Samantha Voorhees, Promotion to Vice President of Business Development

Voorhees’ “Rock star” energy and penchant for problem solving make her a natural for her new role in the fast-paced world of logistics and transportation, where she has worked for the past nine years.

At Eveready, Voorhees hit the ground running in the sales department, learning the ropes and establishing herself as a valuable asset within an industry that is typically male-dominated. Never afraid to make her mark, her organizational skills and style created success in her role as Business Development Manager, where she increased her outreach and honed her experience within the growing courier service.

Voorhees has worked with a women’s mentoring and networking group formed under the Express Carriers Association (ECA) umbrella, where she now serves as a board member. Explaining her passion behind the movement, she comments: “Transportation is a heavily male-dominated industry, and women as a whole are not typically in roles like myself. The MarketPlace, Conferences, as well as the women in transportation group, empower women in our industry. It gives them a support group…the group has mentors to show younger women that they can be more than a customer service representative or assistant if that is what they want.”

Passion for outreach and professional development is something that the President of Eveready Express Keith Kirk also champions. He founded the growing courier service under the core philosophies of providing value and investment in long-term relationships. “I am a strong believer in continuing education to remain relevant, and competitive. To that end, I have engaged in Dale Carnegie, Leadership and Public Speaking, Management, and Sales Training, Sandler Sales Training, and Vistage CEO Peer Advisory Groups. Continuing education is a life-long journey, which can also inspire others…” Kirk said.

Kirk’s commitment to valuing feedback and relationships is further explained, “At Eveready Express, we operate on three core service philosophies: First, we are a feedback-based organization, Second; We Must provide Value, and Third: We are Invested in Long Term Relationships. We want to win your business, but we don’t, it’s ok, as long as we don’t lose our relationship.”

It’s easy to see how this philosophy would benefit a company within the logistics industry, and Voorhees is on board with the forward trajectory of the company that offers several services including same-day trucking, scheduled service, rented fleet, warehousing & information systems.

Voorhees is not looking to improve solely for herself. Her hard work is part of a greater plan to benefit the people she works with. Voorhees looks forward to the future with enthusiasm. She wants to be an inspiration to others in the company, especially women who may feel that leadership isn’t achievable for them. “I want (my staff) to look at me as inspiration so they think, ‘What can I do to make a difference within the company?’ I want (my staff) to look at me as a friend. Plus, the course benefits my personal knowledge and is letting me grow as a person. Being able to improve on weaknesses is the only thing we can ask for in life.

“I’m most excited about building a sales team that I can shape and grow. I plan to assign sales via territory and will do everything I can to help other sales professionals in the organization succeed” said Sam. “Increasing the sales fleet by territory will double the size of [Eveready Express]. It’s a big step to have the flexibility to carve out a sales team, and a big one for [CEO, Keith Kirk] to grant me the authority to do so,” she said.

Voorhees, Vice President of Business Development, will now take on this brand-new, evolutionary role for Eveready while preparing for the premier ECA of the year, continuing her leadership courses, mentoring, building a new sales team, and also being an amazing mom to her young daughter.

“It’s personal for me. I’m a single mom and want my daughter to know that it’s possible. My daughter is my inspiration for having a successful career. I do this for her to be her role model and so she can have a successful life on her own,” said Voorhees. “I think we need more positivity in this world. Women can have these titles and it is important to overlook the negative and keep pushing. You can do this, you will be successful, and here’s your network of support.”