neither rain nor sleet nor snow ... add the sound of gun shots and biting dogs to the list of challenges that never fazed Tony “The Mailman” Grandolfo, the newly minted postmaster of New Iberia.

As a letter carrier, Grandolfo walked a sometimes precarious route through uptown New Orleans. He sometimes heard gun shots in the not-so-far-off distance. There were growling dogs and two that even bit him on his route.

But Grandolfo survived, rose through the ranks and, 27 years later, he has finally arrived, settling this month into the role he always envisioned for himself. A selection committee chose Grandolfo, 48, in September to assume the position of full-time postmaster, the first New Iberia has had in two years.

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“Back in grammar school, I remember the teacher telling me that one day your picture is going to be on the wall in the post office,” Grandolfo said. “That’s not exactly what he meant, but now my picture will be on the wall at the New Iberia Post Office being the postmaster.”

As postmaster, Grandolfo is charged with overseeing all postal operations. Six employees retired from the post office Friday, tasking Grandolfo with some significant repositioning decisions.

“That’s half my staff,” Grandolfo said. “We’re going to lose a whole lot of experience.”

But Grandolfo’s colleagues and former co-workers say no one is better suited for the job.

“He’s probably the best guy for delivery within 1,000 miles,” said Rob Austin, the postmaster in Lufkin, Texas, who recently lost his bid to Grandolfo for the position in New Iberia. “He’ll be the best postmaster New Iberia ever had. He’s that good.”

Grandolfo describes himself as a workaholic. He often works six days a week and is a bit of a perfectionist. In his free time, Tony golfs — or tries to. He shoots a 90 on a good day, he said.

Austin said Grandolfo also spends a lot of time with his family and is active in the community in which he lives. Before accepting the new job, Grandolfo said he had never set foot in the Queen City. He said one of the biggest challenges so far has been familiarizing himself with the new terrain.

To learn a few new faces, Grandolfo said he likes to spend some time in the lobby each morning greeting customers.

“It makes a difference when they call with a concern if they’ve seen me before,” he says.

After working his way up to supervisor in New Orleans, Grandolfo took a job as station manager in Lafayette, where he worked 10 years. He also spent four years at headquarters in Washington in technology and development, a job that required a good deal of traveling.

An ambitious worker, Grandolfo applied earlier this year for the postmaster position.

“It was obvious it was just a matter of time (before Grandolfo became a postmaster),” said Roger Pollard, who worked with Grandolfo at the post office on Bertrand Drive in Lafayette. “We were sad to see him go but excited at the same time that he got to take the step. The only negative thing I can say about him is he’s a (New York) Yankees fan.”