J.B. Hunt founder dies
Some unexpectedly sad news in the trucking industry today. Johnnie Bryan Hunt, who, along with his wife, founded trucking giant J.B. Hunt Transportation Services, passed away today as a result of a head injury after slipping on some ice.
J.B. Hunt was a real-life, rags-to-riches example of the American dream. After dropping out of school as a youngster and failing in early business startups, he took up trucking to pay off his debts. In 1961, he and his wife, Johnelle, started a company that pioneered a method of using rice hulls for poultry litter. By 1969, that venture had become J.B. Hunt Transport as the couple needed a transportation method for distributing their product. By 1983, they sold their rice hull business and focused exclusively on the trucking firm which went public that same year.
While J.B. Hunt retired from active service with the trucking company in 1995, he remained on the board of directors until 2004. Hunt and his wife are the largest shareholders of J.B. Hunt stock. He also spent the last 11 years in a variety of diversified businesses and projects. Hunt was a large-scale real estate investor, was involved with numerous entrepreneurial startup companies, gave to many charitable causes, and was an outspoken ambassador for growth in Northwest Arkansas.
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