As a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service, Vasquez has spent 19 years delivering the mail to the same set of houses surrounding Las Palmas Park. Today, that's 353 homes. Residents there banded together to honor Vasquez at the March 8 city council meeting.

"It blew me away," Vasquez says. "Usually, the things you hear about the post office aren't that good. We need all the help we can get."

Vasquez began working for the Sunnyvale post office at the corner of Maude and Mary avenues nearly 20 years ago. He started by filling in where needed, whether it was for vacationing letter carriers or driving seven-ton postal trucks. "The first few years, I was putting in 11 hours a day. It was all so new and overwhelming," Vasquez says.

But in 1986, he was assigned to his first permanent route--the Old Orchard neighborhood. He's walked the same streets ever since, getting to know everyone's names--including pets. "I always like talking to people," Vasquez says. "Around Christmas, going to the houses with packages makes the kids think I'm Santa Claus."

It's that attitude that got his customers thinking about honoring him somehow. Linda Hoff decided to approach Mayor Dean Chu first and wrote a letter asking about recognition for Vasquez's efforts. "I'd been thinking about it for years," she says. "He's fabulous. He makes everyone smile. He's the best mailman in the world."

Chu's office was open to the idea but requested a letter from Vasquez's supervisor to confirm his excellent performance. Sunnyvale Postmaster Dan Martin was happy to oblige. "I've been here for 10 years, and this is the first time we've ever had anything like this happen," Martin says. "Sal's one of those guys--he's got a good attitude, a smile on his face and he gets along with his managers and fellow employees. He's truly an asset to the postal service."

Hoff then put a plan of her own into action--she distributed blank scrapbook pages to the neighborhood and asked residents to create a tribute. She placed a receptacle on her front porch so her neighbors could drop off their contributions without spoiling the surprise.

"There were a few Saturdays when I was papering his route right behind him," Hoff says. She collected 106 poems, letters and collages to place in the album for Vasquez. In addition, Hoff says dozens of neighbors planned to attend the meeting.

The ceremony took place at the March 8 city council meeting.

All this attention is confusing to Vasquez, who says that he's just doing his job. "There are a lot of other carriers who have been here longer than me," he says. "But it is nice that my work is being recognized."

Vasquez lives in Hayward with his wife and youngest daughter. He says that while he likes his job, he's looking forward to retirement and jokingly wonders whether his recent accolades will give him a free pass to slow down on his route.

But that's all talk--Vasquez says he's proud of his award and plans to keep delivering the mail to what he calls his "second home."

"Over the years, I've seen kids grow up and go away to college. I know the people here better than in my own neighborhood," he says.