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32 • SEPTEMBER 2023 FEATURES
Thetrucker.com
at the TRUCK STOP
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in the
SPOTLIGHT
Prime Inc. driver Emily
Plummer shares her journey
to trucking
Drivers often share how the trucking
industry has changed their lives and provided
career opportunities beyond hauling freight.
This is certainly the case for Emily Plummer,
a driver for Springfield, Missouri-based Prime
Inc.
Born and raised in a small Arkansas
town, Plummer says she always knew smalltown
life was not for her. In high school, she
participated in JROTC and hoped to enlist in
the military after graduation, believing this to
be her only ticket out of town.
When high-school graduation came,
Plummer found herself facing a roadblock in
the form of parental consent.
“(My mom told me, ‘If you want to go in the
military, you will have to wait until you turn
18,’” she said. Well, 18 came and went, but by
ERICA N. GUY | THE TRUCKER NEWS STAFF
then, Plummer was working in a factory and
making decent money. However, she was not
content.
“I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be in a
small town all my life,” she said. “There had to
be more out there, I just knew it.”
A year or so later, Plummer moved to Texas
with her father, again finding herself in a small
town. That’s where a life-changing experience
literally parked itself next to her. She recalls a
trucker pulling up next to her and her father’s
vehicle to park — and was instantly hooked
on trucks. She immediately asked the truck’s
owner if she could take a look inside.
“From that moment on, I knew what I
wanted to do. I wanted to be a truck driver,”
she told The Trucker.
As if it was written in the stars, soon
Courtesy: Truckload Carriers Association
Emily Plummer, a driver for Springfield, Missouri-based Prime Inc., was recognized as one of the Truckload Carriers
Association’s Drivers of the Year for 2023.
afterward she saw an advertisement from a
recruiter who was looking for truck drivers for
five different carriers.
“I did the application, and four companies
told me no. There weren’t many female drivers.
If there were, they were with their husbands,”
she said. “Thinking back, I could’ve gotten a
no because I was a woman, but I can’t verify
that.”
Losing hope, Plummer says felt she was
back at square one. She was 20 years old, with
no idea what she wanted to do with her life.
But then, the fifth company, Prime Inc.,
called and advised her to get her CDL.
Plummer set out to do just that. She recalls her
dad helping her train for pre-trip inspections
using his old Cadillac.
“It helped me get an idea of what I was
going to do,” she said.
Once Plummer had her CDL in hand, she
said, Prime sent her a bus ticket to Springfield,
Missouri, to go through the carrier’s driver
training program. The rest, as they say, is
history. June 18 marked her 28th anniversary
as a driver for Prime.
One thing that has stuck with Plummer
since childhood is that it’s important to find a
way to give back.
“My mom instilled in us to give back,” she
said. “The military was something I could do
to give back to the country. I realized that
driving a truck is another way to give back.”
In addition to “giving back” as a vital
part of the nation’s supply chain, Plummer
gives back to their community. She and her
husband sponsor her alma mater’s football
team by providing food and refreshments for
the players during the games.
Plummer and her husband sponsor her
alma mater’s football team, providing food
and refreshments to the players during games.
“I had one of the young men ask me, ‘Why
did you come back to make sure we were fed at
football games?’” she said. “I always tell them
that I didn’t have that when I was growing up.
It’s always good to return to your community.
As long as you have touched one person, that’s
all that matters. That’s it.”
The young men now call Plummer “Aunt
Emily,” she said with a smile.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020,
many businesses either shut down or arranged
for employees to work remotely. This was not
an option for trucking. As drivers continued to
deliver food, merchandise, medical supplies
and other necessities, a nation that had long
scorned truckers suddenly saw the light.
Truckers became celebrities, greeted with
cheers, thank-you signs, and food for the road.
“My husband and I knew this career came
with being unappreciated, but we still wanted
to do it. When COVID first hit, we knew that
America needed us, so we couldn’t think
about ourselves,” Plummer said. “I think the
general public realized how important we are
to them. We felt appreciated. We enjoyed all of
the thank-yous we received on the road.”
Unfortunately, the public’s celebration of
truckers was short-lived.
“Once COVID became unimportant to the
public, things returned to what they were,”
Plummer said. “They don’t understand the
sacrifice that comes with being a trucker.
We drive for five months at a time and see so
many things that range from one extreme to
another. They don’t see us missing the sporting
events, birthdays, and graduations. They don’t
see that we skip physical and mental health
care.”
Plummer says she and her husband have
Courtesy: Emily Plummer
Driver Emily Plummer told The Trucker that Prime Inc. was the first company to give her a shot after she earned a
CDL. Nearly three decades later, she remains loyal to the company. See Truck stop on PAGE 34