J. B. and Johnelle Hunt

Johnnie Bryan "J. B." Hunt Sr. was born on February 28, 1927, in Heber Springs, Cleburne County, Arkansas.

After completing seventh grade, Hunt worked at his uncle's sawmill and sold lumber. He briefly served in the army before working as a truck driver for Superior Forwarding Company. To supplement his income, he sold lawn sod.

In 1961 Hunt and his wife, Johnelle, started J.B. Hunt Company in Stuttgart, specializing in the sale and transport of rice hulls to be used as poultry litter, and he invented a machine to compress the hulls. He shifted his focus to trucking and created J.B. Hunt Transport Services in 1969. With the company's growing success, he moved the base of operations to Lowell. J.B. Hunt Elementary School in Springdale is named in his honor.

J. B. Hunt passed away on December 7, 2006.

Johnelle Terria DeBusk Hunt was born on January 4, 1932, in Heber Springs, Cleburne County, Arkansas.

She attended Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway before marrying Johnnie Bryan "J. B." Hunt Sr.

She cofounded J.B. Hunt Company with her husband in 1961, and in 1969 they created J.B. Hunt Transport Services. Hunt was instrumental in the growth and success of their businesses, functioning in numerous roles, including credit manager, secretary-treasurer, and corporate secretary. Hunt has served on the Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute Advisory Board, the Beau Foundation Board of Directors, and the Advisory Council for the Ozark Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The Women's Foundation of Arkansas named her 2012 Woman of the Year.