Johnelle and J.B. Hunt: Arkansas Business Hall of Fame
Johnelle Hunt and
the late J.B. Hunt
Founders
J.B. Hunt (1927-2006)
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.
Lowell, Arkansas
The late J.B. Hunt and his wife Johnelle worked together hand in hand to build the transportation services and logistics company, J. B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., in Lowell, Ark. Founded in 1961, the company now has revenues exceeding $2 billion and operates over 10,000 trucks and 40,000 trailers and containers, providing service to the 48 contiguous United States, Canada and Mexico. The Hunts credit their former employees and current employees, now numbering approximately 14,500, for their success. In 1998, Computerworld named the company as one of the "100 Best Places to Work in Information Systems." This year, J. B. Hunt Transport Services is ranked by Fortune magazine in the top 10 of America's most admired trucking companies. J.B. Hunt Transport Services is the largest publicly held truckload carrier in the nation.
The Hunts' contributions to many local and regional charities as well as educational and arts organizations have been extraordinary. For instance, they were named Citizens of the Year by the Arkansas chapter of the March of Dimes and Arkansans of the Year by the Easter Seal Society. They currently support the J. B. Hunt Transport Services scholarship in the Walton College.