Air Force veteran Rick Kuhlman seeks to make his beloved Knoxville a better place
By Phil Newman | Photograph by Nathan Sparks
Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 41, Issue 6 (Nov/Dec 2025)
On a visit to Rick Kuhlman’s home a few miles west of downtown Knoxville, it quickly becomes evident that the house started as a tidy bungalow and has been gradually, lovingly expanded over the years, with several added rooms, including a sun porch, along with a large deck featuring ample areas for social gatherings.
After an hour of talking with Kuhlman on the porch, learning about his pursuits in the military, business, community engagement, and more, it becomes equally evident that his life is a lot like his home: Both began with a solid foundation and modest space, and both have grown and seen new rooms, walls, and ceilings added over the decades.
Kuhlman’s life is sprawling—in the best ways possible. His bio reads like a summary of five people’s highlights, not just those of one man who has doggedly poured himself into excelling in commerce, leading scouts and military personnel, mentoring future leaders, overseeing disaster-relief teams, and, along the way, helping to make his hometown strong and vibrant—the kind of place that lifelong residents, newcomers, and visiting students all find appealing.
In Uniform From an Early Age
Born in 1950 in Knoxville, Kuhlman underwent his first major expansion when he joined the Cub Scouts. “I liked the uniform, earning the merit badges—all of that,” he recalls while sipping ice water on the sun porch. “From early on I liked being part of a group all working in the same direction.”
After continuing on to Boy Scouts and graduating from West High in 1968, Kuhlman enrolled at UT-Knoxville as an engineering major and pledged Pi Kappa Alpha. Later in his freshman year, one of his fraternity brothers persuaded Kuhlman to add ROTC to his schedule.
Doing so led him to reflect on his family’s storied history in Knoxville and in the military. An uncle, Hodges Briscoe, who retired as a two-star general, was the first manager of McGhee Tyson Airport, then located on Sutherland Avenue, prior to World War II. When the war began, Briscoe was called back to active duty with the Army Air Corps. (He had been trained as a pilot as a teen during World War I.) Today, Briscoe Drive at McGhee Tyson is named for him.
In another marker of Kuhlman’s deep roots, his grandfather Nathan helped make Kerns Bread a Knoxville staple in the late 1920s. That business acumen would be passed along to the next generations, including Rick himself.
Well before that, though, in early 1969, Kuhlman, then a UT sophomore in ROTC, worked at the Arnold Air Force Base auxiliary unit, where he would later become a manpower management engineer—helping with the Air Force’s drawdown as the Vietnam War wound toward its end. (Kuhlman had a high draft number and was not selected before President Nixon stopped sending troops to Southeast Asia.)
In March 1973, Kuhlman was commissioned into the Air Force to Myrtle Beach AFB in South Carolina. He was trained as a new lieutenant “who didn’t know anything,” he says with a smile. His roles included honor guard commander and volunteer scoutmaster for servicemen’s sons.
Married to Beverly in August 1974—she is from Franklin; they met at UT—Kuhlman moved on to Columbus AFB in Mississippi. He was not destined to become a pilot, but his military career would continue in the reserves, including a stint at Georgia’s Dobbins ARB in personnel.
It was there that he became an adjutant to Brig. Gen. William W. Basnett, the 94th Tactical Airlift Wing commander, and those five years shaped his life and career. “Gen. Basnett was like a best friend,” Kuhlman recalls. “He had a wonderful family, with two sons and three daughters, and he taught me a lot.”
Later, in a stint at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, Kuhlman would work as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA), in which a reservist is assigned to an active-duty unit or agency. As a reserve colonel, he supported ten bases across the country in materiel, and would travel extensively from coast to coast to check on them.
Beer, Pizza, and Desert Shield
Even as his role in the reserves expanded, Kuhlman also grew as a businessman. In 1977, he was working as assistant sales manager for his family’s Knoxville-area beer distributorship, Kuhlman-Murphy Co. In 1979, the business was sold to a competitor, Pinnacle Sales, and Kuhlman went to work for them. Among other accomplishments, he developed and executed the idea for World’s Fair Beer, which became a successful part of that landmark event’s run in 1982.
In 1984, he and his brother purchased Stefano’s Pizza, which they knew as a Pinnacle beer customer. Kuhlman ran Stefano’s from 1986 until its sale in 2003. Along the way, he expanded from two locations—UT campus and Bearden—to four, adding Cedar Bluff and Farragut. (Today, under new ownership, the one Stefano’s is in Hardin Valley.)
Meanwhile, his reserves career continued, and in August 1990, Kuhlman was activated and deployed early in Operation Desert Shield to “reopen a base that had been mothballed” in preparation for troops to roll in, he says. As a major, his key duties focused on safety and security.
A decade later, after September 11, 2001, Kuhlman wanted to play a part in the war on terror. Having developed a network of key relationships in his various reserve roles, he “knew all the commanders and could talk with them.” Many reservists were activated, and “there was some friction. I had to remind the actives that these reservists were like them now. I would go to all of the bases and check on them.”
In 2003, Kuhlman faced a dilemma. His maximum 30 years were almost up, but the US was about to go to war in Iraq, and he wanted in. He was able to have his status changed to active and serve another year beyond his September 30, 2003, retirement. He reported to Wright-Patterson and worked as a liaison to the reservists who were activated and deployed to war. It was a fitting capstone to his three decades of service.
Shaping Tomorrow’s Knoxville Leaders
With his Air Force tenure complete, Kuhlman turned his attention to his hometown and community leadership—for example, relief work after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Via the East Tennessee presbytery, “We took big teams of college students down to the Gulf,” Kuhlman says. “We took 250 that fall break to Biloxi, Mississippi, and mucked out houses.”
Other student trips followed, typically during Spring Break, from 2005 to 2009. The work landed squarely in Kuhlman’s sweet spots: working toward a larger cause and helping young people receive invaluable life experiences.
As another expression of that, Kuhlman directs The Knoxville Fellows, a faith-based program he helped launch in 2006. “A group of Knoxville leaders felt like we weren’t attracting or keeping new, young professionals,” he says, “and we wanted to provide an opportunity for Christian leadership development.”
Based in Market Square, the Fellows are post-graduate men and women who live above Café 4 from August to May, work in local jobs, absorb lessons from key civic and business leaders, lead and attend Bible studies, and take part in service projects. To date, 236 have completed the program, with 65 percent of them staying in town.
A Legacy of Service and Influence
Kuhlman was connecting with young people even as he operated Stefano’s Pizza in the 1980s. “Rick was a generous mentor and friend during the years I lived in Knoxville,” recalls Eric Hogue, one of many UT students who credit Kuhlman’s positive impact. “As the owner of Stefano’s, he bought ads in the Daily Beacon from me and provided many opportunities to hone my craft as a marketer. I have been forever grateful for his influence and how he lived his faith in Christ.”
Likewise, the skills Kuhlman built as a scout, in the military, and in business and community leadership are not lost on those who have served alongside him—people like lifelong Knoxvillian Mark Granger.
“Rick is a soldier at heart, and that has been evident in many of his endeavors,” says Granger, who first worked with Kuhlman as a high school student in Boy Scout Troop 6 out of Second Presbyterian, when Kuhlman was assistant scoutmaster.
“God has shaped Rick into one who is very influential and passionate about mentoring young people. He has made a big positive difference in so many lives. Our Knoxville community is much better, and will be down the road, because of his dedication to build up future leaders.”
Granger smiles as he recalls Kuhlman’s leadership on scouting adventures. “He was energetic, outgoing, highly competitive; he wanted the young men he led to win, in scouting and in life, and he instilled discipline in them. They loved it. I was glad to be on his team.”
Kuhlman himself reflects, “I was honored to serve in the Air Force, and I’ve always been very interested in helping others who want to succeed, whether it’s in the military, business, or any other field. I’m excited about this next generation. I see a hunger for excellence and for doing the right thing, and I just love that.”
Kuhlman also appreciates Knoxville’s favorable view toward those who have served in the armed forces, and reminds folks that they’re always welcome to express it.
“When you see a veteran, you can thank them for their service, and we appreciate that. We’re no different from anybody else; we all have our callings, and this was what many of us were honored to do, to defend a way of life. When we hear the anthem play or recite the pledge of allegiance, we have the privilege of saluting the flag, and I’m very glad to be a part of that.”
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