By Peek Hames – Originally published in the 2014 Founder’s Review
Flying around the country in his Cessna 152 airplane, painted in Gator orange and blue, and giving motivational speeches on The Power of Positive Thinking came naturally for someone who has been speaking into a microphone for 42 years. It all started in 1971 when Rick Tuman announced the junior varsity games at Lake Weir High School. The next year, he took over for Bob Smith and announced the varsity games for the next 27 years. He then moved to Belleview High School and has been announcing their freshman, junior varsity, and varsity games for the past 14 years. He is also the backup announcer for the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the College of Central Florida in Ocala.
Rick believed if you wanted something done, give it to a busy man, and he led by example by being the president of Belleview Little League for 12 years. He was also the president of the Belleview Elementary PTA, a member of the Rotary, the Masons, the Exchange Club, and the Belleview Jaycees.
If you remember the times when there was a cattle gap on 484 at Jean Road, or when they built the overpass over the railroad tracks and enjoyed sliding down it on cardboard, visiting the hobos that camped in a wooded area behind Palace Feed Store, the frog pond, or hopping a train in Belleview with his best friend, Franco Almedia, and riding to Summerfield and walking back, you were around here when Rick Tuman was growing up. He lived those times and said, “I used to hold my ears when my dad would talk about the good old days, and now I am doing the same thing as those were the good old days to me.”
“The frog pond was where the sewer plant is now, and we would play in the underground drain pipes. I was playing once with my brother, Mike, and a friend, quite a distance up in one of the big pipes when a heavy rain came. Being underground, we didn’t hear the rain, and suddenly a big gush of water came and washed us out into the pond. My mother became quite upset when we explained how Mike lost his glasses and why we were soaked.”
Rick came to this area with his mom, dad, and siblings Janet, John, Mike, and Margie from Pennsylvania in 1958. His youngest sister, Kathy, was born here. Rick was always on the move from an early age. He spent the last half of his first grade at a school in Ocala. His second, third, and fourth grades were at the Summerfield School. He attended fifth and sixth grades at Belleview Elementary where G.L. Holder was principal. Mr. Holder was also Rick’s principal at Summerfield School as he served both schools at the same time. Rick attended Lake Weir for seventh through twelfth grades (except for half of his senior year at North Marion), and he graduated in 1969.
After graduation, he attended Central Florida Junior College in Ocala for two years. Rick was ready for the next chapter of his life. One day while cashing a check at the Bank of Belleview, the bank president, Vincent Razzano, asked him if he would like to be a banker. Rick turned down the offer, telling him he wanted to be a lawyer. But Mr. Razzano was persistent and later approached him again, saying the bank would pay for his schooling if he would come aboard. This time, Rick took the offer and worked there for 12 years. Some of the people he worked with were Joe Remington, Martha Perry, Betty Knoblock, and Joan Yates.
While working at the bank at age 24, the popular young man ran for Marion County Commissioner and won his district, but because of county-wide voting, he lost due to the larger Ocala districts. “I originally wanted to be a lawyer to get into politics,” said Rick. “I wanted to be an ambassador for the United States.” When asked why, the super salesman said, “What better product is there to sell worldwide than the United States?” From the Bank of Belleview, he was recruited to Townley Plastics in Candler as Executive Vice President of Operations and Sales.
Next, using his background in the financial and insurance fields, he ventured on his own in 1987 and started Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Mid Florida. His goal was to help people relieve financial stress and have a better quality of life. “Financial issues caused so many divorces and broken homes, besides keeping young people from getting a good education,” said Rick. Oral Blackmon, Ruby Pelot, and Joe Ernest were among his early employees, along with his brother, Mike, who worked with him for 18 years. His one office grew to nine offices in central Florida. In 2010, Rick merged his company with Green Path Debt Solutions and now travels to all 50 states and Puerto Rico, evaluating companies for mergers or acquisitions and partnering with banks and credit unions on education and financial counseling for their customers and members.
Rick says he gets his ability to never meet a stranger from his dad and his wit from his mother. “Because of them, it comes easy for me to speak to people and motivate them to have a better quality of life.”
One of Rick’s favorite TV shows is West Wing, and when asked about his future, he responded as the president on West Wing says when a job is done, “What’s next?”
Rick and his wife, Cathy, have one son, Mark, and three daughters, Julie, Lisa, and Leslie.
