“Trucking can open so many doors.”

Erica Denney, Director of Sales, Denney Transport

Erica Denney didn’t always plan on working in the trucking industry, but her fate was indeed later sealed when she followed in her father’s footsteps to work at the family trucking company. This 6 foot five-inch former college volleyball player didn’t look beyond her collegiate athletics while at Penn State. She thought she may go into the beef industry. But, a hint at her future came when her transportation class was her favorite. After she graduated, she held other industry jobs including insurance, and one year into her job, her father called and asked her to give the family trucking business a chance. She agreed, and when Erica looked around at the business and saw her name on the lot, she gave her two weeks and left her job. She never looked back on that decision. Today, Erica proudly sells niche services for the Denney Transport truckload and LTL freight company and has worked there for six years. She says her height is an extra bonus at crowded trade shows and conferences when meeting with prospective customers!

Erica is no stranger to promoting the industry to younger industry entrants. She was a coach for ATA’s Trucking U, where she spoke to college students studying business or transportation, and she was honored to be tapped to the LEAD ATA Class of 2019 where she can share business practices with peers. She has learned, especially during the pandemic, that there needs to be more education on the trucking industry and how critical it is to the supply chain. With COVID-19, Erica noted, “trucking is here to stay. We are flexible, and we work on the fly.”

She also expressed her concern for the industry worker shortage, “The average age is close to retirement, and that’s a real problem.” Her advice to others seeking to enter the industry is, “Trucking can open so many doors and you can feel good about what you do. It’s such a large industry, but it has a close knit, family feel. We back each other. What other industry does this? It’s so cool to think that at the end of the day, we aim to accomplish the same thing.”

When asked about a special moment in her career to date, she says being a part of the LEAD ATA Class was memorable. She said she is still in touch with her classmates to this day; they reach out to each other with questions. And the best part about the industry is “The people, and what we are all trying to do. The fact that we are trying to run the country the best way possible. When I go to the grocery store, I think to myself, ‘we brought that.’ Your favorite dessert at Starbucks, we brought that. Your designer bag. The medicine you need. If we stopped, the country would stop.”