The second-generation owner of a 100-truck carrier had the ear of both President Trump and one of his closest advisors, daughter Ivanka Trump, this week at the White House.
Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, president, CEO and owner of Garner Trucking, says she pressed the Trumps on one of the industry’s biggest challenges: Finding and retaining skilled laborers, particularly for driving and technician jobs.
“Finding a qualified workforce — truck drivers and technicians — is a huge challenge for us in this industry,” Brumbaugh said in an exclusive CCJ interview. “My question to Mrs. Trump was what can the administration do to tackle this problem so that we can find a qualified workforce for good paying jobs.”
Brumbaugh said she also mentioned at the meeting the challenges that regulations pose on the industry’s productivity and profitability. But, she says, she kept the conversation high-level, given the detailed nature of trucking industry regulations.
Brumbaugh’s meeting with the Trumps at the White House was part of a listening session organized by the Small Business Administration. Brumbaugh says there were about 100 people present in the meeting, with representatives from small businesses across all sectors of the economy. “They were interested in gathering information from small businesses — what are the barriers we’re facing, what can they do as an administration to remove those roadblocks,” Brumbaugh said. “They can’t fix what they don’t know, so listening to small businesses — people that are providing jobs — is the first step to making a difference.”
In addition to President Trump and Ivanka, Brumbaugh says several other high-profile White House staffers were present, including Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, new Chief of Staff General Michael Kelly and White House advisor KellyAnne Conway.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also attended the meeting, Brumbaugh said. Rubio is a member of the Senate’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Also in attendance was SBA Administrator Linda McMahon, the co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), among other prominent private sector positions.
