\u201cWhen I was just entering the seventh grade, my parents had an opportunity to take a job relocation to Iran, and they thought it\u2019d be a great opportunity for us to see the world,\u201d he says. \u201cThe movers showed up late, it was snowing, and the movers got into my parents\u2019 liquor boxes. They started drinking, and they wound up in a snowball fight. The snowball fight ended up in a fistfight. So, there\u2019s a fight, there\u2019s an ambulance, there\u2019s police officers; it\u2019s an epic disaster on a very stressful day. That was my first introduction to a \u2018professional\u2019 move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once they got to Iran, there were more issues with the onsite moving company, Kuhn recalls, and the family endured yet another disastrous move. The Kuhns were then caught up in Iran\u2019s political upheaval in 1979 when the Shah\u2019s regime was overthrown. Chuck and his brother went back to Virginia to live with their uncle and aunt in Montgomery County. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around the same time, Kuhn\u2019s uncle purchased a small moving company, so the teen and his older brother worked after school and on weekends in the warehouse, learning the trade of moving and storage. Eventually, Kuhn\u2019s parents moved back to Northern Virginia (and experienced another catastrophic move).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he turned 16, using the money he had earned working for his uncle, Kuhn started his own moving company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018We can make a difference,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cI started doing moves on weekends when I was not in school and in summertime \u2014 a very busy time for the moving business. When I got out of school, I [worked] full-time to grow JK Moving Services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Little Company That Could<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
JK Moving Services (named after his dad, James Kuhn) has grown from one full-time employee to almost 1,300 today. Kuhn also founded a corporate relocation company called CapRelo for global moves. Between CapRelo and JK Moving, Kuhn has offices in five countries \u2014 the U.S., Canada, England, Albania, and Colombia \u2014 to accommodate global relocation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said it to our teams before, I think we all need to move every three to five years,\u201d Kuhn says. \u201cOne, to purge out all the stuff that we don\u2019t need, and two, to remind ourselves of how stressful and disruptive it is to be packing up and moving, whether it be finding the remote for your TV set or your clothes for work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re doing something right: The bulk of Kuhn\u2019s business is from repeat customers and referrals. His Sterling-based company is structured around core values, including the importance of collaboration, care and courtesy, commitment to growth, and delivery of a quality product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe train to the core values, we stick to the core values, and we walk the talk,\u201d Kuhn says. \u201cWe spend a lot of time training. We actually have a house built inside of our warehouse, and our people will train in our training house long before they\u2019ll ever be put in your house, and our industry doesn\u2019t typically train that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Family is paramount to Kuhn, who\u2019s 59. During the company\u2019s 40-plus years, he has employed his parents as well as his two older brothers. Add to that his proudest accomplishment: his 32-year marriage to his wife, Stacy, and their nine children (seven biological and two adopted) and 13 grandchildren \u2014 12 of whom are age 3 or under. \u201cEvery weekend is a big Thanksgiving, it feels like,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite juggling two successful businesses and an expanding family, the western Loudoun County resident still finds time to focus on preserving land for future generations. Kuhn says he started JK Land Holdings<\/a> in part to purchase land to put into conservation easements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we moved to western Loudoun, I realized how precious [the land] was,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were really living in a living, breathing museum of open space and significance. It made me realize how important it was to protect Loudoun County.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuhn did a deep dive into learning about conservation easements and their tax benefits. His JK Land Holdings acquired substantial easements in Frederick, Fauquier, and Loudoun counties, as well as in Colorado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe is a very passionate guy,\u201d says Henry Stribling, CEO of Old Dominion Land Conservancy<\/a>, who worked on easement projects with Kuhn. \u201cWhen he deeply cares about something, he goes for it and does it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collectively, Kuhn is responsible for conservation easements on nearly 22,000 acres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEssentially, you\u2019re trading off the rights to build homes on the land for tax credits,\u201d Kuhn says. \u201cIt can never be developed. There\u2019s no overturning those easements, it\u2019s forever. When my great-grandchildren are driving by that property, it will look the way it looks today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuhn\u2019s actions impressed Leesburg land use attorney David Moyes, who says he\u2019s never met anyone else like him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very creative entrepreneur,\u201d Moyes says. \u201cHe\u2019s kind of put a line in the sand for anything that can be preserved; he\u2019s put us on it right away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of Kuhn\u2019s actions with JK Holdings have been more controversial. The company has bought and sold large parcels of land, some of which is earmarked for mixed use development and data centers, according to The Washington Business Journal<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a business owner and resident of this region, I support a balanced approach to development \u2014 one that creates business opportunities and a business-friendly climate through thoughtful planning and working together with government, businesses, and residents to ensure maximum workforce benefit,\u201d he told Northern Virginia Magazine<\/em> in a statement. \u201cWe also need to place flex and industrial buildings \u2014 including data centers \u2014 in appropriate areas while conserving land where possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuhn reiterated his commitment to preserving land through conservation easements, while balancing that effort with business development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough JK Land Holdings, we have placed more than 22,000 acres of our land purchases \u2014 over half in the Northern Virginia region \u2014 into conservation easement, ensuring vulnerable vistas and habitats and historic sites are preserved and protected for future generations. We also work to provide space for businesses to operate, balancing land preservation with the region\u2019s need for economic growth,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuhn\u2019s service to the community continued when, using land acquired for a conservation easement in Purcellville, he donated 150 acres to start JK Community Farm<\/a>. The working farm practices regenerative, sustainable, chemical-free, four-season agriculture, and grows crops solely for those facing food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to me to live in one of the wealthiest counties in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and to see the amount of food insecurity right here at home is unbelievable,\u201d Kuhn says. \u201cOne in six children will go to bed tonight hungry due to food insecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n JK Community Farm, started in 2018, grows more than 50 varieties of vegetables, fruits, and herbs on 14 acres of outdoor fields, two high tunnels, a greenhouse, and 14 raised beds. The farm donates its yield<\/a> \u2014 about 772,000 pounds of food so far \u2014 to partners like Loudoun Hunger Relief<\/a>, Food for Others<\/a>, Arlington Food Assistance Center<\/a>, and DC Central Kitchen<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen Chuck out there helping plant stuff and dig up potatoes,\u201d says Jennifer Montgomery, executive director of Loudoun Hunger Relief. \u201cI\u2019m always really impressed [by] how knowledgeable he is about food insecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuhn\u2019s daughter Samantha, 31, serves as executive director of the farm and says watching her father\u2019s example helps her lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think all of my siblings and I have learned so much from his work ethic,\u201d she says. \u201cHaving my dad as my mentor, I\u2019m really fortunate. If there\u2019s ever any questions my siblings or I have about anything on the business side, we all know we can go and get a good answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For his part, Kuhn gives advice when asked, but lets his children make their own decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSometimes my coaching is well-received, and sometimes they need to learn from their own trials and errors,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuhn admits he struggles to balance all the hats he wears and still dedicate time to family. He averages only five hours of sleep a night, takes phone calls at all hours, and favors long nature walks with his wife to unwind. When dining out, he chooses one of the Great American Restaurants, noting he worked at GAR\u2019s now-defunct Fantastic Fritzbe\u2019s Flying Food Factory as a teen. The payoff for Kuhn\u2019s hard work, he says, isn\u2019t money or prestige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrowing the business has been a never-ending, enjoyable challenge,\u201d he says. \u201cThe ability to give back in the community \u2014 that\u2019s been the most rewarding aspect of growing a successful business.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Feature image by Emily Campos<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This story originally ran in our February Issue<\/a>. For more stories like this, subscribe<\/a> to Northern Virginia Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For entrepreneur Chuck Kuhn, who started his first company at 16, community is the driving force.","protected":false},"author":1002043,"featured_media":517918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-517917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JKmoverssmall.jpg\")
Conservation and Controversy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/donating.jpg\")
Planting Purpose<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/farm.jpg\")
After a Long Day<\/h3>\n\n\n\n