MOUNT GILEAD — The End Zone Bar and Grill was packed with JDog Junk Removal and Hauling family, fans and Chamber of Commerce members Monday, Aug. 2.
Those attending enjoyed several trays of wings; compliments of JDog owners Case Shenfield and William ‘Billy’ Davis. The ribbon cutting festivities also included drawings for mugs, Tee shirts and free hauling services were given to a winner.
Shenfield, a Northmor High School graduate, spoke with pride of the connection the JDog business here has with veterans and the military.
“We are one of over 300 JDog franchises owned and operated by veterans,” Shenefield said.
What they do
Some of their services include cleaning out offices, stores and construction sites as well as some work tearing down decks and small buildings on properties.
They haul away furniture, mattresses, swing sets, pianos, construction debris, machinery, trees, bath fixtures, paper and a variety of other large objects from homes and businesses. They presently have two employees.
Shenefield and Davis stressed that they reuse, repurpose ad recycle whenever possible. 60-80 percent of what they haul away stays out of the landfill.
Davis and Shenefield have been good friends since they served in the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion; better known as Seabees. Their command built the Leatherneck base in Afghanistan, which is the largest U.S. Marine base in the desert. They served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Davis grew up in Webster Springs, West Virginia and is moving to Morrow County. He served eight years in the Navy as a Seabee. Shenefield served 14 years in the Navy. He lives in Mount Gilead and is presently with the Navy reserves, based at Rickenbacker Air National Guard base in Columbus.
Continuing to serve
Both veterans look at their JDog business as an opportunity to continue to serve their community and continue to work alongside veterans.
“We still have a sense of camaraderie with veterans,” said Shenefield. “We use veteran forums for tips and information. It’s an awesome network.”
The JDog business was started by Jerry Flanagan, a veteran from Pennsylvania.
Davis said the company is growing weekly and it has well over 300 franchises in the country. He said they felt trust in the company when they heard at the beginning that one of the primary goals of the business is to get the unemployment rate down for veterans.
Their corporate office supports them in many ways with PR, marketing, and set up of the business. The company has secured business for them from Costco, Little Caesars and Cube Smart.
Their business territory includes Morrow County, Marion, Galion, Bucyrus, Lexington, and Sunbury down to Newark, New Albany and Gahanna, as well as the surrounding area.
Chamber President LeAnne Gompf welcomed JDog owners and their families. She thanked them for their service in the military as well as to Morrow County.
They can be reached at 614-400-5935 or via email at [email protected].
