Visitors to Southern States Cloverdale VA

 

This week, the Southern States Account in Cloverdale VA were fortunate to have leadership from Richmond VA stop by the account.  Holly Pearce and Warren Miller were in for two days were they participated in a driver cookout as well as did RATLAs with our drivers.  The purpose of the visit was relational, allowing Holly and Warren to not only get out and visit some customers, but also spend time with our managers and drivers to get feedback on how to make the business better.  It was great having them at the account!

 



Engagement Survey Focus Groups

This week and next, Region Leadership will be conducting focus groups to gain direct feedback from the region on what JB Hunt can do to improve engagement.  As a region, we highlighted three main areas that we need to work to improve; on-boarding/training, work-life balance, and employee recognition.  The purpose of the focus groups is to get ideas directly from our field operators on how to improve in these areas.  Below, the Kimble Region met in Indianapolis this week to talk through ideas on these subjects.  We look forward to all of the feedback!

 

Central Region Driver of the Month for May - Tony King

Congratulations to Tony King for being selected Driver of the Month for the Central Region for May!  Based out of Winchester, KY, Tony is a Regional Driver on our Cargill Bagged Feed Account.  While Tony has only been with the company just over 1.3 years, his impact has been felt all over the Brand Region.  In addition to being a trainer at his home account, recently Tony has been called upon to assist at the Kroger Startup in Louisville.  This has required Tony to not only familiarize himself with a different customer, but a different schedule including nights and weekends.  We appreciate all Tony has done and congratulations on being May Driver of the Month!

 

 

Below is the write-up from the Cargill Team:

 

Tony has worked for JB Hunt for several years and has always been a safe, reliable driver behind the wheel. Tony is one of our “go to” guys for the Winchester bag account. During the entire month of May, Tony was selected to assist with the Kroger start-up in Louisville. Not only has Tony delivered freight for Kroger, but he also played a role in helping to train the new drivers being onboarded to the account. He’s also worked shifts that don’t fit his normal schedule- working nights instead of days and even during the weekend. Even though he has been completely out of his normal schedule, he hasn’t complained once. This credits to Tony’s excellent attitude and willingness to do whatever is needed to help the team.

Picnic at PrimeSource

This past weekend, team PrimeSource in Rochester NY, held a picnic for our drivers and their families!  After a small grease fire, PrimeSource owned grill, the weather cooperated and it was a great day!

Congratulations Kim Montague!

 

Congratulations to Kim Montague on achieving One Million Safe Miles!  Kim is a dedicated driver on our Niagara Sheets Account in North Tonawanda NY.  To celebrate this milestone, the management team took Kim and his family to dinner to celebrate.  Congratulations Kim!

Macy's Safety Initiative and DOT Blitz

 

While conducting a mock DOT blitz at Macy’s in North Jackson, OH…..Account Manager Susan Mateo gave us a behind the scenes look at her newest safety initiative.  Whomever said a ROM can’t have a baseball field named after him/her hasn’t seen this!  Drivers are going to be stepping up to the plate for safety at the inaugural opening day at STAMPFER FIELD in North Jackson, OH this Sunday.  The “season” will run 8 weeks as each driver has an opportunity to knock safety out of the ball park!  Until then, drivers had a chance to savor some home-made BBQ courtesy of Sue while getting their trucks inspected.  In attendance were AM Susan Mateo, AMM John Dodson, ARM Andrew Vincent, and ROM Adam Stampfer.  This gave the team the opportunity to get a good meal, gather good conversation, and ensure the equipment was up to spec.  All and all another successful Yard Day within the central region!

Cargill Valdosta GA Call to Action Roundtable

Valdosta rounded up both their bag and bulk fleets for a Call to Action focus on Safety and DLACT refresher with breakfast.

 

Valdosta Drivers are committed to driving like Champions by following the Smith System Keys each and every day.  With the main focus being on safety,  we discussed the Company’s most recent three negative safety trends and how to prevent the increase of intersection collisions, running traffic devices, same direction sideswipes, stale green lights and u-turns, as well as the June Monthly safety briefing which focused on the same.   Thank you Valdosta for your commitment to being safe!



Matt Reynolds Meets Charles Oakley!

This week, Cargill Park City Tub & Block Driver Matt Reynolds ran into Charles Oakley at a Pilot in Pennsylvania!  Oakley was the 9th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavs.  Like most, Oakley had to leave Cleveland to see his career take off!  Oakley spent the majority of his career with the NY Knicks and was involved in some of the popular NBA battles with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.  Thanks for taking the time to snap a pic Charles!

Getting to Know - Howard "Skip" Wile

This past week, Account Manager Rachael Knick did a RATLA with Howard "Skip" Wile.  Skip is a Regional Driver for the Kimball International Account in Jasper, IN.  While Skip is a seasoned driver, it was great to get out on the truck and spend some quality time getting to know him better.

 

 



 

Skip started with JB Hunt in 2015 at the MasterBrand account. He’s been a great driver & always has a fantastic attitude.  Skip said he loves the Kimball Account for his Operations Supervisor, Stephany. He said she makes him feel like family & that’s what’s important to him.  Skip enjoys writing in his free time. He recently completed a book based on the life of his father-in-law, Jack Hopwood.  It’s a book about Jack & history through the perception of a tree – titled “Sitting under the Cherry Tree.” He hopes to get it published by the end of this year.  He said he works hard to make money to support his wife Luann and her love of animals.  They currently have 3 chickens, Daisy, Peony, Petunia – Skip said that Daisy is his favorite because she’s the friendliest & helps him with his yard work.  They also have five dogs – Chewbacca, Padme, Copper, Chomper, and Molly. When asked what ‘Drive like a Champion’ means to him,  Skip said “By being a driver that’s part of the solution not the problem. If there’s something that can be improved, I don’t complain – I try to work with Stephany to find a solution.”  It was great spending the morning with Skip and we love having him on the account.  Thanks for being a great example of a Driver Champion, Skippy!

Getting to Know - Joseph Roberts

This past week, Operations Supervisor Justin Oblisk was able to catch a ride with Joseph Roberts.  Joseph is a Regional Driver on the Toyota Owensboro Account, and resides in Middle River, MD.  Joseph is a newer hire to company, March 4 2019, and thus the reason Justin chose to do a RATLA.  Joseph has only been driving since November 2018.  Joseph lives in Middle River MD with his girlfriend and 3 daughters!  We asked Joseph what he liked about working for JB Hunt and he said “The safety culture and preaching safety to all the driver is unique to JB Hunt other places didn’t care as much and likes how JB Hunt cares about my safety and others.” Joseph also told he is a big anime fan and is actually going to huge anime convention in June.

Welcome to the team Joseph!

 

 



DLACT Central Farm & Garden

 



Drive Like a Champion Today refresher week is wrapping up across the DCS Central Region this week.  Central Farm and Garden in Wooster, OH wrapped up the week-long celebration with a bang! 

Along with handing out their DLACT t-shirts, the operations team provided donuts, desserts, catered in BBQ from local favorite Omahoma Bob’s and Operations Supervisor Jenna Troyer provided some fantastic homemade sides.  The food was a huge hit with our team of professional drivers!

Special thanks to all of our sites across the DCS Central Region who made DLACT refresher week a huge hit!      

Getting to Know - William Fairley

This past week, TGM Zach Mattingly was able to catch a ride with William Fairley.  William is a Regional Driver on our Toyota Account based in Louisville, KY.  From Monroe, LA; William has been with JB Hunt since June of 2018.  William grew up in what he calls farm country, and has been around farming and feed trucks for his entire life.  While William is somewhat new to the industry, his ultimate goal is to buy his own truck and start his own business.  William is a great driver who does a fantastic job for the account!

Below are some additional details on William:

William has been to two other companies outside of J.B. Hunt and points to J.B. Hunt’s professionalism as the piece that pushes us over the top. He says that the other companies he has driven for do not seem to care nearly as much or want to help; especially those drivers just starting out. He calls his new automatic “sweet”, however, does suggest improvements to the power of the vehicle. He states that going through all the hilly and mountain terrain that he drives each week makes it difficult when the power of the truck loses steam on each hill.  

Kimball International Celebrates Their Champions!

 

During the Drive like Champion refresher week Kimball had driver roundtables, safety initiatives and ‘Dilly’ bars & a cookout to celebrate our current 45 day collision free streak & talk about what we’re going to do to continue Driving like Champions – today & everyday!

 

Here are some quotes from the Kimball Champions about Driving like a Champion Today!

Question: How do you create a team of Driver Champions?

Answer:           “We make it a constant conversation – safety culture isn’t just a message in the morning or a monthly briefing.  It’s talking with every driver, facilitating team conversations, helping each other get better and never allowing my team to get complacent.” 

(Kevin’s 19 drivers are currently 123 days collision free!)

–Kevin Byrer – Manager Champion

 

Question: How do you Drive like a Champion?

Answer:           “Everyday I get up and think about safety and focus 100% on it so I can make it home to my family.”

–Pedro Ramirez – Professional Driver Champion

 

Question: How did you Drive like a Champion Today?

 

Answer:           “Coming up 127 out of Danville, KY someone pulled out in front of me – but I saw them and anticipated them doing it.  I got the Big Picture and was able to slow down safely.” 

–Ron “The Bear” Bailey – Professional Driver Champion



 

Question: What does Drive like a Champion mean to you?

Answer:           “Safety all the time – whether I’m at home in my car or in my truck, I’m a defensive & safe driver.

I represent my company in a positive image and I make customer satisfaction my top priority.”

–Jerry Martin – Professional Driver Champion

 

 

DLACT for Columbus Accounts

 

Drive Like a Champion Today refresher week continued across the DCS Central Region and two of our Columbus area sites (Goodyear Tires and L Brands) celebrated in a big way on Wednesday (5/22).  Both sites gave away DLACT t-shirts along with a variety of other items.  L Brands gave away flashlights, tire gauges and served up pizza so our professional driving team didn’t go hungry.  Goodyear gave away polo shirts, a variety of snacks and breakfast sandwiches to feed their team.

 

Great job by both sites raising awareness and talking up our DLACT initiative!      

Mock DOT Inspection at Soft-Lite Windows



We had a successful 2 day truck and driver inspection at Soft-Lite Windows last Thursday and Friday.  We were able to see almost every driver on the fleet and got to check out all of the truck and most of the trailing equipment.  OS Nick Thum got to put his “thumbprint” no pun intended on his first mock DOT and did a great job inspecting and interacting with the drivers.  In attendance were AM Jeff Unverich, OS Nick Thum, ROM Adam Stampfer, ARM Andrew Vincent, AMM John Dodson, and Dickinson Fleet services.  The weather was finally nice and we were able to get in front of permits and equipment defects prior to the big CVSA roadside check beginning on June 3^rd.  Great job by the Soft-Lite team!

 

DLACT at Family Dollar Morehead KY

 

This week marks our company wide Driver Like a Champion Today refresher initiative.  The goal of this week is to keep DLACT fresh and constant in our operations and professional driving team’s minds as well as talking about what “Driving Like a Champion Today” means to each of us.  It truly takes a commitment to take pride in your work and put your best effort forth each and every day to accomplish this goal!

 

To commemorate the week at their site, our Family Dollar Morehead, KY team hosted their professional drivers for a day of DLACT awareness and discussion.  The operations team catered local favorite Pop’s Southern Style BBQ and even brought in DLACT themed cupcakes.  The driving team was provided a DLACT video and “Driving Like a Champion” was discussed in detail.  Our professional drivers discussed what it means to them individually and their commitment to the motoring public to be part of the safest motor carrier on the road. 

 

Great job Family Dollar team!

 

Drive Like a Champion Today - Toyota Louisville!

What is the best way to start your Monday morning in the office? How about eggs, sausage, bacon, hash brown casserole, biscuits, gravy, grits, milk, chocolate mile and orange juice? Well Toyota Louisville kicked off their week celebrating Driving Like a Champion by having breakfast catered. As of this Monday, the fleet is currently at 173 days collision free. Were now able to celebrate this week to make sure all of the drivers are able to partake. Our driver Alvin Harper (pictured) says that he drives like a champion so everyone, including himself can get home safely.

 

 

Happy Anniversary George McCarthy!



Congratulations to George McCarthy on his 5 year anniversary with JB Hunt!  George started the company working in our Intermodal Division and later transferred to our Final Mile Division where he held both Operations Supervisor and Account Manager positions.  George then made the move in December 2017 to the DCS Central Region where he currently serves as an Operations Supervisor for our Chep Columbus and Lima fleets.

 

George is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University where he received his Bachelors of Science in Hospitality Management.  In his spare time, George cheers for the Browns, Buckeyes, Dayton Flyers and any team his favorite player LeBron James plays for.  He also stays busy working around the house and spending as much time as possible with his wife and their 3 children, Finneas (5 years old), Rosalie (3 years old) and Perrin (1 month old).

 

Once again, congrats on this milestone anniversary George!

Happy Anniversary Kevin Byrer!



Happy Anniversary to Kevin Byrer – celebrating his first year with JB Hunt.

 

Kevin is an Operations Supervisor on the Kimball International fleet in Jasper, IN. Kevin came to JB Hunt with joined the Kimball International account in Jasper, IN after completing his degree with Vincennes University where he studied Supply Chain Management.

 

Kevin spent six years in the United States Army where he served in the Infantry. After completing one tour to Iraq he was honorably discharged and started his college education.

 

Since on the Kimball Account – Kevin has been a champion of safety & a driver dedicated culture. Kevin’s driver’s have nothing but great things to say!

 

Kevin has had no driver turnover on his board YTD and is currently representing 113 collision free days.

 

We’re very lucky to have Kevin at Kimball and thank him for his great work the past year.

 

Thank you, Kevin!

Happy Anniversary Jeff Holle

Happy Anniversary to Jeff Holle, Area Risk Manager, for recently celebrating his 25th anniversary with JB Hunt!  Jeff hired on with JB Hunt back on May 12, 1994 as an OTR Driver.  During his tenure, Jeff has held a variety of roles but has always had a passion for safety.  Jeff has been in the Area Risk Manager role now for over 10 years, serving nearly every geographical area of the region during that time.  Congratulations Jeff!

 

Central Region Driver of the Month for April - Danny Fike

Congratulations to Danny Fike for being selected Driver of the Month for the Central Region for April!  Danny is a regional driver on the PPG Global Account, based out of East Liverpool OH.  Danny has been with JB Hunt since December 1998.  During his tenure, Danny has done an outstanding job and is one of the many go to drivers in the region.  This past month, Danny was instrumental in assisting the HD Pro Startup in Pittsburgh, PA.  Danny has displayed a selfless and whatever it takes attitude in supporting the region.  Danny was selected out of almost 1,500 drivers.  Congratulations Danny!

 

 

Below is the write-up from the PPG Team:

Danny is one of the go to drivers on the Ohio Regional and PPG Global Fleet. He is strong in pre-trip inspections, customer service, and overall driving. Danny also can cover any account or route that needs it. He covered our critical Canada shipment out of Springdale when our normal driver is off. He completed this with high efficiency and there was not a drop in service.  This is a switch of his normal work being a night shift run and running close to 600 miles round trip safely and critical event free. He is a highly skilled driver with over 2 million safe miles with his tenure with the company. Danny was requested by Home Depot Pro to start up their box truck business and everyone is confident that he will provide great feedback and complete the job safely. Danny is safe out on the road. He is currently going on 714 critical event free days in some tough areas to drive like Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, and other metropolitan areas during peak rush hour.  Danny is known by all of the managers on the account on a first name basis along with multiple accounts that know him due to excellent service on all outsource work that he has completed.

Dan deserves to be recognized as Driver of the Month! Congratulations, Dan, and keep up the great work!!



Happy Anniversary Zach Evans!

Happy Anniversary to Zach Evans as today is his 2 year anniversary with JB Hunt.  Zach is our Region Engineer, based out of Dublin OH.  Zach is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, and prior to working at JB Hunt he worked for Coopper Tire as a Chemical Engineer.  Happy Anniversary Zach!

 

Congratulations Vautrin Family!

Congratulations to Ken Vautrin and family on the birth of their son, Wells Michael.  Wells was born on Wednesday April 19 and came in weighing 7lbs and 1.7oz.  Mom and baby are doing great!!

 

2019 Million Mile Awards

From left, Joe Trimble, Joe's wife, Orville Gregory's wife, Orville Gregory

 

Congratulations to Orville Gregory, Joe Trimble, and Larry Pierce on attending this week's Million Mile Celebration in Lowell, AR.  Orville Gregory, HD Monroe, and Joe Trimble, Toyota, hit 4 Million Safe Miles.  Larry Pierce, Kimball International, hit 2 Million Safe Miles.  It was a fantastic week celebrating all those who achieved greater than 2MM safe miles over the past year.  This is a tremendous accomplishment for all of these drivers!  Congratulations!

 

Larry Pierce

Happy Anniversary Lane Whited

Happy Anniversary to Lane Whited as today marks his 2nd anniversary with JB Hunt!  Lane started with JB Hunt as a DMIT in Cleveland OH.  From there, Lane moved to Columbus, OH in 2017 and currently holds the position of Account Manager on our Limited Fleet. 

 

In his spare time, Lane enjoys golfing and spending time with his fiancé, as well as their golden retriever!

 

Happy Anniversary Lane!