My Morning Cup E135 - Kurt Faires’s Morning Cup
Aug 11, 2025
Kurt Faires, a Corporate Attorney at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C., shares his extraordinary journey from private investing to practicing law after two decades. He reflects on the life lessons learned through his marathon training and a challenging cancer diagnosis. Kurt dives into the importance of civic engagement, honesty, and gratitude, emphasizing how these values enhance community life in Chattanooga. He also discusses the complex landscape of education reform and the evolving political dynamics in Tennessee, highlighting the need for bipartisanship.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Summer Jobs Built Work Ethic
- Kurt recounts early summer jobs: mowing lawns, carrying shingles, and becoming a country-club pool manager.
- Those jobs taught responsibility, hard work, and early leadership through practical tasks.
Selling The Family Business
- Kurt helped sell his family's hardwood flooring business and later worked for the acquiring conglomerate.
- That experience revealed tensions between buyer expectations and the seller's customer-driven culture.
Turnaround: Choo Choo Customs
- Kurt invested in and turned around Choo Choo Customs, a van customization company, from bankruptcy to profitability.
- He stayed in that business until 2000 and learned hands-on turnaround skills.