TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Surprises its 2023 Scholarship Winner with $50,000 to Begin Their Own Franchise

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, the nation’s largest franchised moving company with more than 405 franchises and 3,000 trucks in operation, recently announced it had awarded its 2023 $50,000 Mary Ellen’s Moving People Forward Scholarship®  to Denise Blaisdell, Regional Vice President of operations at the East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, franchise locations. The scholarship was created to help existing TWO MEN AND A TRUCK employees invest in their own franchise with the company after going through a year-long training program and creating a business plan to open a new location with the support of their current franchisee.

Blaisdell started with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK in June of 2018, making 2023 her fifth year with the organization. What inspired Blaisdell to pursue opening her own franchise is what she calls “succession planning.” 

“Succession planning is very important to me. As I grow my career, new positions are created for the members of our frontline staff in both the Mobile and Baton Rouge locations,” she said. “I want to make sure that each member of the team who has helped us get to where we are today can continue to grow both financially and in responsibility, therefore not needing to look outside of our organization for career progression.” 

Career progression is something that is also important to the brand. For decades, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has focused on providing its employees with professional development and growth opportunities, and the scholarship is an extension of the ongoing initiative, offering a formalized program with financial benefit. 

“At TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, we believe in moving people forward, and this purpose has set up paths to allow anyone in the company to grow as much as they want to grow,” said TWO MEN AND A TRUCK President Randy Shacka. “Our extensive list of employees who have been able to move up is proof that we have an excellent culture that fosters growth at all levels within the company.” Shacka himself started with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK as an intern nearly 20 years ago.

When thinking back on her success, Blaisdell gives a lot of credit to her team. In fact, one of the most common catchphrases she is known for is “this is a ‘we’ thing, not a ‘me’ thing.”

“I believe that the paradigm for a successful franchise is one that is staffed with dedicated, knowledgeable, energetic and skillful team members,” she said. “With a sturdy backbone, tasks can be delegated appropriately to ensure successful day-to-day operations. I could not have dreamed of getting this far into the program without a myriad of people.” 

One of those people is franchisee Joseph South. South hired Blaisdell to lead the sales and marketing department of his Baton Rouge franchise in 2018. Recognizing Blaisdell’s strengths in leadership and potential to go further in her career, South promoted her to general manager of his Mobile and Foley, Alabama, franchises. Then, she was promoted further to Regional Vice President of operations covering the Baton Rouge, Mobile and Foley franchises. 

“Since hiring me in 2018, Joe has done nothing but support me in my goals to keep me moving forward,” Blaisdell said. 

The award recipient added that she had had unwavering support from her office managers at both franchise locations, Meagan Haught and Allison Matthews. “These women are truly a force to be reckoned with in the moving industry,” she said. “The CSRs, operations staff and movers and drivers in both locations are always willing to do more, learn more, and grow; it is a blessing to be surrounded by such a cohesive and focused group of individuals — they push me to be better every day.” 

The initial investment for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK ranges from $100,000 to $595,000. To learn more about franchising opportunities with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, visit www.franchise.twomenandatruck.com.

ABOUT TWO MEN AND A TRUCK:

Headquartered in Michigan, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK is the largest franchised moving company in North America. Currently, there are more than 405 locations and 3,000 trucks operating in 47 U.S. states in addition to Canada, Ireland and the UK. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has performed more than 9 million moves since its inception in 1985 and has seen consistent growth dating back to December 2009. In 2022, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked TWO MEN AND A TRUCK as one of the top 500 franchises in the U.S. and No. 1 in the moving/junk removal category. Franchise Business Review also named TWO MEN AND A TRUCK a 2022 Top 200 Franchise and a 2021 Top Recession-Proof Franchise. As of August 2021, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has joined the ServiceMaster brand. ServiceMaster was founded as one of America’s first franchise businesses and does business under six brands today across 50 states and nine countries that generate more than $3.3B in system-wide sales: ServiceMaster Restore, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, AmeriSpec and Furniture Medic. For franchising opportunities, visit franchise.twomenandatruck.com.