Megan Zeller is a designer at Royer’s Camp Hill store, but she first joined the company as a contract driver for Valentine’s Day.
She brought that delivery experience to Career Vehicle Day April 6 at Hoover Elementary School in Camp Hill. Along with sales associate Tracy McEldowney, the Royer’s colleagues explained what it’s like to be a delivery driver.
Royer’s delivery truck was among one-dozen vehicles parked outside the school for the event that highlighted careers in everything from package delivery and TV news to police and EMS.
When delivering delicate flowers, Megan said, “We’ve got to be careful, we’ve got to be smart, we’ve got to be able to lift heavy things, too, because there are a lot of heavy things we deliver.”
With the assistance of computer tablets, Royer’s drivers load packages into their vehicles and then deliver. Megan emphasized the importance of being reliable, “to be where you need to be on time.”
Drivers must be licensed, of course, but they also have to pass a ride-along with a Royer’s manager to confirm that they operate safely when behind the wheel.
“A little fun fact,” Megan told the students and their teacher, “is that when this tablet is with the driver, we can tell how fast they’re going. So we can tell if somebody is driving over the speed of 60, and how many times they’ve gone over the speed of 60, and then we can talk to them when they come back.”

Check your work

The students learned that a driver deals with all manner of weather, from lovely to cold and slippery. Megan asked what a driver should do if delivering to a house where no one was home and the temperature was too cold to leave the flowers outside.
“Yeah, I might have to bring [the flowers] back to the shop,” she said. “I might have to go to a neighbor’s house.”
Not only do their tablets help the drivers keep track of deliveries, but they keep the store manager in the loop. If Aunt Tilly calls wondering where her order is, Megan said, the store manager can look at the status based on information shared from the tablet.
Tracy said a teacher’s adage to check work before turning it in also applies in the flower business. Clutching a big white stuffed bear and holding two Mylar balloons, she urged the students:
“Just like your teacher tells you now before you turn in your test, check your work, well, you have to keep checking your work,” Tracy said. “Because the driver has to check his work to make sure he gets the righty teddy bear to the right person.”

It may be the season of red and green, but pink also holds a prominent place at Royer’s Flowers & Gifts.
Royer’s employees this fall raised $520 for the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition with their purchases of pink polo shirts. For each Royer’s-logoed shirt they bought, the employees contributed $10 to the nonprofit coalition.
Royer’s employees undertook a similar fundraiser in fall 2016, collecting $1,510 for the coalition for the two years combined. Meanwhile, since 2015 Royer’s has raised another $7,730 for the coalition through the year-round sale of its “Power of Pink” arrangement.
“We sincerely appreciate the steadfast support that Royer’s and its employees have shown to our organization,” said Kristen Snoke, the coalition’s community outreach director. “We will continue to put their donations to good use on behalf of breast cancer survivors.”
The Lebanon-based coalition (pabreastcancer.org) represents, supports and serves breast cancer survivors and their families in Pennsylvania through educational programming, legislative advocacy and breast cancer research grants.