Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Central Region!  Below are some pics that came in from various managers throughout the region.  Everyone have a safe and Happy Halloween!

 



Barciz Family

Team Tabor

Goodwin Clan

Vera Family

Congratulations Mike Cohen

Please help me congratulate Mike Cohen on his promotion to Operations Supervisor at Niagara Sheets. Mike comes to us from the Buffalo, NY area where he has been a DMIT since November 2014. As a DMIT, Mike helped support Len-Co Lumber and Niagara Sheets.

Mike comes to us from the University of Buffalo. At Buffalo, Mike earned his BS in Operations and Supply Chain Management. In his spare time he enjoys playing drums and jamming out with his friends. Congratulations Mike on the well deserved promotion! 

Leaders 301 Graduates

 

 

This week, the Central Region had three managers complete Leaders 301 at our corporate office in Lowell, AR.  Leaders 301 consists of a 9 month process where the candidates complete a capstone project with the goal of improving an identified account.  The 9 months concludes with a 15 minute presentation given in the corporate auditorium to an audience of over 50 people, including company executives.  Congratulations to Brian Faust, Jonathan Brand, and Jeremy Stout on the successful completion of this program!

Happy Anniversary Michelle Simpson

Happy 3 year Anniversary to Michelle Simpson! Michelle is an integral part to our Safety team and supports not only our region but the SW region with a keen eye for perfection. Michelle goes above and beyond to help everyone with their questions or concerns including assistance with their March Madness brackets. Again, Happy Anniversary Michelle!

Congratulations Chris James

Please help me congratulate Chris James on his promotion to Operations Supervisor for the Sanson Company. The Sanson Company is a 5 truck startup fleet in Cleveland, OH. Chris has 22 years experience as a Professional Driver. He has also been a DMIT with us since December 2014. As a DMIT, Chris has supported several accounts including: Chep, Central Farm & Garden, Intigral and Ellwood City Forge.

Chris grew up in Florida where he attended High School in the Orlando, FL area and Seminole State College. Chris is a devoted husband who has been married for 17 years. Chris has 3 children (all daughters) ages 14, 12 and 9. In his free time Chris enjoys camping, fishing and hiking.

Congratulations Chris on a well deserved promotion! 

Congratulations Dan Tebbutt

 

Please help me congratulate Dan Tebbutt on his promotion to Operations Supervisor at Chep Columbus, OH. Dan comes to us from the Toledo, OH area where he has been a DMIT since May 2015. Dan has helped support several accounts including Marco's Pizza and Home Depot - Van Buren, OH.

 

Dan comes to us from University of Toledo. At Toledo, Dan majored in Human Resources/Management and General Business/Management. He also played four years of soccer for the University of Toledo. In his spare time he enjoys playing / watching soccer, watching movies and adding to his vinyl record collection. Congratulations Dan on the well deserved promotion!

 

Getting to know - Joe Kozak - Professional Driver - Niagara Sheets

Joe Kozak (KOZJ) Professional Driver - Niagara Sheets

 

Joe is both a father and grandfather. Joe has two boys and a girl of his own and currently has two grandkids. One grandson and one granddaughter. Joe will double that number come spring, both his daughter and son are both expecting.

 

Joe is very active in his grandkids lives. Joe enjoys watching his grandson play hockey, he travels all over including: Syracuse, Ohio and even Canada to watch his grandson who is a goalie.

 

During baseball season Joe coaches little league for his grandson’s team. Joe is a former athlete who played hockey, baseball and football in high school, but no longer plays just coaches.

 

Joe has 35 years experience as a driver and 20 years tractor trailer experience. Joe is a pancreatic cancer survivor, during his treatment he never missed a day of work, Joe is extremely hard working and a family man. It is a pleasure to have him join our team.

Welcome Austin Eckert

 

 

Say "Hello" to Austin Eckert, our newest member on the Home Depot Van Buren Account. Austin comes from Bucyrus, OH. After graduating from Wynford High School, Austin enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard as a Military Police Officer in 2011. While serving in the Army National Guard, he attended Bowling Green State University, where he co-founded a technology company to help the blind and visually impaired with indoor navigation. In December, Austin will receive his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration.

 

Welcome aboard Austin!

Toyota DCS Earns Awards at Partner Meeting

Toyota held their annual Logistics Partner Meeting this past week.

 

 

The event was help at the Trump National Golf Course in Palos Verdes, CA. Toyota recognized 8 carriers during the meeting, including JB Hunt. The event concluded with photos and a small putt-putt golf outing.

The Toyota DCS team was awarded the 2015 Strategic Partner of the Year for the work related to Toyota service campaigns as well as the 2015 Carrier Kaizen Champion for density improvements.

Front l-r: Zach Mattingly, Logistics Coordinator; Jecorey Newman, General Manager - Transportation
Back l-r: Nicholas VanHooser, Operations Supervisor; Anthony Warchol, Regional Operations Manager

2015 Carrier Kaizen Champion
The kaizen team identified an opportunity to pick up transmissions on the West Coast to take back on the return trip to Kentucky to utilize the empty space. The number of trucks returning empty from CA was reduced by 25% by returning transmissions to Custom Goods for an estimated savings of $73,000.

 


2015 Strategic Partner of the Year
As our strategic provider of the year, JB Hunt was able to quickly flex their driver capacity using innovative methods to match TMS’ surging production volume for service campaigns. They used innovative methods for dealer delivery to prevent damage and established robust visual controls in line with the Toyota Production System practices.




The Toyota DCS team also received high praise for their commitment to immersing themselves into the Toyota way. "Visiting the Louisville JB Hunt Yard and seeing the frame storage was like visiting one of our own Toyota facilities. Their value for safety and commitment to their people was evident and great to see." - Ed Huante, Corporate Manager.  

Congratulations Toyota!

 

Happy Anniversary Joey Taran

Joey originally began his career at JB Hunt in June 2012 as a professional driver within Intermodal. He then transferred to the Tyson Feed account in Robards, KY in June of 2013, where he exemplified the model of safety and professionalism and provided superior customer service to Tyson. In March of 2015, he was hired as the Operations Supervisor for the account. His 8 years of previous professional driving experience and knowledge of the Tyson feed operation provides a valuable asset to the account.

Joey is originally from Milwaukee, WI and currently lives in Providence, KY with his wife, Jessica, and their son, Corey. He has been back at J.B. Hunt for one year; Happy Anniversary, Joey!

 

Happy Anniversary John Schaar

Please help us wish a happy anniversary to John Schaar for his 22nd year with JB Hunt! During that time frame John has held many positions with JB Hunt. The most recent of those positions being Account Manager over Chep - Columbus and Lima, OH.

John is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University where he majored in Transportation/Logistics. Congratulations John!

 

Congratulations to Andy Ryan on Achieving 1 Million Safe Miles

Congratulations to Andy Ryan on achieving One Million Safe Miles with JB Hunt!  Andy is one of our Professional Drivers on The Home Depot Account in Monroe, OH.  Prior to working at The Home Depot Account, Andy worked on the Wausau Paper Account.  To celebrate this tremendous accomplishment, Andy and his family celebrated at his favorite spot, Veracruz Mexican Restaurant.  Not only did we have a great showing of friends and family of Andy's, but also from our team in Monroe as well as representatives from The Home Depot.  Congratulations to Andy and his family!

 

 

Getting to Know - Jon Brenner - Professional Driver - Quaker Oats

Jon Brenner (BREJ0)

Elvis Sehic completed a ride along with Jon Brenner on October 16^th.

 

"It was a great experience and I witnessed first-hand things that make Jon such a valuable member of the Quaker Oats team, including his sense of humor and dedication to always completing his job duties to the best of his ability" said Elvis.

 

Regarding his time in transportation, Jon has seven (7) years of professional driving experience. Prior to joining J.B. Hunt, in October 2014, Jon spent time at Schneider and Quickway, and attributes home time and the numerous opportunities offered by J.B. Hunt as his reasons for joining the Quaker team.

 

While Jon does not have any kids of his own, he thoroughly enjoys spending time outdoors with his 11 year old nephew, mainly while target practicing and fishing.

Safety Blitz at Pet Supplies Plus

Today, we had a safety blitz at the Pet Supplies Plus account in Seymour, IN. Account Manager Brandon Denison and Operations Supervisors Oliver Skelton and Nick Banister along with Jeff Holle and Adam Stampfer set up shop to check out equipment on the yard at the DC. We were able to get away from the office and get in the drivers' world. Overall, we had great feedback from the drivers related to the equipment and addressed concerns related to the older equipment on the fleet as well. Thank you to our Account Management and Driver Team for a job well done!

Pictures from the event are below...

 



 

JAMES RANDALL (RANJ29) ONE MILLION MILE PROFESSIONAL DRIVER

Today we celebrated James Randall's accomplishment for reaching 1 million safe miles with J.B. Hunt.

 

James started with the company back in March 2006 in our automotive group. He worked in that division until early last year.

 

James joined the Pet Supplies Plus account in Seymour, IN in 2014 and has been a very valued member of the team.

 

We took James to Fogo de Chao in Indianapolis to thank him for a job well done.

 

Great job, James for reaching this outstanding accomplishment. 

 

L-R: Adam Stampfer, James Randall and Brandon Denison

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary Joe Nagle

October 7th, a day which will live in infamy! Joe Edwin Nagle joined the J.B. Hunt family on the infamous day in the year of 2013. Since that day, nothing has been the same. Joe has made his presence and mark on the Home Depot Account. He brought to us previous Transportation experience that we continue to benefit from. He started has an Operations Supervisor and quickly made drastic operational improvements along the way. From Operations Supervisor in the night to Operations Supervisor in the day to Logistics Coordinator to Account Manager, Joe has excelled and exceeded expectations in each role. He is a best in class Operator, truly has a thirst to learn every nook of every system and has the internal drive & motivation to continually improve processes along the way.

He is the linchpin and subject matter expert in All Things Home Depot! Congratulations Joe on your 2 Year Anniversary with the J.B. Hunt Family!

-Sam Djung, TGM Home Depot Van Buren, OH

Happy Anniversary Chris Cortash

 

Happy anniversary to Chris Cortash, who has been (back) with JB Hunt two years.. Chris, a Rochester native, graduated from SUNY Brockport with a Communications degree, and then worked for Hunt at the PPG account from 2004 to 2006. He then went on to work for Ryder from 2006 to 2013 when he came back aboard for us running the PrimeSource account. Happy Anniversary, Chris!

Central Region Driver of the Month for September - Mario Montoya

 

Congratulations to Mario Montoya of the C&S Wholesale Grocers Account in Yorktown, IN for winning Driver of the Month for September.  While Mario has only been with JB Hunt DCS for 15 months, his contributions have been great during his tenure.  Mario was selected Region Driver of the Month from a top notch group of over 1,000 dedicated drivers!  Congratulations to Mario on his award!

 

Below is the write-up from our management team at C&S in Yorktown:

 

 

Mario has excellent customer service and sets a higher standard for the account and the other drivers that work here.. We have never received a single complaint about Mario, and the receivers at the Illinois market K-mart stores all know Mario by name.

More importantly, even other customers that Mario is outsourced to know him. Mario has been a staple in our outsourcing program at the account, and has been to every account in the Kimble region, every account in the Tully region, and almost every account in the Tabor region.

When we hire drivers at JB Hunt, all managers have an idea of what kind of driver they would like to have on their account. We think about a motivated, highly performing person that has a great attitude and a strong work ethic. We think about someone that properly fills out trip sheets and does not get excessive log violations. We think about someone that uses their PeopleNet unit correctly, does not use electronic devices in the cab, and always inputs their calls. We look for someone who goes that extra mile and does things without being asked to and is never late to work.

Mario is literally all of these things. In the office, we have a running joke (or not really a joke) that there is an argument for Mario to be Driver of the Month each and every month. Let's look further into it:

Mario always enters the office with a smile on his face, and has never said no to anything we have asked him to do. Being an account that largely outsources drivers, we have sent Mario to a good portion of the accounts in the Indiana and Ohio areas. Every single Account Manager that he has ever worked for has complimented his attitude and performance. Some have used adjectives such as "amazing", "beastly", and "awesome". In fact, Mario even has the nick name "Super Mario" among the region due his ability to turn loads that no one else can, and his " can do" outlook on his job. Here is a sampling of testimonials from Account Managers and OM's in the Central Region:

________________________________________________________________________________________________

From George Vera, Account Manager - Aurora Parts:

"Mario is an incredible driver and an all around nice guy. He is thoughtful and a very hard worker. He's saved my account more times than I can remember and every time has been a great experience for my customers and myself. "

From Michael Varty, Account Manager - Soft-Lite:

"Mario-

Great driver and very punctual, Always arrives with a smile on his face and is ready for what ever task is put in front him!"

From Mike Green, DMIT - Kimble Region:

"As a new manager, Mario treated me with nothing but respect and answered all of my questions - as silly as they may have been perceived by a veteran driver. He is an asset that I will use whenever I have any questions about what a driver should and should not be doing. He is always friendly, and makes a point to talk to me any time he sees me in the office. He thanks me for the work that I do for him, even though I don't have a job if he is not doing his."

From Jeremy Starry, Account Manager - Falcon Packaging:

"I know you are aware that I bring between 3-5 drivers in a week to help out Falcon Packaging, but I just wanted to let you know that Mario MONM definitely stands out. I have used him on a couple of different occasions and he has done nothing but good work for me. He has never been late, never complained about his work load, and always conducts himself in a safe and professional manner. If you ever have him available in the future and need to keep him busy please send him my way."

From Jerry White, Account Manager - CHEP Indianapolis

"Mario does a great job when he is running for CHEP. He is always here on time and he is always ready to work and complete as many loads as he can for us. He always turns loads in an efficient and does a great job with customer service. Mario always has a great attitude and a smile on his face. He never complains about the loads we give him. Mario does a great job with all of his required paperwork. Mario is a great asset to DCS and I wish we could convince him to come work for me at CHEP."

From Brandon Denison, Account Manager - Pet Supplies Plus

"Mario is hands down one of the best drivers I have had the pleasure of meeting. He has a great work ethic, cares deeply about his job and performing well, is nice and friendly and makes taking care of the customer his top priority. Mario has helped us out at Pet Supplies Plus several times and has never disappointed. I know that when Mario helps on one of our loads, it will be delivered on time and in a professional manner."

From Scott Tully, Regional Operations Manager:

"Mario is the epitome of a professional driver and is a great representation of JB Hunt. Mario has always been willing to do whatever is asked of him and gives 110% while doing it. Due to Mario's professionalism and work ethic he was chosen to attend a VIP day at a local Indianapolis, IN elementary school. Mario was excellent with all of the children and was more than happy to show them his tractor which was absolutely spotless. In following up with the teacher later, she stated that the children absolutely loved it and would tell her that they saw Mario driving down the highway delivering the groceries to their local grocery store."

 

 

When it comes to logging, Mario has only accumulated 84 points in Rair for 2015 - an average of 9.33 points/month. Mario has excellent logging performance. In fact, Mario often uses split logs to ensure on-time delivery - a log option that many drivers do not even know how to utilize.

 

On the topic of fuel performance, Mario has the best average MPG and idle percentage over the entire fleet. Mario normally produces between 8.75 to 9.0 MPG and less than 10% idle in his Volvo. Speaking of his Volvo, if you look inside you might think the truck is fresh off of the line. Mario keeps an immaculate truck, inside and out.

 

There have been times where Mario has volunteered to do things that other drivers do not even think about doing. In the Yorktown office, we stock large equipment for the Armour Eckrich account. One day, I came into work and found Mario outside with a broken Armour roller totally dissembled in the parking lot. Mario used parts from two rollers to repair one back to new condition - saving our customer $550. An email was sent to Russ Handwork and Jim Michael from Armour, who both expressed their gratitude and asked if I could transfer Mario over to Armour. He has also covered Armour routes consistenly for several months now.

 

On a final note, Mario is so dependable that on October 2nd, 2015 I had another account manager request that I charge him more on the P&L because the driver I sent was Mario. That manager asked Mario to move one trailer with the drive time he had left that day, and Mario moved three!

Mario is well-mannered, dependable, skilled behind the wheel, highly motivated, and a great asset to our account. He deserves every accolade he receives and we look forward to many more good years with him!

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go paperless for a chance to win!

 

 

 

If you get stumped, view detailed instructions here. Complete this task before October 31 and you'll be automatically entered into the drawing!

*All awards/gifts are subject to taxes.

  

 

Gone Fishing! For a good reason!

This weekend JB Hunt ARM, Al Valachovic, traded in his 'safety vest' for a 'fishing vest.'  He spent time building customer relations with Cargill Manager, Hugh Fordice.  Looks like a good time was had by all! What time is dinner?



Hugh Fordice (Cargill - Manager)

Al Valachovic (JB Hunt - ARM) and Hugh Fordice (Cargill - Manager)

Al Valachovic (JB Hunt - ARM)

Happy Anniversary Christina Palmer

Happy anniversary to Christina Palmer, who has been with the company five years. Christina started with JB Hunt in Tennessee as an Administrative Assistant. She then relocated to NY state, where she has been working as a Manager Trainee in the Cargill network. Christina is currently on leave, we wish her a speedy recovery! Happy Anniversary, Christina!

Andy Ryan - MILLION MILE PROFESSIONAL DRIVER - Home Depot - Monroe

Please join the Home Depot - Monroe, OH team in congratulating Andy Ryan (RYAA3) on his 1 Million Mile achievement.

Andy Ryan (RYAA3) - 1 Million Mile Professional Driver

 

 

 

Andy joined JBH and the Central Region in 2005 working on the the Wausau/Baywest account in Harrodsburg, KY. Andy worked in a variety of roles at Wausau/Baywest where he was a shuttle driver as well as one of the Chicago drivers. As the account closed, he transferred to Home Depot - Monroe where he was a regional and local driver before moving into a spotter role over a year ago.

 

L-R: Jeremy Stout, Andy Ryan, Andrew DeBlock

 

 

Andy is happily married to Cristina and they have 3 children (Andrew, Lydia, and Emma). Andy and Cristina have been waiting for this achievement and already have a trip to Mexico planned in the future.

 

 

 

 

Congratulations once again Andy and look forward to many more years with J.B. Hunt!!!

Home Depot Monroe Service Streak

Great work by the team in Monroe, OH on hitting 12 consecutive days of 100% Outbound Service.  This has been achieved by improved coordination and communication by the entire team.  Each week, the goal for Home Depot is 98.7% On-Time Service.  This equates to less then 1 service failure per day on a near 100 driver fleet.  Fantastic job by the entire team!

 

Stout rallies the troops at the morning meeting

1-2-3 Beat Van Buren!

You rip off 12 straight days and you can where whatever jeans you want

Getting to Know - Greg Shawl - Champion Window Professional Driver

Greg Shawl (SHAW25)

Greg is an avid Steelers fan and loves taking his son to see ball games. Greg has been a “jack of all trades” when it comes to working at various accounts in the Central Region. He has been with JB Hunt since June 2004. He’s worked at, or helped, CHEP Hamilton – Home Depot Monroe – JMC Richmond – Pet Supplies Plus and currently resides with our Champion Window account in Cincinnati. Greg says what drives him is to stay busy to earn a decent paycheck. Greg’s services haven’t only benefited the Central Region, prior to coming to Champion he worked near North Carolina as part of the Family Dollar account in Front Royal, VA. The majority of Greg’s family resides in North Carolina and working here for six months allowed him and his wife to be close to his family. The routes for Champion also present the benefit for Greg to travel to North Carolina and complete his 34-hour resets with his family.

Happy Anniversary Tyler Hall

 

Happy Anniversary, Tyler Hall! Yesterday marked Tyler’s 2 year anniversary with JB Hunt. He began his career with JB Hunt as an Operations Supervisor at the C&S Account in Yorktown, IN. Just a year later he promoted into the Account Manager role at C&S. In February of 2015, Tyler moved from Indiana to Cincinnati, OH to take on the Account Manager role over the Champion Windows account. Tyler is a graduate of Bradley University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business-Marketing. Happy Anniversary, Tyler!

Happy Anniversary Troy Smith

Happy Anniversary to Troy Smith as yesterday marked his 2 year anniversary with JB Hunt!  Troy is a graduate of The Ohio State University who began his career with JB Hunt as a DMIT in Columbus.  From there, he promoted to Operations Supervisor at Home Depot in Van Buren, OH. In his current role he is the Logistics Coordinator for Home Depot. Happy Anniversary Troy!

Getting to Know - William Fisher - Home Depot Monroe Professional Driver

William Fisher "Fisher" (FISW16)

William Fisher prefers to be called “Fisher” and is a proud 23 year veteran of the Navy.  He spent most of his time on aircraft carriers since he is a trained airplane mechanic. Fisher has been literally all over the world while serving our country. 

 

He has been married for nearly 20 years and has recently switched to a local position to allow more time at home.  He has 3 daughters (One set of twins).  He and his wife are both avid hunters and he enjoys marksmanship in general.  Fisher has been driving for 6 years with 3 years at JB Hunt.  We thank Fisher for his years of service and glad to have him part of the team at Home Depot Monroe.

Getting to Know - Marty Ferguson - CAN Liverpool Professional Driver

Marty Ferguson - FERM2

Marty Ferguson is the newest driver for Cargill Animal Nutrition - Liverpool.  Marty has been a professional driver on and off for over 20 years. Growing up Marty worked at his Grandparent’s carnival, operating the rides and games.

He wanted to start driving tractor trailer when he was 18, but had to wait until he was 21. He got his CDL at Boces and attended driving school at NTTS when he was 25 years old. He started driving for Martin Transport out of Mondovi, WI, back in 1995. He has held many driving jobs over the years and is very happy at Cargill.

 He has been married to his wife Francesca for seven years and resides in North Syracuse. Marty enjoys cooking, entertaining guests and going to NY City for sightseeing.