This weeks BANK VI Hero of the Week is Sam Francisco. Sam is a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service who consistently makes a special effort to make people smile. According to his nominator for this honor, Sam cares about every person on his mail route in Salina and often dresses up for holidays (Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, etc…) to make encounters with him special for others. While he is in costume, it is common to see him posing for pictures, taking selfies with children, giving hugs or listening to other peoples stories.

Sam grew up in Lindsborg and graduated from Smoky Valley High School, and attended Bethany College before joining the United States Navy as a hospital corpsman and has done tours of duty in Iraq, off the coast of Bosnia, and Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Today his is a Chief Petty Officer with the Naval Reserves.

When Sam left active duty, he went back to school and started working for the U.S. Post Office in Chicago, and when he decided to move back to central Kansas, he became a letter carrier in Salina. Sam, his wife Mandy,and three incredible bonus kids, Gracie, Campbell and Rhett, live in Lindsborg and became the proud parents of new baby Saylor in October.
And – for the record, Sam says he is consistently ribbed about his name being similar to the city by the bay.

If you know someone who gives back to our community or goes that extra mile to make our community a better place, nominate that extraordinary individual for Hero of the Week by clicking here!