Happy Anniversary Scott Tully

Happy Anniversary to Scott Tully as today marks his 14 year anniversary with JB Hunt.  Scott one of our Regional Operations Manager based in Columbus, Ohio. Congratulations, Scott!

Central Region December DOM - Orville Gregory

Congratulations to Orville Gregory on being selected as the December Driver of the Month for the Central Region.  Orville hired on with JB Hunt back in June of 1986!  Thus Orville has been with JB Hunt for 30.57 years!  Orville has served in a variety of capacities, currently he is a Local Driver at the Home Depot Account in Monroe, OH.  Congratulations Orville on winning this prestigious award!

 

 

Below is the write up from the team in Monroe:

 

Relationship with Customer –

                Orville joined the Home Depot Dedicated when the account opened in 2009 and has chosen to finish his driving career in Monroe. With his years of experience, he has gotten to know many associates at the stores south of the Ohio River and has a solid relationship with them all. Orville handles himself with professionalism at all times and is as dependable as they come. Orville was often assigned very early delivery windows in Knoxville and Nashville, and when other drivers wavered at the task of delivering at 7am, Orville gladly stepped up to the challenge and delivered 100% service repeatedly.

Description of Driver of the Month –

                Orville hired on with J.B. Hunt in June of 1986 out of the Springfield, OH terminal and was a driver trainer for about 3 years before joining on with Automotive. After two ‘small’ 3 year stints with OTR and PPG, Orville signed on with Home Depot, and just this past summer he celebrated his 30th year with JB Hunt! Orville’s ranking within the company is outstanding. In DCS as a whole, Orville ranks 15^th for overall Driver Safety Points, and 7^th overall in the Central Region with over 10,000 safety points on the JB Drive App and currently holds 3.7 million safe miles during his career. Orville has been preventable event free for over 3 years and maintains 0 log points and 0 CSA points. Orville also sets the gold standard for dependability -  the office breathes easy when Orville is on a difficult load, as we know that he’s our best. Orville is the epitome of the kind of driver was all hope to have on our accounts - dedicated to excellence, driven to deliver great customer service, and hard-working enough to find several ways to contribute to JB Hunt as we too have grown from modest beginnings. Thanks to Orville for everything he does and congratulations on 30 years of hard work, outstanding performance, and Monroe Home Depot’s December Driver of the Month Award.

Orville is assigned to 351628, feel free to shoot him a congratulatory note.

 



Promotion Announcement - Jeremy Messing

Please join me in congratulating Jeremy Messing as he joins the DCS Midwest Region as their newest Account Manager!

In Jeremy’s new role, he will take ownership of a new startup account in Marshfield, WI. Jeremy will lean on his past experiences at the Home Depot accounts over the past two plus years. This move will allow Jeremy to continue to grow professionally and it is also a positive move for him personally. Jeremy has done a fantastic job on being a big part of stabilizing the turning around Home Depot Van Buren.

Jeremy is a proud alumnus of Western Michigan University. Jeremy would be upset if we didn’t acknowledge that his Broncos went undefeated this year. (Good Luck on that when they play Wisconsin.) He joined the J.B. family as a DMIT at Home Depot Monroe in 2014 and since then has moved up north to Home Depot Van Buren where he was an Operations Supervisor and most recently Logistics Coordinator. Under Jeremy’s time as Logistics Coordinator, we realized some impressive achievements including 2015 Account of the Year and our continued streak of 75 plus consecutive weeks of on-time service.

We expect to see the same continued excellence in his role as Account Manager. Make sure you congratulate Jeremy and wish him well, when you see him at our Central Region Kickoff!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of Professional Drivers, Managers, and Support Staff!  It has been a fantastic 2016!  Enjoy the holidays and thank your for all of your hard work and dedication!

Happy Anniversary Schuylar McGuffey

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Schuylar McGuffey, Account Manager of Southern States in Vinton, VA. Thanks for all you do, happy to have you as a part of the J.B. Hunt team!

Tully Region Leadership Meeting

The Tully Region participated in a Leadership Meeting today in Delaware, OH.  Here, six Account Managers and TGMs took part in a day long conference covering a variety of topics.  In addition, all Tully Managers are in the process of going through the Strength Finders 2.0 Program.  Here, all managers fill out an online assessment that identifies there top competencies.  From there, they are required to read up on those competencies and share within the group setting.  The Safety Team, led by Terry Galyon and Tracy Walker also presented on Tully Region results over the past year!  

 

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary Molly Lawson

Wishing a Happy Anniversary to Molly Lawson, as she celebrates her first Anniversary with J.B. Hunt. She is an Operations Supervisor at Home Depot in Monroe, Ohio. Thanks for all your hard work, Molly!

Wreaths Across America - Part 3

This past weekend, one of our own, Area Risk Manager Tracy Walker participated in the Wreaths Across America event in Central, OH.  We appreciate Tracy and his willingness to participate in this great event!  Below is Tracy's write-up on the event:

Here is one of the final destinations, Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman, OH.  With over 20,000 fallen here, Lynn and I volunteered to, “Remember, Honor and Teach” as the wreaths were placed on the graves. The mission of this organization is not to decorate the cemetery, but to say thanks to each fallen soldier for their service.  Wreaths Across America believes by saying their name and thanking them, their legacy lives on.  These services are conducted all over the country, with several in Ohio.  I would encourage anyone to get involved next year and this is a very humbling experience. 

Photos of Rittman below:

Wreaths Across America Part 2

This past week, we had two Central Region drivers participate in Wreaths Across America.  Jason Roaden, took the leg from Columbus OH to Indianapolis, IN.  When Jason arrived in Indianapolis, we had over 20 managers and support personnel waiting to greet him.  Here Jason passed on the equipment to Daniel Gronde from Intermodal.  Daniel is a veteran of the US Army, and currently supports Intermodal out of Indianapolis.  Daniel took the leg from Indianapolis to St Louis.  From there the load of wreaths was delivered to Lowell on Friday.  We thank all of our drivers and other managers and support groups that took part in this event!

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary Jon Morgan

We would like to congratulate Jon Morgan on his 4-year anniversary with J.B. Hunt.  Jon started his career as the night Operations Supervisor at C&S Yorktown.  He then spent time at several accounts including PSP and CHEP Hamilton.  He returned back to C&S as the Account Manager and while he was there he also added Hanson Logistics and Armour Eckrich to his managerial tasks.  He is now currently the AM over Armour Eckrich where he has grown the fleet from 5 trucks to 11 in the past 12 months. 

 

Thank you for all your hard work over the past 4 years.  Keep up the good work.   

Nocheck Takes the Prize!

Nick would have won ugliest pants award as well

 

Congratulations to Nick Nocheck for winning this year's Ugly Sweater Contest at Family Dollar Morehead!  Nick was the unanimous winner, voted on by office and drivers.  Great work Nick!

Happy Anniversary Jamie Kleemook

Congrats, Jamie on your 6th Anniversary with J.B. Hunt! Jamie is the TGM over our PPG Account, based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Happy Anniversary!!

Wreaths Across America

For the last several years, JB Hunt has participated in Wreaths Across America.  December 17 is marked as National Wreaths Across America Day.  This year, the Central Region was fortunate to have two of our Military Veteran Drivers participate in this event. 

Michael Carnahan of PPG Global, and Jason Roaden of PPG were our proud participants this year.  Michael is a veteran of the US Air Force, and Jason is a veteran of the US Navy.  All in, JB Hunt has three trailers originating in Maine and ending up at different national cemeteries across the country.  Michael's load originated in Maine, he drove the leg from Pineville, LA to Dallas, and the load will end in Houston, TX.  Jason's load also originated in Maine, and he drove the leg from Columbus, OH to Indianapolis, IN, and his load will end in Fayetteville, AR. 

We appreciate the dedication of these men, as well as all the other men and women who have served our Armed Forces!  Wreaths Across America is a tremendous organization that JB Hunt is proud to be a part of.

Wreaths Across America

Below are some pictures from Jason's route this morning:

Jason Roaden

 

From left Brian Tabor, Tracy Walker, Jason Roaden, Andrew DeBlock, John Goodwin

 

Thumbs up!

 

Thank you to the Ohio State Police for assisting!

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary Ashley Haney

Wishing a Happy Anniversary to Ashley Haney, as she celebrates her first Anniversary with J.B. Hunt. She is an Operations Supervisor at Family Dollar in Morehead, KY. Happy to have you on the team, Ashley!

Happy Anniversary Sam Djung

Happy Anniversary to Sam Djung on celebrating 12 years with JBH! Sam came to the Central Region after a short stint in the NE Region and since then has meant so much to many customers. Sam has without a doubt made an impact at every stop along the way! Since taking on the TGM role at Home Depot - Van Buren he has formed a stellar team which has seen a tremendous turnaround under his leadership. One item that cannot be overlooked about Sam is that since he has taken over he has welcomed more familiar faces to Van Buren but also has been instrumental in promoting multiple managers. Thanks for all your hard work and Congrats, Sam!

Happy Anniversary Shawn Wilson

 

Congrats to Shawn Wilson, Operations Supervisor at Family Dollar Rome, NY. December 9th marked his 3 year Anniversary with J.B. Hun. Thanks for all your hard work!

Happy Anniversary Lean Howard

Please join me in Congratulating Lena on her 2nd Anniversary. Lena began her J.B. Hunt career as an Operations Supervisor at The Home Depot Monroe, OH. She currently resides in Valdosta, GA as the Account Manager at Southern States. Congrats, Lena and thanks for all your hard work!

Happy Anniversary Jonathan Brady

Happy Anniversary, Jonathan! Yesterday, December 7th marked his first Anniversary with the company. Jonathan joined J.B. Hunt as a DMIT in Louisville. He is currently an Operations Supervisor on Team Toyota. Congrats, Jonathan!

Promotion Accouncement Sam Marcotte

Please help us congratulate Sam Marcotte on his move to Account Manager of the PPG regional fleets in Cleveland, OH and Shelby, NC.  This is a key role for our PPG Dedicated business and we are thrilled to have Sam fill it. 

Sam’s experience with JB Hunt over the last 3 years has included a 2 year stint at Intigral Glass in Walton Hills, OH where he held the position of Account Manager.  He has also spent time at PPG - Pittsburgh, PA where he held the title of Operations Supervisor.  Sam started with JB Hunt as a DMIT in the Cleveland area.  While in his DMIT role he supported several accounts including Intigral Glass and Toys R Us.  In his free time, Sam enjoys watching football, basketball and hanging out with his two nieces.  Sam is a proud graduate of Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio where he was the kicker and punter for the football team.  Congratulations Sam on a well earned promotion and welcome back to the PPG Team!

Central Region Driver of the Month for November - Mike Dietl

Congratulations to Mike Dietl for being chosen as the November Driver of the Month for the Central Region.  Mike currently supports the Niagara Sheets Account in North Tonawanda, NY.  Mike has been in DCS, and serving the Niagara Sheets Account since April 2012.  Mike was chosen from nearly 1,100 Professional Drivers within the Central Region.  Congratulations Mike!

 

 

Below is the write-up from Niagara Sheets Management:

 



Mike is the definition of a team player and a leader. He is the type of driver that will come in each and every day and give 100%. He has an excellent safety record and always shows up on time ready to work. He is always the first to step up when additional help is needed. Mike is one of our yard drivers and over the past few months, he has been covering multiple shifts a week to meet the demand of our customers. Mike has also been working on his days off as a delivery driver for us since customer demand has increased greatly. Mike comes in with a great attitude every day and never complains. He has been spotted on multiple occasions assisting other drivers in the yard with everything from mechanical issues to tips on backing in. - Mike Cohen, Operations Supervisor

 

 

Welcome Austin Mass!

Welcome to the J.B. Hunt Family Austin Mass!

 

Austin comes from Tiffin, OH where he went to Calvert High School and Tiffin University. He played basketball in high school and rugby in college while studying criminal justice.  Austin was commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps upon graduation and completed his active duty time at MCAS Cherry Point in North Carolina, where he was stationed as a Logistics Officer.  Austin has been married for over four years to Rachele.  In his free time,  Austin enjoys reading and doing almost any outdoor activity.

 

Austin will be our newest Operations Supervisor on the Home Depot Van Buren team.  Welcome Aboard Austin!

Happy Anniversary David Jankowski

Please join us as we congratulate David on his first Anniversary with J.B. Hunt. David came to us from Schwan Food Company where he spent the last 20 years managing the warehouse crew, inventory control and maintaining the fleet. David is an Operations Supervisor at our Niagara Sheets Account based in North Tonawanda, NY. Thank you for your hard work and Happy Anniversary, David!

Happy Anniversary Mike McGuire

Please congratulate Mike McGuire on seven years with JB Hunt!

Mike started with JB Hunt in November 2009 when he came on-board as an incumbent driver during the Southern States Winchester, KY bulk fleet start-up.  He spent a few years hauling bulk feed until accepting a job as an operations supervisor at Family Dollar Morehead, KY.  When Southern States awarded JB Hunt the bag fleet in April 2014, he came back to Southern States as an operations supervisor and eventually the account manager.

Mike started working for Southern States in 1977 and held several different positions over the years including bulk driver and dispatcher.  The relationships he developed with the mill employees and customers has translated well into his current position.  Mike has played a major role in all the success that JB Hunt and Southern States have experienced together since the relationship began in 2009.

When Mike is away from work he enjoys fishing, working on his farm, spending time with his family, and watching his Kentucky Wildcats.

Happy Anniversary Chet Gilbert

Congratulations to Chet Gilbert as today marks his 2 year Anniversary with J.B. Hunt. Chet is an Operations Supervisor at the Family Dollar Ashley, IN account. Account Manager Kyle George has the following to say about him :)

In a past life, he was himself. He never says something tastes like chicken, not even chicken. He can speak French, in Russian. He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels. His legend precedes him, the way lightning precedes thunder. His is…the most interesting man in the world. Stay thirsty my friends.

Family Dollar Morehead Suprise

The Family Dollar Morehead, KY team surprised Account Manager Rhonda Thacker for her birthday by decorating her desk! Happy Birthday, Rhonda!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Wishing all of the Central Region, including our managers, professional drivers, and support groups a Happy Thanksgiving!  Thank you for all of your hard work in making this region, division, and company a great success.  Enjoy the day with your families and loved ones!

 

Below are some interesting Thanksgiving Facts:

 

• Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States. 
• The date of the first Thanksgiving is not precisely known though it occurred between September 21 and November 9, 1621. 
• The first Thanksgiving is observed in Plymouth. The Plymouth Pilgrims dined with the Wampanoag Indians for the First Thanksgiving. 
• The First Thanksgiving lasted for three days.
• It was not until 1941, that congress declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday. It was declared to be the fourth Thursday in November.
• Although, Thanksgiving is widely considered an American holiday, it is also celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.
• Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. This tradition has held forth since at least the 1930s. 
• The different nicknames for Thanksgiving Day: "Turkey Day" "T-Day" "Macy’s Day "Yanksgiving" (Canadians sometimes call the Thanksgiving in the US as "Yanksgiving" to distinguish it from the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday)    
•  Turkey is the traditional dish for the Thanksgiving feast. 
•  91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.  
• In the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations.     
• Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States, each year, the average American eats somewhere between 16 - 18 pounds of turkey.    
• Fifty percent of Americans put the stuffing inside the Turkey. There are regional differences as to the "stuffing" (or "dressing") traditionally served with the turkey. Southerners generally make it from cornbread, while in other parts of the country white bread is the base. One or several of the following may be added: oysters, apples, chestnuts, raisins, celery and/or other vegetables, sausage or the turkey's giblets Turducken, a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken, is becoming more popular in Thanksgiving .A turducken is a de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken. The cavity of the chicken and the rest of the gaps are filled with, at the very least, a highly seasoned breadcrumb mixture.
• There are three places in the United States named after the holiday’s traditional main course — Turkey, Texas; Turkey Creek, La.; and Turkey, N.C. There are also nine townships around the country named “Turkey,” with three in Kansas. 

 Funny Turkey Facts

• The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.
• A turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat.
• Turkey has more protein than chicken or beef.
• Turkeys will have 3,500 feathers at maturity.
• Commercially raised turkeys cannot fly. Turkeys have poor night vision.     
• A 16-week-old turkey is called a fryer.
• A five to seven month old turkey is called a young roaster.
• Turkeys were one of the first animals in the Americas to be domesticated.
• Fossil evidence shows that turkeys roamed the Americas 10 million years ago.
• The 'wishbone' of the turkey is used in a good luck ritual on Thanksgiving Day.



Getting to Know - Logan Wells - Professional Driver - Tyson Corydon

It was my pleasure to ride along with Logan Wells on a Live Haul. Although Logan has only been with J.B. Hunt for about 4 months, he has several years of experience driving. Most recently, Logan drove all over the country hauling utility poles.  Logan began driving due to family tradition. His father along with others in his family were all truck drivers. In the short time that Logan has been with the company, he has already been selected as “Driver of the Month”. Logan has learned all the driving positions at this account; live haul, egg haul, chick haul and feed haul. He has become a very valuable member of this Tyson Team with this experience and his willingness to do whatever is needed.

 

Logan is a great family man. He is passionate about doing the best that he can to take care of his wife and daughter. He enjoys spending as much quality time with them as possible. One of his favorite times is when he and his daughter have “scary movie” night when Mom is working.

 

Logan enjoys motorcycles and boating. He enjoys spending time on the water with his family and friends.  Logan is also an experienced scuba diver.

 

J.B.Hunt is very fortunate to have a professional driver like Logan. He has a great attitude and enjoys working for the company.

 

Don Thompson, Operations Supervisor - Tyson Corydon, IN

PECO Pallets Prepares for Winter

PECO Pallets Account in Indianapolis is getting read for winter by putting together a winter preparedness kit for each truck!

Getting to Know - John Weiss - Professional Driver - Toyota

John Weiss joined the Toyota – Owensboro Account in February of 2016.  John hit the ground running and has become an asset to the fleet, regularly running “double loads.”  Rather than running one long load to the northeast in a week, John prefers to run two shorter loads when the opportunity presents itself.  He says that he likes the unload process and getting to operate his forklift.  It breaks up the monotony of his job and keeps things interesting.  John is an Army Veteran where he did a tour in Iraq.  He also lived in Alaska for two years while serving our country.  He swears it was not just for the Halibut, but he still has his pole and wants to take it to the Ohio River to see just how big those catfish really are.  When John is not working, he is a family man.  He has 2 sons and 1 daughter, Liam, Jude, and Amara.  He tries to have something special that he gets to do with them during his off time and the current event is going out for sushi. 

 

Nick Van Hooser, Logistics Coordinator - Toyota OWEKY

Happy Anniversary Jeff Story

Congratulations to Jeff Story, as today marks his 8th Anniversary with JB Hunt. He started as a professional driver with the PrimeSource fleet. Since then he has been in a management role, assisting with various locations and customers. He has filled in and assisted at accounts such as PrimeSource, Jamestown Container, Niagara Sheets and multiple Cargill locations. Congrats, Jeff!!

Getting to Know - Jerry Thomas - Professional Driver - CHEP Columbus

On 11/10/16 Chep Columbus Operations Supervisor Dan Tebbutt rode along with Jerry Thomas for the day.  Jerry has been driving truck for 10 years and he has enjoyed his time with J.B. Hunt so far.  He enjoys the hours he works here at the Chep account, unlike other jobs where he was constantly away from home and on call at any time needed. He has worked for other trucking companies such as Falcon, Schneider, Whirlpool, and Hogan. He has traveled over the road to almost every state east of the Mississippi River except for Alabama, Louisiana, and Missouri. Also, Jerry is a big Dallas Cowboys fan and enjoys watching them play every week. He believes this is the year they will win the Super Bowl based on how their quarterback is playing this year. 

Thanks Jerry for letting our management spend the day with you! 

Congratulations Jecorey Newman!

From left to right: Jecorey Newman, Alaina Newman, Leigh Van Hooser, Nick Van Hooser

Jecorey “Corey” Newman exchanged nuptials with his new bride, Alaina Hancox on Saturday October 29^th.  Nick Van Hooser who was hired one week apart from Jecorey in 2011 had the honor of standing next to him on his big day.  Team Toyota was on hand to witness the event and there were few dry eyes after the beautiful ceremony.  Jecorey and Alaina celebrated with a honeymoon in Mexico where they relaxed on the beach and did not think about freight needs.  Congratulations, Jecorey!

Happy Anniversary Michael Cohen

Please join me as we catch up, wishing Mike Cohen a Happy Anniversary with JBH. Two weeks ago, November 3rd, marked 2 years with the company. He graduated fro SUNY College at Buffalo and has worked his way from DMIT to Operations Supervisor at the Niagara Sheets account in North Tonawanda, NY where he plays an integral part of the team. Wishing you a Happy Anniversary, Mike!

Happy Anniversary Terry Galyon

 

Last Wednesday November 9th marked a special day at J.B. Hunt. Terry Galyon celebrated his 7 year Anniversary with JB Hunt. Terry has held multiple roles in various locations within the Dedicated Operations. In his current role he is the Region Safety Manager for the Central Region residing in Columbus, OH. Wishing you a Happy Anniversary, Terry!

Indy Honor Flight



Recently Professional Driver Nate Spainhower, of PECO Pallets Indy, was a part of the Indy Honor flight.  The Indy Honor Flight is a program which takes Veterans on a trip to visit their war memorials in Washington D.C.  Below is Nate’s story.

 

“I was lucky enough to be the guardian for two Korean veterans on a recent trip of the Indy Honor Flight. Mr. Joseph Benson U.S. Army transportation division, and Mr. Gordon Shepp U.S. Army engineer are the two gentlemen I was able to be a guardian for.  One of the pics below is Mr. Benson with Lieutenant General Joseph Anderson. At the time, neither of us knew, what a powerful and influential man Lieutenant General Anderson (google him) was. To us, he was just a soldier wanting to thank Mr. Benson for his service. You will also find a pic of Mr. Shepp with lip stick left on his cheeks after being welcomed home by two ladies dressed in the period attire of his deployment.

 

Being a part of the Indy Honor Flight has been one of the most fulfilling things I have been a part of.

Being able to not only accompany these men to Washington D.C., but to be part of a day where they truly get the respect and gratitude they deserve from the public at large as we walked the numerous monuments and memorials.  At times they were unsure and really taken back by the warmth and love they received, being thanked by current military, young children and pretty much every passerby.

 

I encourage anyone who is interested in this program to look them up online and get involved.

The Honor Flight program is 100% non-profit, and needs volunteers to do many tasks. To be a guardian it does cost $450 which covers the cost for 1 1/2 vets to be flown to Washington at no cost to the them.  For me this was a small price to pay to be able to help get these men and women to Washington D.C. to see the memorials that they have never seen, and may not have ever been able to do so.

There are chapters of the honor flight program all over the country.  A quick google search will find them in your area. If anyone is looking to understand this experience, there is a documentary film currently on Netflix called simply Honor Flight.”

 

Nate, thank you for your dedication to our veterans.