Getting to Know - Larry Perdue - Professional Driver - Marco's Pizza Distribution

Larry Perdue (PERL1) Professional Driver - Marco's Pizza Distribution

Chris Wulf (Operations Supervisor) recently rode with Larry Perdue.  Larry is new to the Marcos account (4 months with JBH) but has previous experience in restaurant delivery. He moved from Tennessee to Michigan and is a fierce Michigan Wolverine fan. Larry served in the United States Marine Corps. from 2007-2011. He was fortunate to have been based in multiple regions around the world. Some of these places include Iraq, Australia, and various areas in the Pacific.

   On our ride along we delivered while the stores were still open, and Larry was very kind and courteous with everyone we came across. 

Happy Anniversary Jamie Kleemook

 

Congratulations to Jamie Kleemook, as today marks his 5 year Anniversary!  Jamie began his career with JB Hunt as an Operations Supervisor at PPG in Pittsburgh, PA. He has promoted up through the account into his current role of as the Transportation General Manager. Thank you for all of your hard work, Jamie! Congrats!

PPG Sleeper Upgrade

Mike Gray gets the keys to his new truck, with Jamie Kleemook

As part of our continued effort to improve the lives of our drivers while out on the road, the PPG Account recently received their first 72 inch bunk Freightliner Sleeper.  Drivers on the PPG Account stay out for a minimum 2 weeks at a time, thus you can say that is their primary residence.  It was important for us to continue to look for ways to help this fleet maintain a comfortable lifestyle while out on the road.  We were successful by partnering with our Truck Division to take some newer open units that they wanted to shed.

The first unit rolled went to Mike Gray.  Mike has been with JB Hunt since 1994.  Like many of the drivers on the fleet, Mike had expressed concerns over the size of his bunk for sometime.  To thank Mike for his hard work and dedication over the year, the management team at PPG wanted Mike to get the first unit.

Nearly 3 months later, at around 7:30pm on December 7 in East Brunswick NJ, Grant Schoenfelder, Mike's Fleet Manager, Chris Birdsell and Jamie Kleemook presented the keys to Mike.  Mike was not only overwhelmed, but also grateful that the team through of him as being the first one to receive the truck.  

Getting to Know - Mike Hulsey - Professional Driver - Toyota Owensboro

Mike Hulsey - HULM2 - Professional Driver Toyota Owensboro

Mike started his career with JB Hunt in 1990 and has been on the Toyota account for nearly 6 years.  

In his 25 years he has worked on numerous accounts and at one point was a trainer.  Mike loves to talk about his different experiences over the years and the changes he has seen in the Trucking industry.  From the days of running hard and “pushing the limits”, to the current days improvements in safety and driver well being, he sees it all as positive improvements. 

  Mike has a Son, Daughter-in-law and 2 Granddaughters that live in North Carolina.  In his off time he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, Janice and going to flea markets and trying to find a treasure in the rough.

Happy Anniversary Sam Djung

Sunday December 13th will mark Sam's 11 year anniversary 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. Thanks for all your hard work and Congrats, Sam!

PPG - 3rd place in PPG's Annual Cubical Decorating Contest

Each year PPG has a cube decorating contest.  This year JBH team received third place!

JB Hunt Team @ PPG

JBH cubicles

PPG employee team cube - Notice the truck with the DCS logo!

Getting to Know - Al Bacon - Professional Driver -The Home Depot - Van Buren

Al Bacon - BACA8 - Professional Driver -The Home Depot

Joe Nagle (Account Manager) recently rode with Professional Driver, Al Bacon.   Al came to The Home Depot account from Van. He ran as part of our pop-up fleet for a year before he joined the team about 3 years ago. Al loves driving for us and likes the customer and the stores that he delivers to.

We had the opportunity to discuss some of the issues in the office that will help us to become a stronger team for the future. Some opportunities remain for communication to the drivers from the managers as well as planning switches throughout the day. The equipment is getting better with a number of our older trailers being traded in and picking up newer trucks.

 The delay at the guard shack is continually improving however in our ride it took us over 9 minutes to get processed through when it should only take 3 ½ minutes. This gave me a great opportunity to bring this to the attention of The Home Depot transportation department.

Al loves working with the office staff and driving for us and hopes to continue his driving career with us up to retirement.