Getting to Know - Daniel Adkins - Professional Driver - Family Dollar Morehead

Daniel is married and has a 7-month old son, Remington, who favors his father. Daniel and his wife both work to make a decent living for their family. Daniel was hired on 5/10/2016.  Family Dollar is a very demanding and physical account and Daniel knows what demands are made of the driver and what it takes to be successful on this account. Daniel has expressed his interest in becoming a trainer to his Manager.  While we were unloading the trailer we talked quite a bit about how the trailers were loaded, the difficult situations they face when backing into their stores as well as attitude of the drivers and managers. At this point I asked Daniel why he wanted to become a trainer on the account and he expressed his feelings that if drivers are trained properly when they come on to the account it will not only help the new driver but the overall quality of how they perform on this account. How a driver interacts with the customers as well as his driving skills ultimately affects everyone on the account. Daniel expects to be with us for quite a while and he wants to help make sure the account is successful.  I told Daniel the good news as we were unloading, that he was in fact chosen to become one of our back up trainers and he looks forward to helping the fleet as much as he can.

 

Rhonda Thacker, Account Manager - Family Dollar Morehead, KY

Getting to Know - Toney Hamilton - Professional Driver - Chep Columbus

 

Toney has been with JB Hunt since January of 2014. He has been driving for over 11 years. Previous to that he was in the Army. Toney enjoys working on this account because it allows him to have plenty of home time to spend with his girlfriend and his children. I rode with him to Smuckers in Cincinnati, OH. While at the drop lot, he engaged in a conversation with the guard and it showed that Toney is very personable and has built relationships with the customers that he services. Toney plans to refer his son (who drives for a living) to apply with J.B. Hunt.

 

Doug King, Operations Supervisor - Chep Columbus

Getting to Know - Joey Smith - Professional Driver - Tyson Corydon

Joey has just over 90 days with JB Hunt at the Tyson Corydon, IN account and was privileged to ride with him Tuesday. Joey is our Chick Haul driver and carries heavy responsibility with chick well being on every load. Being prior military Joey brings with him dedication and strong will to complete every job successfully and safely. He is also a big college basketball fan always rooting for his Duke team. He has been a fan since Michael Jordan attending there and even shares the same birthday. He joined the Air Force out of high school and shared some good memories during his time and even managed an Air Show event in Florida at his base. Joey has (2) little girls and now resides in Louisville, KY hoping one day to move out of the big city for some country living. I am excited to have Joey with us on the account and cannot wait to see him continue to succeed in his dreams and safety career in truck driving for JB Hunt.

 

Jess Caudill, Account Manager - Tyson Corydon

Congatulations to the Stampfer Family!!

 

Congratulations to Adam, Taylor, and big brother Thomas Stampfer on the birth of their daughter/sister, Caroline Elizabeth!  Caroline was born at 9:18 am on Thursday morning weighing in at 8lbs, 7 oz, and 20 inches long!  Both mom and baby are doing great!  Congrats Adam!

Leaders 301

This week we two of our managers completed their Leaders 301 Capstone Project.  John Goodwin, AM Limited, and Ryan Amuso, AM Family Dollar Rome, completed the last of their three week leaders course.  Both were given different accounts to audit and find a solution to a recurring problem.  Both did a fantastic job of identifying a problem at their respective account, assisting with putting a solution in place, and then quantifying the savings.

 

While this is a very challenging course, both managers were up to the challenge and did an outstanding job!  Great work John and Ryan!

 

Getting to Know - Christopher Young - Professional Driver - Toyota

Chris is one of the newest members to join Team Toyota Owensboro. He actually just wrapped up his account specific training this week, and completed his first Toyota dealership delivery here in Louisville, KY. While Chris is fairly new to the Dedicated segment of J.B. Hunt, he worked in Intermodal for several years with the company. Outside of work, Chris takes joy in spending his time at home with his wife and their one-year-old son. He and his wife Bobbi have been married for 4 years but have been together for over 16 years. He is an avid University of Louisville Cardinals fan and watches them compete any chance he gets. One hobby Chris has when he has some free time at home, he enjoys playing video games and doesn’t hesitate at the chance to beat his brother when playing against him.

 

Jonathan Brady, Operations Supervisor - Toyota Owensboro, KY

Home Depot Van Buren hits 100 Days Injury Free!

To celebrate, the account bought all the drivers a 12oz sirloin steak freshly butchered from a local market and grilled them up for the drivers.  Pictured below is Joe Zieroff, one of The Home Depot Van Buren’s driver trainers, teaching Austin Eckert (The 180 Day Experience Manager) how to properly grill a steak. 

 

After Austin was properly trained in grilling steak by one of The Home Depot’s Professional Driver Trainers, he got back to the basics and started properly seasoning the steak while the trainer is observing Austin’s progress so that the pack of hungry drivers had some good quality steak!

The drivers were all very excited to enjoy a steak that was not from a GFS box.  Some of the drivers mentioned that they had never worked for a company that served them steak before.  Most had a great time talking with the local management while they took turns grilling for each of the drivers.  The grill ran all day and night on Tuesday and Wednesday as they made sure each driver gets to recognize our sincere appreciation for their efforts in hitting the 100-day injury free mark.  We look forward to seeing what they have in store for the 200-day mark!