-Submitted photo
Randy Kuhlman and his wife Roxanne.
For nearly four decades, Randy Kuhlman has been known and admired by many for his tireless and passionate work on behalf of the Fort Dodge community.
But there are some things even his closest friends may not know about Kuhlman, CEO of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Fort Dodge and before that, head of development for Trinity Regional Medical Center.
To wit, he…
…is a Humboldt native and was a star athlete at Humboldt High School whose father, A.F. “Whitey” Kuhlman, is a member of the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame;
…met his wife of 47 years, Roxanne, while both were “shagging the drag” on Central Avenue, she the daughter of Mickey Castagnoli who owned a popular southeast Fort Dodge restaurant called Taco Towne and the niece of Abe Castagnoli, who ran the Chesterfield Bar right next door;
…was a Midwest All-Conference basketball player at Cornell College in Mount Vernon and conference champion in the pole vault, and was named an NCAA Academic All-American;
…coached men’s basketball at Coe College part-time while working on his master’s at the University of Iowa and then served as full-time assistant men’s basketball coach at Western Illinois University in McComb for six years.
…with Roxanne coached their son Joe and daughter Kristin in youth basketball in their pre-high school years. The boys team Randy coached from fifth through eighth grades was the nucleus of the St. Edmond High School team that won the school’s first and only state basketball championship in 2000.
His involvement in sports from an early age had a big impact on his career, Kuhlman said.
“Being significantly engaged in sports for a big part of my life helped me develop important characteristics that are applied to my work and my personal life such as leadership skills, work ethic, pursuing your goals and your work with a 100 percent effort, and realizing that there will be ups and downs and how you bounce back from the downs will determine your long-term success,” he said.
“Also, many sports are team sports, and it requires being able to be a good and strong teammate and appreciate the others on your team. This is also true in my work life. Success is often dependent on how well you work with others that are on your team, i.e. board members, partners and employees.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to work with so many people who truly care about their community of Fort Dodge and want to help it prosper and thrive. These people truly care about helping the less fortunate and also helping advance projects and programs that improve the quality of life and make Fort Dodge and Webster County a special place.”
The Fort Dodge Community Foundation is an independent 501(c) (3) public charity that enables those with philanthropic interests to develop lasting legacies through funds that support causes, projects, programs and organizations in their community.
When Kuhlman took over as CEO in 2009, it had assets of $700,000 with a dozen funds that included the United Way. It was located in an office in the Snell Building and had older computers. It later moved into quarters at 24 N. Ninth St. where it shares space with the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, Visit Fort Dodge and Main Street Fort Dodge.
Today, the foundation has assets of $23.5 million and manages about 150 funds. It is operated by a board of directors of 16 community leaders that meets monthly and is chaired by Kraig Barber, market president of First State Bank.
In 2024, Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way grants were made to more than 70 projects, programs and organizations totaling more than $1.9 million.
United Way of Greater Fort Dodge promotes charitable donations to help support underprivileged youth, families and senior citizens who struggle to meet their basic living needs for housing, food, clothing, personal hygiene needs, transportation and medical care. It merged with the Community Foundation in 2007 in a model that was the first of its kind in the nation, offering the community and region a “one-stop-shop,” for community-based charitable giving.
Its focus is on helping those in desperate situations such as homelessness or unstable housing or lacking other basic living needs. And its top priority is helping youth, many of whom are living in poverty-stricken households.
“United Way believes that the best measurement of a successful community is how it invests in the well-being of its youth,” Kuhlman said. “Our youth are 20 percent of our population and 100 percent of our future.”
Debra Johnson, a co-owner of Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota, was on the foundation board when Kuhlman was hired and continues to serve on the board.
“When the United Way and Community Foundation were struggling,” she said, “he came aboard as our executive director, got the financials in shape, and has grown it into the respected organization it is today.
“Randy served on the international United Way task force and constantly advocates for small-community United Ways. He has also been tapped to help other communities merge their United Way with their Community Foundation; Fort Dodge was the first in the nation.
“Through many personal struggles, Randy continues to serve the organization and his community, never taking time off or even mentioning his own concerns. Randy has the most compassionate heart, always working to help the most vulnerable. It was Randy who set up meetings in other communities so we could model a Meals on Wheels program that works for Fort Dodge.
“He is a man who wears many hats, all of them geared toward his fellow man. Now you know why I admire him so much.”
Kuhlman was born in Des Moines to Betty and Whitey Kuhlman. His dad was football coach and a high school teacher in Osceola until the family – which included Randy and his brothers Rick and Kevin – moved to Humboldt in 1957. Whitey was head football and track coach at Humboldt High School and later – when his sons competed in sports – was athletic director and assistant principal. He died in 2014 at 92.
Rick Kuhlman, of Fort Dodge, was a longtime teacher, coach and administrator in the Fort Dodge Community School District; he retired in 2008 as principal of Fort Dodge Senior High. Kevin Kuhlman, of West Des Moines, is a retired business development manager.
The three Kuhlman brothers were active in sports at Humboldt High School. Randy’s forte was the pole vault – he won the North Central Conference competition with a 13 feet, 3 inch vault and finished second in the state tournament. Kuhlman played basketball and was a pole vaulter at Cornell.
The summer of 1972 was a landmark in Kuhlman’s life. That summer after his freshman year at Cornell, Kuhlman and a Humboldt friend drove to Fort Dodge one Saturday night to “shag the drag,” a popular pastime back in the day when teens cruised Central Avenue to see and be seen. Roxanne Castagnoli, who was to be a senior at FDSH that fall, also was cruising Central with a friend.
“We saw these two cute girls and they pulled over near the City Square. I walked over to the passenger’s side and met Roxanne,” Kuhlman said. “We dated from then on after that summer.”
Roxanne graduated from FDSH in 1973 and attended the University of Iowa where she earned a degree in education. Her dad taught her to golf at the age of 10. She was on the high school golf team and today is one of the top golfers in the city, winner of 10 city tournaments.
When Kuhlman graduated from Cornell in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he moved to Iowa City to earn a master’s in Administration of Higher Education at the University of Iowa, which he attained in 1976. While there, he worked part-time as assistant basketball coach at nearby Coe College.
His first job out of Iowa was as assistant men’s basketball coach at Western Illinois University, a smaller Division I school; he held that position for six years. Roxanne and Randy, who were married in 1978, were living in McComb with their newborn son when they decided that a job that took him away from home recruiting and scouting for more than half the year was not conducive to family life.
The Kuhlmans returned to Iowa City when he joined Hansen Lind Meyer, an engineering and architectural firm, as corporate director of human resources and were there for several years before they moved to Fort Dodge in 1985 when Joe Peed, president of Heartland Communications, offered him a job as vice president for human resources.
In 1988 Kuhlman was hired by Tom Tibbitts, CEO of Trinity Regional Medical Center, whom he first met playing pickup basketball at the YMCA (“He was much better than I was,” Tibbitts said.)
“I hired Randy as the foundation director after I became CEO in 1980 and he did an outstanding job of developing a solid donor base for the hospital,” Tibbitts said. “In addition, he led our Community Action Network effort, a program our Trinity Health System board engaged in to better develop relationships with the Fort Dodge community.
“It was during this effort that Randy’s leadership really shined. He had an incredible grasp of what our community needed to improve our overall health and lifestyle, beyond just physical health.”
Tibbitts said that when he learned the United Way and Community Foundation were looking for new leadership, he and the Health Systems board recommended Kuhlman as “the perfect candidate for their organization…He was selected as the new director and the rest is history as he has created an organization that is recognized statewide and has brought enormous benefit to our community.”
Among Kuhlman’s proudest accomplishments were serving as chairperson of the 2004 City Charter Review Commission that led the effort to change the local form of city government from a strong mayor structure to a city manager structure; chaired the planning that landed a large federal grant to develop a new Community Health Center in Fort Dodge, and chaired a community coalition that coordinated the All-America City Award application and process. Fort Dodge was selected as an All-America City Award winner in 2001 by the National Civic League.
Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich lauds Kuhlman’s contributions: “Working with Randy over the years, I would say his passion for the community is something not matched and is truly the driving force of his organization. His compassion for others and efforts to find help when others have not been able to is amazing. I recall one of his many times at the podium speaking about a project to help a young woman and his emotions caught him and you could see how much he cares about others.”
Amy Kersten Bruno, who worked as program director for the Community Foundation from 2013 to 2021 after serving as Fort Dodge Chamber of Commerce director for four years, said that “when I think of Randy, first and foremost I think of his integrity and his love for his family. He is such a loyal friend, always willing to step in when help is needed – for his friends and for the disadvantaged in the community. Randy has been involved in just about every single project in Fort Dodge for many decades, always helping to guide the progress, be ‘at the table’ and put in the time, effort and follow through to see things to completion.”
The recipients of that “love of family” by Roxanne and Randy were their son Joe and daughter Kristin.
Joe Kuhlman, a graduate of Buena Vista University, is operations manager for the Community Foundation and United Way which he joined after working at Iowa Central in student services. In his St. Edmond days, he started his junior and senior years as a small forward for the Gaels, who won the Class 2A state championship and recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of their title.
An angel floated into the lives of the Kuhlmans in March 1993 when a baby girl they named Kristin Leon joined their family, adopted from South Korea through Holt International Children’s Services at six months of age. She was united with them in a joyous celebration at Des Moines International Airport. In her 24 years on earth, cut short by a rare illness, she touched many lives. She played basketball and tennis at FDSH and graduated with honors, earned a nursing degree at Iowa Central Community College and had started work as a registered nurse at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids when her condition worsened. In her courageous battle to live, her brother donated half of his liver. But she died June 1, 2017.
“She was a true blessing in our lives,” Kuhlman said. “She hardly ever complained, in spite of everything she had to go through and put up with. She was a real trooper. Joe was a great older brother to her.”
Tibbitts – who Kuhlman considers his “mentor” – has a favorite story involving Roxanne and her golfing abilities:
“Randy loved golf and I went to him during his first year as foundation director and asked if he would serve as captain of Trinity’s team in the annual Chamber of Commerce golf outing, with one caveat: that he convince his wife, Roxanne (one of Fort Dodge’s best-ever female golfers), to be a member of Trinity’s team. He achieved that caveat and Trinity’s team won the outing. We all kidded that it was a “Kuhlman” victory!”