Sandy Sharp, a 30-plus year veteran of the trucking industry, has a storied history of her decades in the business, as well as tales of the highways and city streets as a driver for Southeastern Freight Lines.
The multi-talented Tennessee native, who currently makes her home Nashville, told The Trucker that she was essentially born into the industry.
“I came from a family with a trucking background,” Sharp said. “My dad drove, my brother drives, and my other brother works on trucks. It was just in the family.”
Sharp’s entire professional career has been in the industry. After moving to Nashville as a teenager, her first major job, held from 1989-1993, was working as a traffic coordinator for a carrier.
“I did the pricing and the routing of the trucks and stuff like that,” she said.
Sharp joined Southeastern in July 1993, working in a nighttime clerical position.
“I closed the loads out and scanned the bills for the billing people to bill on,” Sharp said. “After about six months or so, I moved to the daytime (shift), doing various clerical duties until I got into the OS&D (over, short and damaged) side of it.”
Despite being content in her role, Sharp says she felt the call of the road, just as her father and brother did.
“I had always told myself that if I could handle the freight, I would be driving,” she said. “One day I was on the dock inspecting some damaged freight and I thought, ‘You know, I’m handling this freight, and I have no trouble doing it.’ I thought, ‘I wanna go drive!’”
Luckily for Sharp, Southeastern had a spot available in a training program. After earning her CDL in February 2004, she set out with a training partner to help her get a feel for the myriad of skills and tasks required for her new role, including moving her trailers in the yard, backing them into the dock and shuffling trailers around.
“They hooked me up with a mentor and I rode with him through the town,” Sharp said. “He taught me how to navigate the city streets and how to get in and out of places. I had very good teachers, and they were willing to teach me so I could learn.”
Sharp runs an urban route on the north side of Nashville, covering more than 100 miles per day. When asked if she ever gets bored or needs something to keep her mind occupied, she laughed.
“The traffic in Nashville does that for you,” Sharp said. “Driving in the Nashville traffic on the city streets with a 53-foot trailer, you have got to be aware of what’s around you at all times. I have to stay focused on what I’m doing.”
She says Southeastern has been a joy to work for.
“To me they have some of the greatest people here in Nashville,” Sharp said. “I can’t give high enough praise. Everybody is willing to help one another out — and that goes for anything, whether it’s work-related or you need something fixed at your house. The people here are just great.”
She says she’s made countless friends at Southeastern, many of them like family.
“A lot of them call me Mama Sandy,” Sharp said. “There’s one friend who calls me Auntie, and then some of the others refer to me as Baby Girl. I’ve really been called that my whole life, since I have two brothers and no sisters.”
Since taking a spot behind the wheel of a rig, Sharp says she’s received support from Southeastern and the trucking industry in general. In 2023 she was named the 2023 Regional Driver of the Year Award.
“I felt honored, and it gave me a ‘big head,’” she joked. “I was extremely honored because we do have a lot of good drivers here and I felt just very fortunate and honored that they chose me.”
After more than three decades in the trucking industry, Sharp has seen countless changes. One change she is particularly proud of is the evolving role of women in trucking.
“When I first started, people would look at you like you were an alien for outer space,” Sharp said. “Over the years, the people have come to see ‘just another driver’ who happens to be female. You do see more and more women now compared to what it used to be when I first started, and I think it’s great.”
Sharp says she encourages women to consider entering trucking as a career.
“Yes, women can do this job, and it’s a great career to be in,” she said. “There’s no lack of jobs. To me it’s very rewarding … I’m outside all day and I get to hear the birds sing. I see all my different customers and get to build relationships with them. It’s just a great job.”
Two of Sharp’s favorite things are being outdoors and finding a way to bring smiles to the faces of her customers.
“If they’re having a bad day, I try to make sure they have a smile before I leave,” she said.
Sharp’s love of the outdoors — she loves gardening in her spare time — led to one of her favorite stories to share about her job as a driver.
However, it was her keen eye that helped save the day for a family of feathered friends. As she was driving in a small industrial area one day, she recounted, she saw a duck just walking back and forth. It struck her as odd, so she stopped to check on it.
“Her six little ducklings were stuck in the drain,” Sharp said. “I couldn’t raise the grate because it had been welded shut. I called the fire department; (they) came and got the grate open and got the mama her ducklings back.”
Now 57, Sharp says she wants to continue driving as long as she can … even if she eventually trades her current rig for an RV to explore the country with her husband.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
