Redstone’s new director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation is a familiar figure.
Ed Nunn, formerly MWR’s business operations division chief, has succeeded Derrick Gould who retired June 26.
“I was pleased,” Donna Cruz, MWR administrative support assistant, said. “We don’t have to train him – he’s already trained,” she added laughing.
“I was glad that he got it because he already knew us. We didn’t have to break him in. Not coming from overseas, he hit the ground running.”
Nunn led the business operations division for 10 years. He arrived in May 2014 from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he was the community services flight chief for two and a half years. His 25-year civilian career has included 23 years in MWR in the Air Force and Army. He started working for the Army when he arrived at Redstone.
“It’s a big honor for me,” Nunn, 48, said of becoming the MWR director. “It’s a humbling experience for me to come in behind Derrick Gould who had been 19 years in the job. So, I have big shoes to fill but this is sort of the culmination of a long career for me. I’m excited for the opportunity. This is kind of like the dream job for me.”
He was born on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and grew up in an Army family, primarily in Europe. He graduated high school in Berlin in 1993; and he was living there when the Berlin Wall fell. Nunn graduated from the University of West Florida in 1997 with a bachelor’s in business management. He received a master’s in business administration from Wright State University in 2007 and he completed the Air War College that year at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery.
His father, Ed Nunn Sr., 79, who retired as a chief warrant officer 2, was an Army MWR club manager. The elder Nunn worked another 25 years as a civilian in MWR in the Air Force and Army. “I am definitely following in his footsteps,” Nunn said.
There are other family connections to Morale, Welfare and Recreation. His wife worked in Air Force services; his father-in-law worked in Army Community Service after retiring from the Air Force; his mother-in-law worked 30 years in an infant room of a child development center; and his brother-in-law is an MWR director with the Air Force who retires next month. “So, it’s kind of all in the family,” Nunn said.
His directorate within the Garrison has about 350 people, mostly non-appropriated fund employees like Nunn. There are nine appropriated fund employees.
“I think we have a reputation for being an incredibly successful and robust portfolio,” Nunn said. “I think we have some of the best programs in the Army, and that’s really a testament to the people that work on the front lines and manage those programs.”
The Owens Cross Roads resident and his wife of 22 years, Alisa, have three sons. Zach, 24, of Lexington, Kentucky, received his bachelor’s in computer science this summer from the University of Kentucky. Lucas, 22, of Owens Cross Roads, received his bachelor’s in digital forensics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Cooper, 15, is a sophomore at New Century Technology High School and plays soccer at Huntsville High.
Nunn’s hobbies include soccer and Brazilian jiu jitsu – he is a brown belt who trains 6-7 times a week. He roots for the Alabama Crimson Tide and soccer’s Manchester United.
“This is a big opportunity,” Nunn said of becoming the MWR director. “It brings on new challenges for me. And I’m excited to continue on as a part of this organization in this new role.”
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