Trudy Jacobson Chats About How The Great American Women Series All Started

Trudy Jacobson Chats About How The Great American Women Series All Started

JTP: We understand that the Great American Women series has roots in your trucking company. Can you explain how that transpired?

Trudy: We own a transportation company and that was during covid. There were few drivers out there. And there was a great opportunity for women to be in the trucking industry not only as drivers but all the way up to executives in the company. The way that I wanted to recruit them was to promote myself.

JTP: Speaking of drivers, many people don’t know that you’re licensed to drive an 18-wheeler. How did that come into play to promote yourself?

Trudy: I learned to drive an 18-wheeler and I’ve been out on the road - I can relate to it. It’s not an easy life. I wanted to promote myself that I had done that and maybe that would encourage other females to say, ‘Hey, if she can do it, then I can do it, and this is a great opportunity’.

JTP: You then hired a publicist to help you get this message and idea off the ground. Tell us about that.

Trudy: I tried working with a publicist - a public relations firm - that was not a good idea. But in it, I promoted the [trucking] industry. But I think I was a little naïve and thought that if I promoted myself, then others would follow, and they might want to be a part of trucking.

JTP: How did that turn out?

Trudy: Promoting myself didn’t turn out to be a good idea for numerous reasons. I didn’t like promoting myself so it occurred to me why not promote other women and honor them?

JTP: And that is how the idea was born?

Trudy: Yes. You can be a great American woman without doing something specific. And there are so many great American women who are just trying to survive. They’re awesome and they’re fierce.

JTP: You hired a new PR firm. What have you all been doing?

Trudy: We have interviewed numerous women and I’m so happy and excited and proud to be a part of this. There are so many women, as I said before, who should be honored for their struggles, for being brave, for working hard just being themselves, and for their determination to succeed.

JTP: What type of women have been featured? How has it been going?

Trudy: I think we’re succeeding at including all types of women. Whether they’re career women, whether they’re housewives. And we’re happy that we’re interviewing women who are basically all the same but are different in many ways. Some of us are white, some of us are black, and some of us originally come from other countries. We all are determined to succeed.

JTP: What are specific examples of the type of women you’ve featured?

Trudy: The value of interviewing great American women is that we get to meet all kinds of women. We have law enforcement women. We have women who are entrepreneurs. We have some women who run the home, run a business, and get their children off to school every day with or without a spouse. And we have women of all colors, of all nationalities, and we’re all in our own way Great American Women!

JTP: There are some women in your series who spoke of challenges and extreme personal obstacles. What can you say about that?

Trudy: It’s not just the glamour and glory that you see on social media. This is about real women. They live under stress – they work under stress. They have to get from point A to point B in not enough time. They have a lot of obstacles that they face in this series. You’re going to see the good, the bad, and the ugly – starting with me. It's not been easy for me many times nor has it for all the women we interview. But you’re also going to hear wonderful stories of success, the ones who overcome all the obstacles and know exactly where they want to go – and they do it.
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Check out some of these Great American Women like Cara DiFalco, a former news broadcaster turned Italian Cuisine expert. Or Gabrielle Stone, best-selling author and host of the popular FML podcast. Or Jen Satterly, founder of the All Secure Foundation.

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