Episode 30: SHE Trucking FoundationLaura Beth Medley: Welcome to the Haulin’ Notes podcast produced by Canal Insurance Company. I’m Laura Beth Medley, Vice President, Chief Human Resources, and Corporate Communications Officer at Canal, and this month I’m joined with Mischa Sprouse, our Express Underwriting Manager, along with our special guest Sharae Moore, founder and president of SHE Trucking Foundation. Sharae is a remarkable leader who guides a thriving community of over 30,000 professional women and minorities in the trucking industry. Not only is she a powerful advocate for diversity, inclusion, and transportation, she is also a published author. Early in her driving career, Sharae was a Canal customer with our utilization-based product, Canal Test Drive. Stay tuned for her inspiring story and our conversation with Sharae. Now let’s get rolling!
Laura Beth Medley: Mischa and Sharae, thank you both for joining us today. I’m so excited to dive into our conversation, but first I’d like for you both to introduce yourselves to our listeners. Mischa, let’s start with you. Would you mind sharing a quick bit on your background? Talk about your role at Canal, how long you’ve been with the company, and what got you started in the trucking insurance industry.
Mischa Sprouse: Yes, so I’ve been with Canal for 22 years. I actually started in the filing department and I had some really great mentors who had been here 30 and 40 years at the time who really taught me about the trucking industry. I’ve worked in all segments of Canal from 1 to 100 power units. I currently manage the Express Underwriting department. We handle the 1 to 10- power unit segment. We handle all new business renewal and endorsement transactions in between, and I’m very excited to be here today.
Laura Beth Medley: Thank you so much, Mischa! Now Sharae can you please share a little bit about yourself, the inspiration behind your founding of SHE Trucking Foundation, and your journey as a truck driver?
Sharae Moore: Hi, good morning. Thank you for having me on today. I am Sharae Moore, the founder of SHE Trucking Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization for over 30,000 women that we mentor and coach every single day, mostly drivers and carriers. I started driving trucks in 2014. I saw that there weren’t many resources for women in the industry. SHE Trucking Apparel was originally how I got started creating t-shirts for women in the industry because I couldn’t find any shirts that said that I was a woman truck driver. So that movement led us into our community here now, which is a Facebook group with 30,000 members. The list goes on and on since 2014.
Laura Beth Medley: Thank you so much for sharing with us. I did not know that you started out as an apparel brand. I think that is so cool and so interesting to see what meeting a need that was ya know, very specific in the beginning and how that’s evolved to the need that you’re meeting now, which is huge. A 30,000-person group and audience is really a big way to make an impact in our industry. So thank you for that and Mischa if you want to get started with maybe our first question. Mischa Sprouse: Absolutely! So Sharae as you know, the trucking industry is male-dominated. How do you see the role of women changing in this field? And what progress has been made since the Inception of SHE Trucking?
Sharae Moore: Well, when I started I was one of the only women that was in the whole trucking company, especially minority women. And so personally what I did was be the change that I wanted to see and so I opened up a school in 2019. I started teaching other women and men in the industry how to get their commercial driver’s licenses. In 2017 I built the website and it was just that. It was, this is how you get started in the industry, here are the steps, and here are the companies you need to apply for, this is how you get your CDL. So I just completely dove in and educated people on how to enter into the industry. Now, we have a lot of women here in the industry, and now it’s just how do we maintain them and keep them in the industry. I see a lot of women starting to pivot into different roles other than driving now, which I didn’t see back in 2017 and 2014. I didn’t see them pivoting. Most women drivers they just drove for 20 to 30 years, but now some of the women coming out want to go straight into ownership, owning their trucks. They want to go into dispatching, brokering, recruiting, and other fields in the industry. So that’s how I’ve seen it evolve over time.
Laura Beth Medley: Yeah, that’s exciting. I think we’re seeing that along our side too as I think women have become more involved, especially in social media promoting the trucking industry. That’s one thing that has been cool for me personally, I started really spending time looking at trucking on social media during the pandemic and I have a few folks that I follow and I’ve learned so much from, about the different aspects of the trucking industry and how women can add value and play major roles. So that’s really cool that that’s something that you’re seeing too. Sharae, what do you think are some of the unique challenges that women and minorities face when starting or pursuing a career in trucking?
Sharae Moore: Well, the biggest challenge right now, being one of the founding members of the Women in Trucking Advisory Board for the FMCSA and Department of Transportation, one of the biggest challenges is that there is no Zero-Tolerance Policy in our industry. When women come in it’s kind of challenging sometimes to go through training for months with a stranger or a male in the truck. So things happen like sexual harassment and stuff like that. And so that’s something that we’re trying to change and make sure that every trucking company has a Zero-Tolerance Policy, because it’s easy to get the women in but again keeping them is the challenge. And then just that financial role, most women have children, so, right now we see a lot of women pivoting into homeschooling in the truck. They are bringing their kids on the road. It is a challenge to try to keep your family together and be a woman truck driver. I hear some of the benefits that are not in the industry like maternity pay, maternity benefits. So if you do get pregnant, now you’ve lost your job, right? So I think that’s why a lot of women are starting to find other things to do so they can continue to be a woman in the industry and do other things, especially if they do get pregnant then they can pivot into something else and go get a certification and different things. And just here this year more organizations I see are now offering certifications where you can move up in this industry, so kudos to that. I mean, that’s just a big improvement in our industry.
Mischa Sprouse: Wow, that’s a lot of important information right there. I know you’re a former Canal insured and I want to thank you for your business. Can you talk about your experience with Canal and how the insurance plays a vital role in the trucking industry, especially for women-owned businesses?
Sharae Moore: I love Canal. Once I bought my truck, I got into a deal with other insurance and it wasn’t the best deal, so I ended up pivoting to Canal. There were so many options that Canal provided, for instance, giving me the option of if I didn’t drive the truck I didn’t get charged at the time. That was so important to me. For instance, my grandmother got sick, and I wanted to come home and I didn’t have to worry about that insurance being so high, and I just mandatory have to be on the road. I could take care of my family. I like the relationships of being able to talk to the people who offered the insurance, that right there was so important to me which converted me over, as well as having that strong relationship with some of the people who were offering the programs. I like Canal again because of the many options that they give you. It wasn’t just a one-stop-pony kind of situation. I ran Regional, I went from Over The Road to running Regional around the Tennessee area and I can actually say, okay this is where I’m running, which made my insurance rates low, and they would give me different options, and say hey this is how you can lower that rate. We want to make sure that you are completely insured because my trailer was wrapped. And so I had to have a high premium Insurance, for my truck and trailer, being a public figure as well, and it just really was very beneficial to my needs.
Laura Beth Medley: Thank you so much for sharing. It’s always really awesome to get that feedback from an insured and one of the things that I do think makes Canal special is that we resonate a lot with our insureds, being a family-owned insurance company that’s been in the game for over 85 years, but we still have that personal touch and the expertise and also the kind of place in our heart for those entrepreneurs who are starting out a business or running a family business. It really does, I think make a difference and I think it’s something that we’re very proud to be able to maintain. And I love that you talk, Sharae, about the breadth of our product offering as we’ve grown and evolved, and as the industry has grown and evolved we’ve really tried to make sure that our products keep up with the needs of drivers and when we launched TestDrive specifically, that was something that we thought was so important, is that realizing that people have lives and things happen, or, I always thought about vacation – like how great is it to be able to park your truck and take a vacation and know that while you’re not driving, you’re not incurring the expense of insuring your vehicle. And that’s, I think a really great incentive that you were one of our early adopters, but that significantly more folks are excited about and taking advantage of with our TestDrive product. So that’s awesome. What advice, as you have grown and pivoted, what are some of the main points of advice that you give someone who’s thinking about entering the industry or starting their journey with commercial trucking?
Sharae Moore: I tell them to do it. Try it. I tried it, and I fell in love with the trucking industry. I wanted to leave it better than I found it and now it’s a better industry. So if you’re entering into it now, you’re entering at a good time. And so I tell all the women, come in now. This is the time you don’t have to go through what we went through years ago as being the only woman, you can go to school and there’s multiple women in your class now. You can go to a trucking company and they have womens’ programs like Prime, Highway Diamond, CFI of Women, so there are multiple different ways to come into the industry and you can really change your life. And that’s what trucking did for me.
Mischa Sprouse: So SHE Trucking Foundation has a strong focus on mentorship and education. Can you share some success stories of individuals who benefited from your organization’s programs and initiatives?
Sharae Moore: Absolutely. So I actually went to the Facebook headquarters when I was recognized by Cheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg as well for our mentorship program as I was pairing up women, we have over 200 mentors – experienced drivers in the industry, and we were pairing them up with potential drivers and new drivers entering into the industry. I’ve been to the White House for our apprenticeship program with President Biden. Again, I was one of the founding members of the Women in Trucking Advisory Board. It was only 16 of us that were chosen, and right now the bill is getting passed for women in the industry. The things being talked about today are things that I talked about on that board. I also have been on National Geographic and the Breaking Bobby Bones Show, teaching Bobby Bones, who is a celebrity, he’s on Dancing with the Stars, how to drive the truck. That was very impactful and brought a lot of people into the industry, to see a woman in the truck and it was actually my truck, really. And with Canal Insurance, right. So that was just your insurance on that TV show. And lastly, I am a champion of change. Erin Burnett chose me because I was teaching hundreds and thousands of people how to get their commercial driver’s license back in 2021. We also did an expo, SHE Trucking Expo was the first event that I ever hosted myself in the industry. We had over 2,000 attendees, a hundred vendors, and 20 workshops, speakers from all over the world, and people came out. We had semi-trucks inside of our Expo and everything and it was really beneficial to our members, first of all, to meet them in person, as well. But overall, to educate people and now just seeing what it was before they came in. I mean, they’re our babies now, now it’s like you grew up with us. Now you are talking about seven years in the industry, now they are experienced carriers, experienced drivers, and thriving in our industry.
Laura Beth Medley: That’s awesome Sharae. You definitely have an impressive resume, but more impressive than your resume I believe is your impact. You’re focusing on ways, like what you said, leaving the industry better than you found it, and being the change that you want to see. I think you’ve put those goals into action and that’s incredibly inspiring. You also have a focus on serving underserved communities. Can you talk a little about that, I know you’ve done some recent work that’s not just a United States focus, I think there’s recently been some work you’ve done, so talk to us a little bit about Ghana. Can you just tell us a little bit about that and what you have going on on that front?
Sharae Moore: Absolutely, so In 2017 or 2018, I met one woman who was in Ghana and then I also saw in my community that they kind of did the marketing side and used one of my photos to encourage women to come into the industry in Africa, and I never told them I was a human right? I never even said anything. I just watched the movement of more women coming in and getting a commercial driver’s license, and at that time I was like I want to give back. I want to let them know that I’m so proud of them to keep on going. I want to be able to go and give scholarships. So we decided next year in March 2024 to go to Ghana and come together as one and celebrate the accomplishments and encourage more women to get their commercial driver’s license by giving scholarships. That’s our goal. We are going to get a truckload full of supplies. That is the goal as well. We want to give out food to the community – water and different things that they can use and different tools that they can use as well into the community. I think sometimes here in the United States, we don’t realize how easy we have it, and I think it also will give us a little more gratitude for where we’re at, as well, because after talking to a lot of the women in Africa who have been a part of my community for over seven years now as well. They work 30 days out of the month right the entire month and some of our drivers want to be home every day. So I wanted to bridge that gap and bring everyone together so we could really see, hey, we got it good here in the United States, and being more appreciative of the opportunities right in front of us, and I think a lot of us need that, especially I know I needed it.
Mischa Sprouse: Sharae with every answer you give I just become more and more amazed by you. You are certainly a force, very inspiring. As the founder and leader of SHE Trucking, what do you envision for the future of women and minorities in the transportation industry and how can the listeners get involved with promoting diversity and inclusion in this field?
Sharae Moore: I’m gonna answer that but I do want to touch on one thing because this weekend I didn’t mention that we partnered with the Junior League of Chattanooga and we brought out our toy semi-truck. We have a toy semi-truck that we bring out and my little four-year-old nephew, King, who just turned five, he actually drove the truck, it was his second year, and we had hundreds of kids get in our semi-truck this year. The little truck ends up breaking down at the end. I said we gotta go get another one and maybe bring back two, right, because it was such a success, and they just ran into that truck. So to answer your question, how do I see the industry going? I feel like after this weekend seeing so many children, so many of our youth excited at two, three, four, and five years old – run up to the semi-truck, wanting to see it, wanting to touch it, wanting to get in it… it looks very hopeful. I believe that if we give it to them early then they can grow up and pick what they want to do in our industry and that’s why we do it every single year. This was our fifth year working with the Junior League of Chattanooga. I started out bringing my semi-truck, to give you a little back history on that as well, I was the only woman who would bring out my semi-truck at these touch-a-truck events. They would think I was a child. So one of the ladies ran up to me and said hey little girl get out of that truck, I said I ma’am I’m the driver, and so now, it’s of course because of the internet as we talked about earlier, you can see more women truck drivers, but back then they thought I was one of the kids admiring the truck. And so now I’ve pivoted from bringing out my semi-truck for the last I didn’t bring it out. No, I brought it out last year. I had my truck last year, but this year I focused solely on the children and next year we plan on bringing supplies. I said this year we’re gonna bring a truckload full of supplies for the kids. I want to make sure that they have resources and in the community, and we bring out our semi-trucks and cones and just set it up really, really good for them in our third year. But this year we were toting pumpkins. I tell you that we brought the pumpkins in and he just loved them, I think he stole the show with my truck, yeah, y’all have to see it.
Laura Beth Medley: I bet that was awesome to see and I do think your approach is I think what’s so inspiring is it’s not a one-size fits-all thing, you’re focused on not just women but minorities and children and education and giving back and service which I think is really cool to see and why we’re excited to be learning more about you and building a relationship with you that’s outside of this insured relationship because you’re somebody who obviously exposes people like us at Canal to different aspects of the industry and also opens up opportunities for ways that as a insurance company, we can not only provide products that are in customers’ need but also participate in that community and ensure that we’re part of your success. I’ve gotta note, I’m not sure what it will look like but I want Canal to be a part of your trip to Ghana in March of next year. We’ve got resources and we’ve got the heart that you do to help folks in a place that sometimes may not feel like there are a lot of people who want to help. I think that’s so amazing what you’re doing and we’re gonna figure out how to, if it’s fill the truck or a fun part of that trip, but we’re going to make that a success that I know it will be, and we’re going to have you back to talk about that specifically early next year, because I think it’s really cool and it’s not something that we meet a lot of other people doing that type of work, so thank you so much. I think you’re doing a lot for our community and I know Mischa and I, we have so many ideas of things that we can do together for our industry. It’s so exciting. So I thank you for your time. Sharae, before we go, will you please tell our listeners how they can connect with you and stay in the loop regarding all the work that you’re doing?
Sharae Moore: First of all, thank you so much because this journey has not been an easy journey. So next year will be my 10th year in the industry. So I started at 29, and I tell people this aged me, I’m turning 40 next year. But it’s been a very rewarding industry when I come outside and I look at the buses and I see my students and I look in the trucks and I see my students, that lets me know that our mission is being served. And so people can find us on all social media platforms under SHE Trucking. Our website is www.shetrucking.com. That’s s h e t r u c k i n g shetrucking.com, and it’s just been an honor to be here with you all today. I’m so happy to have met you all at the Truckers Jamboree where I saw the amazing team and I was so excited I ran up and said, hey, I use your insurance I’m so excited to meet you, because I get excited when I see our partners who we get to talk to on the phone, but also get to meet in person. One last thing I want to say is that we were at that event sponsored at the time by GLCS which is a tech company and they have been helping us through our mission as well. So I just want to say thank you as well for coming onboard. It’s not easy to be able to help so many people. Originally, I thought it was only a hundred women total in the industry, but boy was I surprised right? So, I love partnering with great companies. I like companies that I have used their service as well and I can be able to be an advocate for different companies as well because I can speak from the heart. And thank you again for having me.
Laura Beth Medley: Awesome, well thank you, this has been a great first conversation, and I know that all of your listeners and our listeners are gonna benefit from the conversation as much as we have. We look forward to continuing to follow your success and helping to further your initiatives as you grow and continue to do great work. So we appreciate your time and we’ll look forward to talking to you again soon.
Sharae Moore: Thank you.
Laura Beth Medley: We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Sharae as much as we did. Make sure to stay tuned for future episodes of Haulin’ Notes. Also, click the link in the show notes to subscribe for episode notifications. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time!
LISTEN ON:
