100 million Americans do important jobs we rely on each day, which often go unrecognized. We joined the “1 in 100 million” campaign, sponsored by Kronos, to share the story of Shannon, a gal just like us, who drives trucks… and loves it!
Shannon Nesmith, 43, is a truck driver from Clermont, FL. “That’s a lady up there!” onlookers may say when she is maneuvering a sharp turn. What fellow highway drivers don’t realize, when they look up at Shannon through their windows, is that she loves her job and is on a mission to get it done.
Ever since she was little girl, Shannon was always sticking her head out the window trying to get truck drivers to honk at her.
Fast forward to today, and she’s delivering cargo loads up to 44,000 pounds around the country. Her deliveries include aluminum and plastic pipes, golf carts, military equipment, and even log flumes for a water ride at Six Flags.
She loves what she does because of the freedom, flexibility, and the scenery. Not to mention, “the satisfaction that you get when driving a truck is ultimate.”
“You meet different people all the time,” Shannon reports. Notably, she met her now-fiancé and fellow truck driver, Marcus, at a truck stop in Tulsa, when they were both preparing their trucks for a delivery.
“The best thing about the job is the sense of accomplishment that I get, knowing that when I load the load in Point A, and got the load safely to Point B… I did that– nobody else did,” says Shannon. “Then on to the next adventure! I call each load an adventure, because like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get next!”
Remember to give a friendly wave the next time you look up at a truck driver– and hey, it may even be Shannon!
Kronos wants us to recognize professions that we take for granted, including Beth, a union electrician, and Vanessa, a trauma nurse. Visit 1in100million.com to see their full stories. You’ll also be able to watch interviews with a few more unusual workers, like Zach, a 27-year-old Chicagoan who tests pinball machines to perfection.
Kronos is the leader in workforce management solutions. Kronos helps their clients manage time and attendance records, workers’ schedules, absence records, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics solutions and services.