JB Bridgeman and members of his AAU travel basketball team, the BG Shock. 

JB Bridgeman, owner of JB Electric, has a passion for helping others.

Bridgeman, a master electrician who established his business in 2005, decided three years ago that he wanted to find a way to contribute to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Nashville because he was once a patient there.

That’s when he developed the idea for Wired for Good, a music and food festival sponsored by JB Electric. 

“All the money goes directly to St. Jude,” he said. “When I was 18, I was a patient there for a few years so I want to help them out.” 

Bridgeman had Hodgkin’s disease and after several tests, underwent chemotherapy and radiation.  

“They got it,” he said. “They saved my life.”

He continues to travel to St. Jude every five years for its follow-up research program.

This year’s third annual Wired for Good on Sept. 14 promises to be even better than before, Bridgeman said.

“We’re just trying to get it as big as it can get and keep it going every year,” he said. 

The day usually begins around 10 a.m. with food trucks and bouncy houses, progressing into the night with different types of music including some “really good local bands.” 

The festival has featured numerous bands the past two years and Bridgeman said he would like to line up a couple of big names this year for the headlining acts. 

Funding for the event is through sponsorships, he said, and some people are already starting to make donations in lieu of sponsorships for this year’s event.

“We are working together with a bunch of people that have been doing this for a long time,” Bridgeman said.

Bridgeman said he also has plans for a different festival venue and said he would like to move the event from the SOKY Fairgrounds, where it was held the past two years.

A total of $12,000 has been given to St. Jude as a result of both years of the festival. 

In addition to staying busy with his business and planning for Wired for Good, Bridgeman also coaches and sponsors JB Electric’s sophomore year AAU travel basketball team, the BG Shock.

The team is made up of several kids from area high schools, including his son. 

“We travel about every two weeks to different tournaments,” he said. “It’s a really good experience for them. They play in some pretty good sized tournaments.”

The team has also given a couple of the players an opportunity to play who otherwise might not be able to afford to play, he said.

Bridgeman said JB Electric covers all of the fees for the players, including tournament fees, uniforms and food.

Bridgeman has also been active in other areas of the community as the Southern Kentucky Fair chairman and as president of the Bowling Green-Warren County Jaycees.