Mary Ellen Sheets
Mary Ellen Sheets (born 1940[1]) is an entrepreneur best known for co-founding Two Men and a Truck, the nation's first and largest franchised[2] moving company based in Lansing, Michigan. She is also notable for her role as a woman in business franchising. Sheets' story and business achievements have been referenced in seven published books[3] including Trust is Everything: Become the Leader Others Will Follow by Dr. Aneil Mishra and Dr. Karen Mishra.[4]
Biography
[edit]Mary Ellen Sheets | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 9, 1940 |
| Organization(s) | Two Men and a Truck |
| Children | 3 |
Early years
[edit]Sheets grew up in Okemos, Michigan and attended Michigan State University.[5] She left college at age 20 to start a family and had three children: Melanie Bergeron, Brig Sorber and Jon Sorber.[5]
Sheets was a systems analyst for the state of Michigan when her teenaged sons, Brig Sorber and Jon Sorber, started a small moving business. They used an old pickup truck to earn extra spending money in high school which later grew to be their family business.
Two Men and a Truck
[edit]When Brig and Jon left for college, Sheets took over the business. She purchased a 14-foot truck for $350 and hired two movers in 1985.[6][7] This is the only money Sheets personally invested in the company.[7] A fellow panelist at a university business seminar in 1988 suggested Sheets consider franchising. The first Two Men and a Truck franchise was awarded in 1989. She became the first woman in forty years to earn the International Franchise Association’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2005. [8]
At the end of her first year in business, Sheets made $1,000 in profit and donated all of it to charity. Ten non-profit organizations received $100. The company continues to support those same organizations today. To continue the spirit of giving started by Sheets, in 2000 Two Men and a Truck named the American Cancer Society its national charity. A portion of each move is donated to the organization.[3] In 2009 the company donated more than $28,000 to the American Cancer Society.
In its second year of operation, Two Men and a Truck earned $180,000 in revenue, and by 1989 the company brought in $560,000 annually.[5] By its thirtieth anniversary in 2015, Two Men and a Truck had 2,100 trucks, 9,000 employees, and had completed 5.5 million moves.[9] What began as a small side business for Sheets expanded, with annual revenues reaching $442 million by 2016 and franchises in more than forty states, Canada, the UK, and Ireland.[5] As of 2025, each of the over 350 locations makes an average of $2,314,000 in revenue yearly.[10]
Sheets' children have played major roles in the company's growth; Melanie Bergeron is the chair of Two Men and a Truck, Brig Sorber is president and CEO and Jon Sorber is executive vice president.[8] Beyond corporate charity, Sheets served on the boards of Lansing Community College, Michigan Freedom Foundation, Michigan Law Abuse Watch, and Edward Sparrow Hospital.[11]
Awards
[edit]- 1993: Lansing Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year[12]
- 1994: Top 25 Michigan Business Woman of the Year[8]
- 1995: Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- 1998: Blue Chip Award
- 1999: Working Woman 500 Congress Award[8]
- 2002: Athena Award
- 2004: Michigan Women’s Foundation Women of Achievement and Courage Award[8]
- 2005: Entrepreneur of the Year, International Franchise Association[8]
- 2006: Finalist, Ernst & Young International Entrepreneur of the Year Award[8]
- 2008: J.D. Power and Associates[13]
- 2014: Michigan Women's Hall of Fame[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "The ABCs of Financial Literacy". Business Week. 2004-03-18. Archived from the original on March 22, 2004.
- ^ "TWO MEN AND A TRUCK FRANCHISE". Franchise Business Review. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ a b c "Mary Ellen Sheets". Michigan Women Forward. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ International Franchise Association. "Two Men and a Truck's Mary Ellen Sheets and her children Melanie Bergeron, CFE, Brig Sorber, CFE, and Jon Sorber were featured in a new book". Franchising World. 40 (7) – via Gale Virtual Reference Library.
- ^ a b c d Eng, Dinah (16 December 2017). "Meet the Woman Behind Two Men and a Truck". Fortune. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Perman, Stacy (April 14, 2005). "Two Men and a Lot of Trucks". Business Week. Archived from the original on April 15, 2005.
- ^ a b "Mary Ellen Sheets (Two Men and a Truck)". Startup Grind. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Mary Ellen Sheets - Northwood University". 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ Canada Newswire (6 November 2015). "Two Men and a Truck celebrates 30th anniversary". ProQuest. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ Remi (2025-10-09). "Two Men and a Truck Franchise FDD, Profits & Costs (2025)". Retrieved 2025-11-24.
- ^ Rogers, Mike (7 April 2005). "PAYING TRIBUTE TO MARY ELLEN SHEETS OF LANSING, MICHIGAN". Congressional Record Daily Edition - Extension of Remarks. 151 (39): E586 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Mary Ellen Sheets". Michigan 4-H Foundation. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ^ "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Two Men and a Truck Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Full-Service Moving Companies". J.D. Power and Associates. August 26, 2008. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008.
