Icon (Close Menu)

Logout

Johnelle Hunt on Shifting Gears After Trucking To Reach Pinnacle

3 min read

Johnelle Hunt was born in Heber Springs and attended the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. She and her husband, J.B., founded J.B. Hunt Transport. Since the death of her husband, Johnelle Hunt has taken an active role in projects developed and managed by Hunt Ventures, which is primarily responsible for the conception and development of the more than 700-acre project in western Rogers known as Pinnacle Hills.

Johnelle Hunt and her husband, J.B., were married 55 years before his death in December 2006.

You are identified with trucking and J.B. Hunt Transport. Outside of trucking, what has been your favorite business endeavor?

I would have to say the Pinnacle Hills development project envisioned and started by my late husband, J.B. “Johnnie” Hunt. It’s truly fulfilling and exciting to be a part of this project, now with over 2 million square feet of Class A office and retail space, that will be so beneficial to the community for years and years to come.

Mistakes are said to deliver some of the most meaningful lessons. What was your most important business mistake?

I believe that if you involve yourself daily in your business you can see mistakes beginning, which allows you to correct them before they hurt your business.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Johnnie would laugh and say that I buy too many shoes! I really enjoy being able to honor and thank J.B. Hunt Transport employees for their dedication and hard work. Just recently, I participated in honoring 48 J.B. Hunt drivers who reached the 2 million and 3 million safe driving mile plateau. It is an absolute joy for me to be able to tell them “thank you” for making a company we started so successful.

What advice do you have for women in the business world?

It seems that today there are more opportunities for women than ever before. It’s a perfect time to take advantage of those opportunities through higher education, hard work on the job and dedication to your career.

What’s a favored anecdote that may not be well known regarding the J.B. Hunt story?

Most people probably don’t know that our rice hull company in Stuttgart enabled us to start J.B. Hunt Transport — but it almost never happened. After 10 years of business in 1971 we had a fire that literally destroyed everything. It was the wee hours of the morning, and we were sitting in the living room just looking at each other and not saying a word. Finally I said, “Johnnie, we’ve lost the business. You’re going to have to go back to driving a truck.” He didn’t respond right away, but then all at once he said, “No, let’s get a mobile home and fix it up for the office, and we’ll start over tomorrow!”

We were able to get into the safe we salvaged from the fire, and thank goodness our accounting books were only singed. I called the phone company to run a phone line to the temporary office even though it was Sunday. That same day, I also called an office supply vendor and told him of our dilemma, and he was able to get used office furniture delivered the next day. Monday morning, I went to the bank to get scratch pads and pencils, and while waiting on the furniture, we sat on the floor recreating orders. We bought rice hulls from another source to fill all the orders until our plant was rebuilt.

It was a whirlwind from the worst day of our business lives to going full speed ahead — all in just a few hours. If it had not been for Johnnie’s determination and positive outlook in a bleak situation and many wonderful employees and friends to help us rebuild, J.B. Hunt Transport might never have been started.

Send this to a friend