Johnnie Bryan Hunt
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Hunt in 2004
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| Born | Johnnie Bryan Hunt, Sr February 28, 1927[1] |
| Died | December 7, 2006(2006-12-07) (aged 79) |
| Occupation(s) | Founder and C.E.O. of J. B. Hunt Transport Services. (1961–2004) |
| Spouse | Johnelle Hunt (m. 1952; his death 2006)[2] |
Johnnie Bryan Hunt, Sr. (J. B. Hunt) (February 28, 1927 – December 7, 2006), was an American entrepreneur who founded J.B. Hunt Transport Services, the largest publicly owned trucking company in the US. The company is based in Lowell, Arkansas.
Hunt was born in Heber Springs, Arkansas. Growing up during the Great Depression was stressful.[3]
His first job was working for his uncle at a sawmill. After a stint in the US Army, Hunt spent the 1950s as a lumber salesman, auctioneer, and truck driver before starting a rice hulls business with his wife Johnelle in 1961. His first attempt at the trucking business was unsuccessful, losing roughly $19,000.[4][5] He returned to the trucking industry in 1969, with five tractors and seven trailers.[4]
Hunt was generous. He carried a money clip containing $100 bills, which he would hand out to people he felt were needy.[3]
Hunt stepped down as president of his company in 1982 but remained a fixture, staying on as chairman of the board until 1995. On December 31, 2004, Hunt retired but remained the company's largest shareholder.[4] Although retired, Hunt visited the headquarters in Lowell, Arkansas frequently, to shake hands and converse with employees. He regularly telephoned the executive assistants to ask "What's the stock doing, Darling?"[6]
In 2005, Springdale Public Schools opened a new elementary school named after Hunt. The Hunt family donated the land for the school, valued in excess of $500,000. This K-5 elementary school is located on Silent Grove Road in Springdale, Arkansas. Hunt was a frequent visitor to the school after it opened.[citation needed]
In early 2006, Hunt bought the site of the abandoned Superconducting Super ColliderinWaxahachie, Texas, for $6.5 million, hoping to turn it into a secure data storage facility.[7] His death at a hospital in Springdale, Arkansas, on December 7, 2006, after sustaining a head injury in a fall on ice five days earlier, put an end to this project.[3][8] The property was sold to the chemical company Magnablend for $5 million in 2012.[9]
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