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.

It might have been the jargon. “Breaker, breaker, good buddy…” or the great view of the world from the tractor, but Lisa Flater knew she wanted to drive a truck. “My sister and I would sneak into my dad’s pickup truck when we were kids to talk to the truck drivers on his CB radio,” she shared with a chuckle. “We always said we were going to be truck drivers back then. I should have done it long before I did. I was in my forties when I got started. I love the travel.”

Lisa is a professional driver for Leonard’s Express and a member of the Wreaths Across America Honor Fleet. “I’m going to get a little emotional here. It was another driver for Leonard’s, Mason Smith, who told me about Wreaths Across America, and I just knew I had to be in it, so I talked and talked to the company, and explained how good it would be to have a woman veteran involved, and they said absolutely. They were so gracious to let me be in on it.” Mason Smith was a long-time member of the Honor Fleet and staunch ambassador for the mission to remember, honor and teach, who recently passed away. “He told me how everything was done up there and what to expect. My first year up there I was scared to death, and I had to leave before he got there. I kept to myself a lot because I didn’t know anyone and I was taking everything in, trying to absorb it all. The second year though, Mason was there, and he took me in and introduced me to people, and it was a whole different experience. Plus, I got to participate that year in the convoy, where I didn’t get to experience it my first year. I took my load to Idaho the first year.”

Lisa was honored to drive the Leonard’s trailer wrapped in the U.S. Air Force insignia. “Keith Bucannon used to have that truck, but he got ill, and he had to resign. Then they went looking for someone else, and they said, ‘Ah, she’s Air Force,’ so I got the truck. Keith is a great guy, and he was honored to do that, and so am I.”

Lisa served in the U.S. Air Force from 1985 to 1990. “When I decided to serve, I had a discussion with my father, and he said, ‘Well, do you want to sleep in a bed or a foxhole? I said a bed, of course, so he said I had two choices: the Air Force or the Navy. I chose the Air Force, and I loved the military. I served on a Strategic Air Command or SAC base, which no longer exists. It was a nuclear base for B-52s and the like, and I did base operations which controlled the whole flight line.” While in service, Lisa received a Good Conduct and Accommodation medal, and she concluded her time in the Air Force with an honorable discharge.

Lisa shared her love of country and the military, which made her experience as an Honor Fleet driver for Wreaths Across America that much more rewarding. “I cried while I was driving,” she expressed, getting a little choked up. “To see the pride and patriotism up there in Maine was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I mean, you hear the stories, but to actually, physically see it is emotional, and there was this one gentleman that brings you to tears period. When the convoy is going down by his house, he’s still in his uniform, and he’s in his eighties or nineties, it looks like, and he’s saluting every truck. I don’t know if the guys think this, but as a woman, I’m thinking ‘Oh my God, and he still fits in his uniform too, that’s so awesome!”

Lisa’s dedication to the mission is steadfast. “If the day comes when I have to hang up my keys, I’m still going to find a way to be involved somewhere as a volunteer in one of the cemeteries. The volunteers and what they do are so amazing, and they treat the drivers so good.”

Thank you, Lisa Flater, and the entire Leonard’s Express team, for your continued commitment to our veterans through your support of the Wreaths Across America mission.

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 Lisa 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 on Tuesdays at 9:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM CT as part of RadioNemo’s Road Gang Radio, streaming exclusively at RadioNemo.com — or stream on-demand anytime on your favorite podcast and streaming platforms. Just search “RadioNemo.”

Discover the Trucking Tributes archive playlist on Soundcloud.com