Truck driver honored by ‘She is PepsiCo’ campaign
PHOENIX – Women’s History Month was an emotional one for Bonita Tellez. Not only was she celebrated as one of the few women working as semitruck drivers, but she also got a massive gift – her face plastered on the side of a PepsiCo trailer truck.
She was one of a handful of women nationwide to be honored in this way by the food and beverage company.
The face of the person better known as Bonnie now covers the exterior of the vehicle she operates.
“So many emotions felt. I’m happy, I’m excited, I’m nervous. It’s pretty overwhelming. My dad was a truck driver, so this is a pretty big thing for me,” she said, minutes before the unveiling of the truck and being recognized as a role model by the company.
Last week, her employer honored Tellez at the PepsiCo facility in Phoenix as part of the “She is PepsiCo” campaign.
The campaign was launched in 2022 in the western region of the United States and has since evolved into a global initiative. Its purpose is to highlight the performance and skills of front-line employees, which includes truck drivers, warehouse staff and merchandisers. In 2023, a Gartner study found that women represented 41% of the total supply chain workforce.
The initiative sheds light on women who uplift others, according to Tessa McArthur, PepsiCo market senior director for Southwest and Hawaii, which led them to choose Tellez. “Her positive attitude and the absolute values that she brings into our workforce every day were enough to make us decide that she was a well-suited candidate,” McArthur said.
Tellez, originally from Whittier, California, has worked for PepsiCo for the last five years delivering merchandise throughout the Phoenix area.
A mother of five – two adult women living in California, two girls and one boy – her line of work helps her children understand the importance of gender equality, she said, especially as she grows in an occupation dominated by men.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023 women made up 6.9% of truck drivers across the U.S.
“For them to see me in a not typical female environment, because this is a male dominant job, for them to see me doing this day in and day out means a lot. I want them to know that you can do whatever you want,” Tellez said in an interview.
Tellez’s deceased father, Robert Morlet, was also a freight truck driver. He was her biggest supporter, she said, and she was his number one fan. Following in his footsteps brings her great pride. “He probably wouldn’t even let (me) interview by myself, he would be standing right behind me,” she said with a laugh.
During the March 28 unveiling, Tellez received words of recognition from McArthur and Arturo Petrozza, general manager and vice president of the border region.
It was a day full of emotions for Tellez, who was accompanied by her husband of more than 10 years and three of her five children. Her brother, who traveled from California with his family, and PepsiCo coworkers were also in attendance.