Jessie Booker: Building an Agency, One Relationship at a Time

For Jessie Booker, the road to running JB Freight Solutions in Virginia Beach didn’t begin with a plan to own an agency. It began with a simple goal: finding a company where she could grow.

More than a decade later, that decision has shaped both her career and her life.

A Louisville native who grew up in nearby Lagrange, Kentucky, Booker joined Mercer Transportation while still in college. As the youngest of six siblings, she had always been comfortable working hard and finding her place within a team. Mercer provided that opportunity.

Her early years were spent at Mercertown headquarters as a load coordinator, where she worked directly with drivers and agents across the network. The role gave her a front-row seat to the business, booking freight, solving problems, and learning the rhythms of the trucking industry.

After several years in the position, Booker began to feel the pull toward something more.

“I felt I’d gotten as good as I was going to get in that role,” she said. “I wanted to grow more.”

That drive pushed her to take the next step within Mercer, moving into a role in Mercer’s freight department that expanded her responsibilities and gave her broader exposure to the operation. Still, the opportunity that would shape her career came unexpectedly.

A freight agency opening in Virginia Beach was becoming available. The longtime agent there was preparing for retirement and searching for someone to continue the work.

Booker reached out.

The decision meant leaving behind her hometown, her coworkers at headquarters, and the Mercer community she had spent years building. But she recognized the opportunity in front of her.

“I definitely miss all my friends and my people back in Louisville,” Booker said. “But it was an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

The transition came at an unpredictable moment. Booker relocated to Virginia Beach at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. For several months she worked alongside the outgoing agent, learning the customers and the operation while navigating the uncertainty of the time.

“That was quite the year,” Booker said.

Today, Booker runs JB Freight Solutions alongside Angie Close, a Virginia Beach native who has spent roughly fifteen years with Mercer. The two-person office sits near Mount Trashmore, a former landfill turned park known locally for its hills, lakes, and open space.

“We feed the ducks outside our office every morning,” Booker said.

Despite the quiet setting, the agency’s work reaches far beyond the park across the street. The Virginia Beach office serves customers connected to the Port of Virginia, the Newport News Shipyard, and nearby military installations. The region demands reliability, precision, and strong communication.

For Booker, Mercer’s driver network is the reason the agency succeeds.

“The customers really like Mercer,” she said. “They like how we communicate and how we take care of things.”

That trust becomes especially important when freight carries urgency.

During the 2023 OceanGate submersible search and rescue response, one of JB Freight Solutions’ customers contacted Booker’s office to move specialized emergency dive equipment. Plans shifted quickly as the situation evolved, and trucks were redirected to deliver the equipment to JFK Airport, where it was flown to Nova Scotia.

Moments like that reflect the kind of coordination agencies provide behind the scenes.

Booker experienced another urgent call when a contractor involved in the response to the Baltimore bridge collapse reached out to prepare a truck. Without knowing exactly when the call would come, Booker relied on relationships with trusted local drivers to ensure someone was ready.

“When something urgent comes up, I know who I can count on,” she said.

Even after relocating more than 600 miles from home, Booker says the support she receives from Mercer headquarters remains a constant.

“I can still call people back at Mercertown and they’re just there,” she said. “They’ve helped me grow in every way possible.”

Outside the office, Booker stays closely connected to family. With fifteen nieces and six nephews, she proudly holds the title of “favorite aunt.” Her husband relocated from Louisville to Norfolk for work, and the couple enjoys exploring Virginia Beach or riding electric scooters when time allows.

Running a two-person agency means time away can be limited, but Booker remains focused on the opportunity she embraced when she made the move.

Running an agency means living close to the work. The calls come early, the problems arrive without warning, and the responsibility for getting freight where it needs to go never really turns off. For Jessie Booker, though, that challenge is exactly what makes the job worthwhile. Over the years she has built something steady in Virginia Beach, surrounded by drivers she trusts and customers who know they can rely on her. It’s the kind of work she hoped to find when she first walked through the doors in Louisville years ago—work that grows with you, and people who make the effort feel meaningful.