Nominate your loved ones for a story:

Nominate your loved ones:

Rikki Tucker: Rebuilding life with purpose

by | Jul 2025

EVERY MORNING, before stepping into her day, Rikki Tucker stands in front of the mirror and reminds herself of something simple but powerful: “You got this. You can do this.”

It’s more than a mantra. It’s the foundation of how she rebuilt a life once clouded by uncertainty, change, and identity loss. It’s how she has transformed her life into service, leadership, and an example for her three kids.

Tucker, who grew up in Lynchburg, spent years following her now ex-husband’s Army career across the country, from Colorado Springs to Georgia to Kentucky, while raising their three children, including twins born just after he deployed to Afghanistan.

“When I look back, I think, wait, what? I went from Tennessee to Colorado, to Georgia, to Fort Campbell. Then back home, a mom, a wife, and I had completely lost my identity,” Tucker said. “It just kind of hit me after the divorce. I had to figure out who I was outside of all that.”

A new chapter began here. No longer tethered to the expectations of being a military spouse or a stay-at-home mom, Tucker chose to rebuild on her own terms.

She began working at a local bank and then transitioned to another financial institution, where she was encouraged to get involved with the Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce.

Photography by Brooke Snyder

“I knew, wow, I like this. I’m good at this,” she said. “I’m going to represent my job well, but I’m also going to represent myself. So I started volunteering for everything.”

She has volunteered for the Wobble Gobble, the Christmas parade, Women Impacting the Community, and more. She said she wasn’t doing it just for herself or her employer, but for her children — Jackson, 15, and her 12-year-old twins, Emily and Lucy.

“They’re watching how their mom is handling life. And I want them to see what it looks like to be a productive member of society,” she said.

In 2024, she was named the Tullahoma Chamber’s Ambassador of the Year. She also joined the Military Affairs Committee, where she raised an often overlooked issue: military wives.

“What about the wives?” she asked during one meeting. “They’re staying home during deployments, raising kids, supporting their spouses, and sometimes they get lost in the weeds. That was me. I came out of that, and I didn’t know who I was anymore.”

Photography by Brooke Snyder

Through her work in the community and her involvement in the Coffee County Leadership Program, where her class project focused on helping residents find local volunteer opportunities, Tucker is shaping systems she once struggled to navigate.

When a new opportunity opened up at the Tullahoma Utilities Authority in February, she saw it as no coincidence — it was the direct result of her commitment at the start of the year to become her best self.

“I prayed about it,” she said. “And now, I’m in a leadership role at a company that supplies power and utilities for the town I call home.”

She thinks back on the past four years, tearing up.

“If I had to go back four years and wonder where I’d be, that version of me would be proud, for sure,” she said.

Divorce and identity loss are real, but she believes the story is ultimately about resilience and hope.

“That moment in time didn’t define my future,” she said. “Your past doesn’t define your future. You decide what’s next.”

Now, with three kids watching her every move, Tucker keeps showing up for herself, her family, and her community.

“I just want to keep setting a good example for them, to continue growing, giving, and being present,” she said. “Every year, I want to add a little more to everything I’ve already done.” GN

More Good News

Transforming Grief Into Hope

Transforming Grief Into Hope

GRIEF IS a deeply personal and often misunderstood experience. Jack (Robert) Kennington’s career in grief recovery began as a profession and evolved into his calling. It’s a way to help others...

read more
Kindness is Free & Priceless

Kindness is Free & Priceless

KIMBERLY SHEARIN has always been a high achiever who looks for ways to be a blessing to others. Although originally from Smyrna, she moved to Tullahoma in 1998 to live with her dad and to attend...

read more
The Power of Partnership

The Power of Partnership

JUST AS the morning sun begins to rise over Tullahoma, Officer Derek Bowles laces up his boots, ready for another day on duty. Beside him, his loyal partner, Storm, a sleek Belgian Malinois, stands...

read more
Legacy Creamery: Fulfilling a Dream

Legacy Creamery: Fulfilling a Dream

IN 2016, Tony and Cassy Grow lost their son, Eli, in a tragic car accident on U.S. Highway 41A – one of the hardest things a parent can go through. The Eli Grow Legacy Foundation grew from that pain...

read more
Creating Community Space for Stem

Creating Community Space for Stem

DR. GARY Flandro’s father drove him to an observatory to see the moon as a young boy. When he was six, his mother gave him the book “Wonders of the Heavens.” He read it from cover to cover. These...

read more
The Heart behind the Breasts

The Heart behind the Breasts

Having a baby is one of those things that you can prepare for all you want, but you truly won’t begin to know what you are doing until you simply start doing it. Yes, it is wise to consult...

read more
What Really Matters

What Really Matters

On July 29, around 5:40 p.m., West Middle School (WMS) teacher Belinda Stuart received a text from one of her fellow teachers. The text informed Stuart that the fire alarm was going off at West...

read more
The Sky’s the Limit

The Sky’s the Limit

If there is anything former Tullahoma Wildcat football player Brandon Painter has shown and proven to be a worthwhile objective it is this: “keep moving forward.” Painter played middle linebacker on...

read more
It all begins with Chocolate

It all begins with Chocolate

A steady breeze graced across the lake and gently rocked the old tattered hammock hanging over the water's edge. The newly married couple swayed together hand in hand dreaming of all that the future...

read more
Cheerleaders are leaders

Cheerleaders are leaders

In her freshman year of high school, Macy Olive decided to try out for the cheerleading squad. Olive came from what she considers a “football family” and was in love with the game. She shared, “My...

read more
A Celebration of Scots

A Celebration of Scots

A piper stands atop a grassy mound moving his bagpipe to and fro, playing songs of his kinsman that have been passed down for centuries. The sights of weavers and craftsmen honing their ancestral...

read more
Juneteenth

Juneteenth

“Freedom” enters the chatroom, and immediately it’s all, barbecued meat and who’s got the biggest bang of a firework show. While Independence Day is our nation’s designated time to pause and...

read more
Lights, camera, and Remodel

Lights, camera, and Remodel

Maybe it's the pollen, but something about springtime creates an itch within us all to get busy. Whether it’s a simple task like cleaning out a cluttered closet or a more elaborate one such as...

read more
Reuniting Wildlife

Reuniting Wildlife

Did you know not everything you read on the internet is true? (Gasp!) We were shocked too. With the world at our fingertips, it’s become more than habit to pick up a phone, navigate to a search...

read more
Juneteenth

Prayers from Sea

At the beginning of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to “carry out a special military operation.” (1) In January, news channels all around the world flashed the same satellite...

read more