Arkansas Truck Driving Championships!

 

The ATDC was held this past weekend at the Embassy Suites in Rogers, AR.  Eligibility for this event is determined by being a full time driver who is accident(both preventable and non preventable) free for the entire year.  Our team was represented by 21 professional drivers including 2 Final Mile team members.  Competing against 130+ drivers from companies like ABF, Conway, Fed Ex and others, our team performed very well.  We took home 6 trophies and 10 total awards.  Melvin Smith, JMC ATLGA, placed first in his class and will be representing our company at the national competition in STLMO.  Darren Tyler, (BHMIx), placed 2nd in his class and also won overall Rookie of the Year.  Andrew Stierley(DETMIx) also competed in the straight truck class and finished 4th.  Rodney Collins(OTR Sleeper), Jeff Helmick(JBI 5 axle) and Bo Nelson (OTR tanker) all also received a trophy finishing 3rd overall in their class. 

The ATDC provided a great week of competition, but also of camaraderie, fellowship and driver dedicated events.  Our representatives were accompanied by their families who cheered for them at every turn.  Additionally, our corporate team turned out in droves to support the driving team.  Among the attendees rooting on our group was John Roberts, Shelly Simpson, Craig Harper, Brad Hicks and Nathan Smith among many others.  This annual event is a great time for our team to recognize and celebrate our professional drivers for all that they do on the roadways.

May 2015 Safety Cup Standings

 

 





May brought forth a repeat of the April standings with the West again holding on to the top two spots.  The Willis region holds 1st in two of the three categories and holds a commanding lead over their closest competition. 

April 2014 DOM---Simon Garcia--SFSCAx

Simon Garcia (GARS45), hands down, is the best driver at our Final Mile Santa Fe Springs account and is very deserving of this award each and every month. He began his Final Mile career in 2008, when he was hired by John Rodriguez and Curtis Liem to the SFS FM team. Since the very first day he started, Simon was a shining star. He established himself as a leader very quickly and has continued to show leadership throughout the entire Final Mile development. He has taken on multiple projects and works with a true sense of pride. He has shown dedication to our company. He has helped mold young installers into career oriented drivers. 2 of Simon’s previous Bright Sky installers have transitioned into fine JB Hunt Non-CDL drivers.   

Simon and his partner Wes are so good that Blair Child knows them by a first name basis and has referred to them as “the all-star team.” On special occasions, when there is any sort of VIP delivery that needs to be made or any sort of special project, Blair has asked that I put my best team or “all-star team” on that particular delivery. When he tells me this, I know that Blair really means to say is, “please send Simon on this delivery.” This has included deliveries to Whirlpool upper management personnel, Whirlpool On Tour projects, SWASH deliveries, Jenn Air Displays, the Ellen DeGeneres show, the Oprah Winfrey TV show, and many more priority projects and deliveries.

                Most recently Simon was asked to take on our biggest Multi Family site in SFS history: Park Place by Irvine Company.  Before the start of this project in June of 2014, we were told they were on a strict schedule to get these done. In our minds, we knew just the person for the job and apparently Irvine Company did as well. During the welcome process meeting, to our surprise, the Irvine Company representatives called out and asked specifically for Simon and Wes to complete this project. We knew immediately that Simon’s fantastic reputation had gone beyond the scope of just JB Hunt and Whirlpool. In 10 months, Simon delivered 4,972 total Major Appliances to a total of 992 living units and 2 leasing offices. During the duration of this project, Simon accomplished to have less than 1% damage returns (47 damage returns total). This project just completed 100% in April 2015.

                Simon is the most dedicated driver of our fleet. He is willing to take on any task at the drop of a dime. Simon is full of ideas and has helped in implementing some of our operational procedures. He helped me in organizing the “parts section” of my warehouse that has caught the eyes and the liking of Whirlpool Management including Stan Dubbert, Blair Child, and Rex Clark.  He has traveled to help out various accounts including Hayward, Las Vegas, Spanaway, San Diego, and even Philadelphia. He has gone above and beyond on numerous occasions. Simon is also one of the safest drivers on our fleet. Our account recently celebrated our 1 Year Accident Free streak on April 18^th, 2015. A streak that is unprecedented since the accounts inception. It was a team effort, with senior drivers like Simon that led our morale and commitment the entire way. He has 1 PD Claim in his 6.5 years and has had 0 accidents with FMS. Simon has currently 0 missing logs, scored 100% on his last audit, and is up to date in all compliance areas: Physical, CDL, and Annual Review. Other than his 1 PD claim (controversial in his/our eyes) he has been nearly flawless with FMS.

                Simon’s commitment and maturity is seen on and off duty. His sole motivation for his hard working lifestyle is his family. He has been married to his beautiful wife for 12 years and is a father to 3 lovely children (2 boys, 1 girl). I have had the pleasure of being able to interact with Simon outside of the workplace, and it is special to see a man who is as dedicated to his job as he is to his family. His 2 boys play little league baseball, and Simon is a part of the coaching staff on both teams. He lives a life on the go, and seems to never have time for rest, but he always rises to the occasion and keeps pushing forward with a smile on his face.

                It is with my honor and privilege to nominate Simon Garcia for Driver of the Month for April 2015. Thank you for all your professionalism, dedication, and hard work. We all greatly appreciate it!

J.B. Hunt Employee Discounts!

When was the last time you checked out the J.B. Hunt Homepage at www.my.jbhunt.com ?  If it’s been a while you should stop by, and check it out!  Besides access to the employee portal it contains relevant company news, and things you should know about as an employee!  On the bottom right side of the page there is a link for discounts that YOU are eligible for!  While there are many specific to company’s headquarters in Lowell, there are still a significant amount for those of us across the United States.  If you have a cellular phone plan with one of the larger providers, you are probably eligible for a significant discount just for being an employee!  Also, if you need a new vehicle, computer, or an appliance, it’s definitely worth checking out.  Below are a few of the many participating companies:

J.B Hunt experience manager at the Boston LDC

http://experience.blog.jbhunt.com/2015/05/28/onsite-in-final-mile-boston/

Onsite at Final Mile Boston
 

Derek Roy, the new J.B. Hunt Experience Manager, brings us a unique perspective and voice from the field. Derek worked in operations at our field offices and served in the military for over nine years before joining the Experience team. As Craig Harper put it, “His enthusiasm and desire to take the J.B. Hunt Experience to the “next level” will help us in achieving our goal to become the envy of companies of all types and sizes.” Below is Derek’s observations from a trip to Boston. We hope you will find this article informational and insightful.

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I pulled my rental car out of the airport lot and plugged my cellphone into the car charger I brought. A bus cut me off as I struggled to merge onto the Whitestone. Bumper to bumper as always, I reached for my E-ZPass and slipped out of my traffic lane a bit. A cabbie slammed his horn and waved the middle finger as we approached the toll booth. “Good to be home.” I said to myself. To my right was a J.B. Hunt daycab and a 53 ft dry box. The driver was intensely looking ahead and checking his mirrors. Buckled in and focused I caught his eye and waved hello. He stared back at me as if to say, “Who the heck are you?” He had no idea my full time job is make his job better, much less that we worked for the same company. I watched in awe as our driver safely moved ahead through traffic.

I was in New York City and driving to Boston, Massachusetts. We had a guy up there, Nicholas, who had recently been honored with the “2014 Driver Dedicated Account of the Year.” Nicholas had been transferred into a challenging business location – Final Mile Boston. Tasked with delivering anything and everything in a straight truck all over New England, the account has been struggling to be profitable, safe and keep drivers employed.

Nicholas onboarded into his new role and immediately began to turn it around. Clearly the J.B. Hunt Experience was living in Boston and I was going to find out exactly who, what, why and how. I was hoping to find the secret – the magic trick.

I pulled into the driveway of the office complex a few hours later and immediately recognized the building. Nicholas was outside laughing with three of his drivers when I pulled in and parked. His booming voice and outgoing personality was contagious. “DEREK! Welcome to Boston! Find it okay?” I told him I had no problem finding it, “Nicholas, two years ago I interviewed at this same office for a Dedicated Manager in Training position!” I went on to explain my past 2 years…managing a large Dedicated account that delivered groceries 24/7 to Long Island, New York and Connecticut. Nicholas asked me, “How many drivers did you have?” I proudly stated, “Over a hundred! Couldn’t have done it without the awesome team of Operations Supervisors, Mario, Jason, Laurie, Shannon and Danny.”

He motioned for me to sit down once we got to his office and began telling me about his career with the company. A uniformed driver walked briskly by the door. “Hey, come meet Derek,” Nicholas shouted out. I stuck my hand out, “Nice to meet you sir.” “Don’t call me sir, I work for a living” the driver quipped back.

The office was clean. Drivers moved with a deliberate sense of urgency. Folks on conference calls, the smell of fresh hot coffee brewing in the lobby, the quiet chatter of the radio.

I started to take notes and photos. So many of the places I had been were struggling to retain their drivers – so many places seemed chaotic and noisy. This was a well-oiled machine.

Heriberto came into the office and introduced himself as Eddie. What’s that?” I said motioning to a large cell phone looking device in his hand. “This is our MCC. It has all the load information, customer addresses, services needing to be performed and ePOD.” Clearly we’ve made some large investments into state-of-the-art technology, especially the electronic proof of delivery.

 

“Wanna see how it works?” he asked me. Excitedly I said, “Heck yeah – let’s go.” We hopped in the company truck and drove to the construction site. Eddie previously worked for BrightSky, an agency that we contract with for delivery assistants. He did such a great job we made him an offer to work directly for Final Mile. What a great guy.

We had a few drivers inside doing punch work – a term Final Mile locations use to describe the installation process behind setting up a washing machine or a dish washer, for example.

The site was busy. Crews everywhere. Men standing on an I-beam 40 feet in the air with a saw – sparks flying everywhere. White hard hats in a huddle looking at construction plans rolled out on the hood of pickup truck. Four electricians smoking cigarettes on ladders were installing light fixtures in the parking garage. The noise of a truck backing up with yet another gentlemen waving the driver back. Beep-beep-beep. Needless to say it was exciting.

 And there we were – our J.B. Hunt straight truck proudly in the middle of it all. Our drivers were unloading 300 pound refrigerators using the lift gate, strapping it carefully to a dolly and wheeling it up through the parking garage to the 5^th floor. I asked Eddie, “How come they don’t just use the elevator?” With a grin on his face he replied, “Cause there isn’t one.” I was impressed. The construction site was a living breathing thing.

We made our way inside looking for our driver. I donned my hard hat and watched my step. People were everywhere.

We walked into one unit and Eddie double checked the work that had been done. He secured a hose, firmly grasped the door handle and open and closed the stove. “Looks good,” he said, and we walked to the next apartment unit under construction.

 

Hey!” shouted Eddie as we walked into one of the units. “Boss man, how are you?” Marvin happily replied. I introduced myself and was put to work immediately. Enamored, I watched another driver, Erik, lift a dryer and stack it on top of the washing machine in middle of the living room. In a patient and professional tone, Erik instructed me exactly how to attach the dryer vent and washer hoses. I’m a handy guy but imagining doing this every day seemed monotonous. “Ever get bored doing the same old day in and day out?” I asked. “Bored? In Final Mile? No way! We’re at a different job site all the time. Different customers, different products. I love my job.” Erik said.

A loud horn sounded from outside, and I went to the window to see what was happening. Droves of people were pouring out of the building. Guys sat down everywhere – on the tail gates of pickup trucks, at a picnic table, on a concrete beam. The line at the food truck grew. “You guys want anything?” I said, waving at the truck outside. “No thank you. The gut truck is bad news. I’m trying to watch my gorgeous figure.” he said laughing as he rubbed his stomach.

These drivers are incredibly talented and very passionate about their job. “Marvin, can you give me a quick hand with this please?” Erik went over to the kitchen and the two of them worked on the stove together. I asked them – “What do you like about J.B. Hunt? What can we do better?” They both grinned and shared an insightful list of items. I voraciously took notes so as not to forget one word.

Heading back to the office, I leaned out the window at the red light and snapped a picture of the building. Our customer, Whirlpool, hired us to install a full complement of appliances in over 300 apartment units at the new Hanover University Station. The job would normally take us 5 months to complete – in this case, we started in February and wouldn’t finish until September, due to a slower job site.

We stopped for a bite to eat and chatted about ways the managers here had built relationships with their employees. I asked Nicholas and Eddie, “What’s the secret here?” They looked at each other and Nicholas said, “Close the laptop. Take the time to ask about their day, wish em’ a happy birthday and get to know to them. It’s just basic people skills.”

 

I took more notes and wrote, “Be a trusted advisor – go the final mile – close the laptop!”

Our food finally came out – we were right by Gillette Stadium, the home of the Patriots football team. I joined the Army in 2005, and a few years later I was honored to stand on that field and be part of the half-time show with a group of other soldiers. Between bites, I told Nicholas and Eddie how special we felt, a Patriots t-shirt, food, etc.

“How do you make your drivers feel special? Do you buy them a J.B. Hunt t-shirt?” I asked sipping my iced tea. Eddie said, “We have uniforms here for our drivers, but we fire up the grill regularly to treat everyone.” Nicholas chimed in, “Yeah, just don’t undercook the burgers!” He paused, “Derek, write this down too – don’t run out of food at the BBQ!”

Laughing, I added it to my notes. Nicholas went on, “You don’t always have to plan a cook out – I find that being the go-to for my team, solving problems and being reliable works too.”

What Nicholas and Eddie didn’t know was that their ideas: trusted advisor, close the laptop, cook outs and teaching managers how to problem solve would all find their home in the J.B. Hunt Experience.

Keep up the great work out there in Boston and don’t undercook those burgers!

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If you know of any great stories you’d like shared on the Experience blog, email the J.B. Hunt Experience Team at jbh_experience@jbhunt.com