In November and December, one of the busiest periods of the year for the transportation sector, the Wreaths Across America mission brings drivers together in an effort of unparalleled unity. With a positive, “can-do” work ethic, these professionals make it possible for Americans to honor millions of veterans laid to rest at home and overseas. In 2024, with over 4,909 participating locations, in addition to Arlington National Cemetery, transportation logistics were immense.

Many of these drivers are military veterans and say the truckload of fresh balsam-fir wreaths is the most precious cargo they transport in their careers. Wreaths Across America shares their stories in the “Trucking Tributes” feature online and on Wreaths Across America Radio.

So, what do you do when your frustrated after years in your current work position yet you’re supporting two kids in college at the time? Well, Esther Parsons decided to become a professional truck driver. Now that statement may have unrealistically simplified the process because Esther said it really took some time before she was convinced she could handle that kind of career jump. “I was talking to a friend of mine who had been years in the industry and he knew I was frustrated in my clerical job,” Esther shared. “He looked at me and said, ‘you know you could do this,’ and for about six months he painted the picture for me and helped me through the process.”

Esther said she finally left the company she had been with over fifteen years, secured funding through the state of Pennsylvania, and found a driving school. “Pennsylvania has a resource called CareerLink and at that time trucking was an industry that was starving for drivers. You had to apply and go through an interview and when my funding for a CDL school came through, that’s when things got real,” she chuckled. “It involved some book studying and taking the test to get my permit and I went for all of my endorsements up front because I didn’t want to gyp myself on the back end. One of my instructors was a woman who had been in the industry for thirty years and her dad put her in the industry. She was fantastic, and she was tough as nails. It is a process and you have to do your research.”

When Esther went to work for UPS, that’s when she learned about Wreaths Across America. It was hard to miss the specially wrapped trailer at her home terminal. “The minute you drive in the yard, it’s right there. You can see it from almost any point in the front yard and when I saw it, I was like, oooh, what’s that? As a daughter of a World War II veteran, it hit a nerve for me, and I started looking into the organization. Being born and raised outside of Philadelphia, and I remember the bicentennial, and my dad was a flag-waving patriot, participating just seemed like a perfect fit for me.”

Esther says the process of becoming a member of the Honor Fleet started when she “friended” Wreaths Across America’s Director of Transportation, Courtney George on Facebook and then they met in person at the Mid-America Trucking Show when Esther expressed her desire to have a lane. “A couple of months later she sent me the run and she was fantastic because of course I had a couple of questions. She was so patient with me and listen to every one of them and she answered every one of them and she gave me the contact information for the people I’d be connecting with. I contacted them all and introduced myself and explained I was going to be their delivery driver, and it was funny because they were like, ‘oh you’re going to be coming in that little brown truck that comes to my neighborhood and I laughed and said no, no, no, I’m going to need more room than that.” Esther transported veterans’ wreaths to twelve stops that represented sixteen different participating cemeteries.

As her first year participating and coming to Maine to pick up America’s respect, Esther said she took it all in. “I did the tour with Mr. Fred, and went on to the tip land and placed a dog tag for my father. I visited the gift shop and came home with a bag full of stuff,” she laughed. “I made a wreath with Ms. Diane and met so many drivers at the drivers’ lounge. Everyone was amazing and I made a lot of friends.”

Not only is Esther a professional and friendly ambassador for UPS, she’s also a mentor supporting other women in the trucking industry through Women in Trucking. “Because it is a male-populated industry, the women who make it out here know their stuff. They’re making that extra effort to study when they get home, the extra effort to do an extra thorough pre-trip when they’re out here, and it’s not about proving that we know what we’re doing, it’s more about fighting our own imposter syndrome,” she explains. “It’s that mental step that will trip you up; making sure that you know what you’re supposed to know and finding your comfort zone with your route or your OTR run, whatever it may be. Getting to that comfortable spot takes time, but we don’t take anything for granted in terms of what it took to get here.”

Thank you, Esther, for your mentorship of other women considering the trucking industry as a career, and UPS for your continued commitment to the mission to remember, honor and teach.

If you’d like to join the Wreaths Across America Honor Fleet, you can get started with a click right here!

You can hear more with Esther on Trucking Tributes, which can be listened to every Truckin’ Tuesday at 11:00 AM and again at 4:00 PM EST on Wreaths Across America Radio and Wednesday at 8:30 AM EST as part of RadioNemo on Sirius XM Channel 146, Road Dog Trucking.”

Discover the Trucking Tributes archive playlist on Soundcloud.com