The Tipton County Veterans Council and the Tipton County Museum, Veterans Memorial & Nature Center honor Kelvyn A. Thomas as Veteran of the Month on September 12, 2023 at 6:30pm.
Kelvyn A. Thomas, born and raised in Covington, Tennessee (TN), Kelvyn graduated from Covington High School in May 1984. He moved to Detroit, Michigan, shortly after graduation. He soon noticed numerous street signs which read “snow route.” Naturally curious, he asked several people about the meaning of the signs. He soon learned that Detroit gets snow measured in feet, not inches; and the signs indicated which streets would be cleared first to ensure good traffic flow. After a few months, Kelvyn decided that Detroit and snow were not for him, so he packed up and headed back home to Covington. There he accepted a job at the Veranda Restaurant as a dishwasher/busboy and as a waiter for special events. For fun and entertainment, he spent nights at Rollies Roller Rink skating to music played by the area’s most well-known radio personality, Stan “The Man” Bell. Believing that he had the skills and the voice to be a disc jockey (DJ), Kelvyn asked the manager for a job. After spending a few hours with Stan, Kelvyn was hired. He DJ’d at Rollies from 1984-1988. During those four years, he decided that he was ready for radio and enrolled in the Columbia School of Broadcasting. While in school, he spoke with several radio personalities who warned him that being a radio personality was fraught with problems. Specifically, you get fired a lot! They explained that you should never take it personally, because firings are normally business decisions. After a little thought, Kelvyn decided that anything that dealt with his finances was personal and that he needed to seek other opportunities. He talked with his brother Darrell, who was serving in the Army. Darrell warned him that the Army was not for him and suggested that he join the Air Force, because it would be a better fit for his personality.
Kelvyn followed that brotherly advice and joined the Air Force in February 1988. His military career began with basic training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, Texas. His technical training was next at Kessler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. After completion of technical training school, he married the love of his life, Lisa (Cunningham) Thomas, on May 14, 1988. Over the next twenty-four years, Kelvyn’s duty stations included Pease AFB, New Hampshire (May 88-Dec 90), Whiteman AFB, Missouri (Dec 90-Dec 94), Los Angeles AFB, California (CA) (Dec 94-Jan 00), Osan AFB, Republic of Korea (ROK) (Jan 00-Jan 01), Los Angeles AFB, CA (Jan 01-Jul 10), Osan AFB, ROK (Jul 10-Jul 11), and Langley AFB, Virginia (Jul 11-Mar 12).
He retired in March 2012 after twenty-four years of honorable service. Kelvyn earned various awards for his service to our nation. Among those awards are the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Air Force Achievement Medal.
Kelvyn and Lisa recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Porscha Thomas and Alexis Thomas. Kelvyn was nominated for Veteran of the Month by his loving wife, Lisa.
