Congratulations to Terry Hamilton!

 

Congratulations to Terry Hamilton on the birth of his Grandson Mason Gage!  Terry is one of our Professional Drivers on the Tyson Robards, KY Team.  Mason came in weighing 7lbs, 1oz, and 20' long.  Mom and grandson are both doing great and getting to go home today! 

Labor Day Travel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Elisabeth Barna
August 27, 2014	(202) 420-8972

Professional Truck Drivers Remind Motorists to Be Safe During Labor Day Travel

ARLINGTON, Va. – The American Trucking Associations is urging the 29.7 million motorists that are expected to travel on the highways this Labor Day weekend to follow the safety tips from the America’s Road Team Captains, a team of professional truck drivers with millions of accident-free miles.

As motorists prepare for their last summer getaway, these safe professional drivers are offering advice on how to navigate through the increased highway traffic and arrive at your destination safely. AAA Travel reports the increase in those hitting the road this year is the highest since the 2008 Labor Day holiday.

America’s Road Team Captains offer the following safety tips to ensure our roadways are safe:

· Perform a pre-trip inspection – Check your tire pressure, wipers and fluids. Simple maintenance before you leave home can prevent many of the problems that strand motorists on the side of the road.

· Plan your trip – Know where you are going and be prepared to exit. Indecisive driving is a major cause of traffic problems.

· Check the weather forecast and conditions – Weather conditions can change very quickly. Be sure to check the forecast often. Do not attempt to drive through standing water. Watch for road closures and detours.

· Large Trucks Have Blindspots – If you can't see the truck driver in his or her mirrors, then the truck driver can’t see you.

· Do not cut in front of large trucks – Remember that trucks are heavier and take longer to make a complete stop, so avoid cutting quickly in front of them. A fully loaded tractor trailer takes the length of a football field and both end zones to come to a complete stop when driving at highway speeds.

· Pay Attention – Distracted driving is a leading cause of crashes. Looking away for even two seconds doubles the chances of an accident. Turn cell phones and PDAs off.

· Allow a Safety Cushion – Look 1/4 mile ahead for a safe path. Leave yourself an out.

· Slow Down – Chances of a crash nearly triples when driving faster than surrounding traffic.

· Keep extra water in your vehicle – Just as you keep a winter driving kit in your vehicle, it is important to be prepared when driving during the summer months. Keep plenty of extra water, sunscreen and non-perishable snacks in your car in case you are stranded.

· Buckle Up – Safety belts are not a fashion statement – they save lives.

· Abide by Traffic Rules – Follow traffic signs and signals –paying special attention to work zones is important during this high construction season.

· Be Careful Backing Up – One in four preventable collisions involve backing up. Be sure to look before backing up; walk around your car prior to departure.

“Labor Day weekend is one of the busiest summer travel weekends,” said America’s Road Team Captain Don Biggerstaff, ABF Freight System, Inc., from Maiden, North Carolina. “There are additional motorists on the highway, with many in unfamiliar areas. For the sake of safety, drivers need to slow down, put your cell phones away, follow the rules of the road and be patient.”

The America’s Road Team would like to remind the motoring public that from driveway to highway, safety requires patience and dedication.

Flying High

 

Below is a writup sent in by Account Manager Dana Crosby at Ellwood City Forge.

 

He may not have the use of his legs, but Eric Knight sure can fly! Eric suffered an accident over 7 years ago that made him quadriplegic but he’s surely not looked back since! Mother(ECF /ICS/CSC- Terri Knight) could not be more proud of her son! Eric has accomplished so many things in the last 7 years that his latest adventure is just a mere notch on his belt filled with so many achievements. Eric recently went skydiving over in Ohio where he jumped tandem from a plane nearly 3 miles in the sky. He was in freefall for over a mile and as you can clearly see in the pictures, he had an absolute blast! His first response at ground level when asked how the jump was, Eric said, “We will be doing this again!”, “It was awesome, definitely doing this again”!   When he is not jumping from airplanes miles above, Eric attends Community College of Beaver County majoring in Media Communications.  Good job mom and job well done Eric!

Superior Product

To be an industry leader, you need to have industry leading equipment.  In our recent purchase of two Walinga Bulk Straight Trucks for our Southern States business in Vinton, VA we have just that.  While Walinga is a Canadian Company, these units were built in Michigan.  Special thanks to our Maintenance Group on assisting in the spec process.  Special thanks to HD Van Buren for assisting in moving these units to VA.  Special thanks to our drivers and operators who have given honest feedback on our equipment over the years which has allowed us to only improve.

JB Hunt Central Region - NFL Survivor Pool

This year we will be having the first annual Central Region/NFL Survivor Pool.  For those of you that have never participated in this, each week you will need to pick one NFL Team to win the respective game they are playing.  Each week, those that pick the right team to win will advance, those that don't will go home.  At the end of the contest, the winner will receive a paid day off

All - Rules listed below. Each week, all picks will need to be in by Wednesday if you are picking a Thursday game, by Friday for the weekend/Monday games. Picks not submitted will result in elimination from Survivor Pool.  All picks are submitted to Dana Crosby as he will be managing this years pool.

Prize will be one day off to the last person standing. Good Luck everyone!

1. You must pick the winner of ONE NFL game for the first week of the season. You are picking the WINNER only.  No point spreads.
2. You may choose any game on the NFL Schedule.  http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/schedule See late pick policy below.
3. All entrants that make a correct entry in the first week will continue on to week two.

Subsequent Weeks

1. Assuming you have won your game for that week, the most important rule that must be followed in the remaining weeks is the following.  You MAY NOT choose the same NFL team more than once during the regular season!!  For example, if you pick the NY Giants in Week One and they win, you CANNOT pick the NY Giants for the remainder of the season!
2. Since the pool requires you to pick a winner, any game that should end in a tie after an overtime period will be considered and incorrect entry and you will be eliminated from the pool.
3. In week 11 all players will be required to make 2 picks per entry and both picks must win.  This is done to help eliminate a lot of people being left at the end of the year

 

Dedicated to Our Culture

 

 

Over the next week or so, every account should be receiving the new DCS Culture Board.  This board needs to be placed somewhere that is visible to both our drivers and customers.  This culture board is for you to use to post information on KPI's, employee anniversaries, fleet MPG scores, industry updates, changes to regulation, safety recognitions for your team, or any other metrics and announcements which matter to your group.

 

In addition, every quarter you will receive culture flyers to post in the two slots on the left of the board.  The content of these flyers will include helpful tips and information on efficiency, safety, operations, customer service, and the culture of our company.

 

If there are any questions on this board, reach out to your OM.

Another Safety Milestone at C&S Yorktown

Congratulations to our C&S Team in Yorktown, IN for going 2 years without an Injury!  The account recently passed its two year anniversary since it started up.  This phenomenal safety performance could not have been possible without buy in from both our Management Team as well as our drivers.  To celebrate, the Management Staff threw a party with the drivers at our account in Yorktown.  All drivers were given DCS umbrellas and treated to lunch.  In addition, there was a putt putt course setup and the winner received a trophy and JB Hunt Golf Shirt.  Every driver was given a framed proclamation certificate acknowledging their achievment.  The certificate was hand signed by Greer Woodruff as well as the Region VP, AM, and ARM.  One our drivers mentioned that he would be putting this framed certificate next to his prior military awards.  Great work by our local team in honoring our drivers for this special accomplishment!
                                                                 

 

Another Example of Why Safety Needs to be our Number 1 Priority

Below is a note written by an employee within the Central Region, Lisa Winters.  Lisa wanted to share a real life example of why everyone in this industry needs to put safety number one in everything they do on a daily basis.  Professional Truck Drivers assume a tremendous amount of risk every day.  Letting down their guard just once can be the difference between life and death.

The picture is one of my daughter Cathryn on Saturday August 9, 2014 right after her graduation from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with her fiancé Aaron.  This was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. However, it turned into what can only be described as the scariest.

After graduation we gathered up all our things, packed up the cars and headed south toward Cincinnati. Just past the I-75S exit 110 (Wapakoneta) a deer ran across the highway in front of the car my daughter was driving.  A Dodge Neon is not like one of our tractors – it cannot take the hit.  A twenty two year girl doesn’t have the experience for that kind of driving. 

She served and lost control of her car, careening across the medium and into the heavy north bound traffic.  Most accidents of this kind seem to end at this point with a death or severe injury.  My daughter got extremely lucky - - the truck driver in the northbound lane was not only observant, but pro-active.  Now, while I am quite sure this driver probably got ‘dinged’ for a extreme hard-brake event…. His actions saved my daughter’s life.  Not only did he manage to slow down enough not to impact her, he also somewhat ‘straddled’ the lanes to keep any cars behind him from passing or from striking my daughter.   (Not sure what the Smith System might have to say about straddling lanes – on that day – I am good with it – correct procedure or not.) He even stopped his rig when she got her car stopped, got out and made sure she was ok. 

Only an alert driver who is truly aware of his surroundings and scanning the road ahead would have had the time to not only re-act with preventive measures, but in this case protective measures for my daughter.  Somewhere out there is a driver – I don’t know who he is, and I don’t know who he drives for.  What I do know-  is that my daughter still lives because that driver practices safe, preventive driving and I owe him a debt that I cannot re-pay.

Perhaps the next time somebody complains about the amount of time, effort and money JB Hunt puts into our safety programs – they need to come and talk to me.  Because every nickel that was invested in that unknown driver was absolutely worth it!

Central Region July Driver of the Month

                  

Congratulations to John Regan of the Niagara Sheets Account in North Tonawanda, NY for winning Driver of the Month Central Region for July!

While John has only been with JB Hunt for 5 months, he has made a tremendous contribution.  John has done an excellent job at not only remaining Collision and Injury Free, but has also done an outstanding job from a customer service standpoint.  This was evident one evening when John stepped up to cover a Third Shift Spotter position.  The yard drivers at Niagara Sheets are critical to keeping the loading process going.  On the third shift, the yard driver is responsible for getting the outbound trailers staged for the early morning hours when our Dedicated Drivers will be leaving out.  Not only did John step up this one night to assist, but he also worked this shift until we hired a new driver.  He also stayed on an additional one and a half weeks to train our new employee. 

Due to John's hard work and dedication, as well as his team first attitude, he is the July Driver of the Month.  Feel free to shoot John a message to truck 350121, REGJ, to congratulate him!

Congratulations to the Schwartz Family!

Congratulations to Rich Schwartz and Family on the birth of his son Richard Jr.  Richard Jr came into the world today weighing 9lbs and 2oz.   Richie's timing was perfect as this should allow big Rich to be in front of the TV for Johnnie Football's first preseason game this weekend.

Congrats again!

Lee Leibgot's Last Day at FD

Congratulations once again to Lee Leibgot who started at Home Depot Monroe as the Logistics Coordinator this past Monday.  Lee will be sorely missed at Family Dollar Morehead.  This was evident over his last few days as several drivers stopped to say goodbye.

Above, James Ridgeway stopped by to say farewell to Lee.  Best of luck in your new role Lee!

Congratulations to the Crosby Family!

Congratulations to Dana Crosby and Family on the birth of their son Matteo Armand.  Matteo came in at 6 pounds, 13 oz.  Both Matteo and Mom are doing great! 

Above, Matteo gets welcomed in by the Terrible Towel.  For once this towel got put to good use!