Couple You Should Know: Tim and Nikki Kuchta

Tim and Nikki Kuchta partner at work and home.

How did you meet?  

Nikki and Tim: We met at Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota. We both transferred there the same year — Tim to play baseball and me to play basketball.

How long have you been together?  

N and T: We have been married 20 years and dated for four years prior to that.

Tell us about your family.  

N and T: We have three children: Austin, 18; Maci, 15; and Zac, 10. Austin will graduate from Hickman High School this year and plans to attend Northwest Missouri State University in the fall to play baseball and study engineering. Maci is a freshman at Hickman, competing in basketball and pole vault. Zac is a fourth grader at Fairview and started playing basketball this year.

What do you like to do in your free time? 

N: I enjoy exercising, coaching the kids, and doing yoga.

T: Working out, playing any kind of sports, rappelling, shooting, and taking krav maga classes. Also, I like reading anything about psychology, negotiations, or the mental conditioning of the mind.

What is the best quality of your partner?  

N:  His ability to adapt to a situation and think outside the box.

T: Her genuine interest in people and her ability to make everyone feel comfortable.

How would you describe your relationship in one word?  

N: Eventful. There is never a dull moment between the normalcy of life, kids, and the business!

T: Blessed. Relationships go on cruise control from time to time, for good or bad, but working through differences and coming together is a feeling of being blessed.

How does business play into your relationship dynamics?  

N: With our business [Re/Max Brokers in Black], we tend to work at various hours of the day, so it can be a challenge to keep business and home life separate.

T: I’ve realized we perform many negotiations in both our personal and business world. The approaches vary from one to the next, but ultimately both need to be win–win.

What is your favorite outdoor activity in Columbia?  

N: Walking or running on the trails or at the parks. Columbia is beautiful, and we’re always finding new little spots to take the dogs out.

T: Trails, caves, and rappelling are the top three. I have too many favorites!

What are your plans for the future?

N: I really enjoy the real estate business and see myself continuing in this line of work for a long time.

T: Sticking with the 4G plan: keeping God in my life, playing some competitive golf, shooting my guns, and protecting my only girl.

What is your favorite thing to do as a family?  

N: We purchased an RV a few years ago, and our summer travels are my favorite thing.

T: Any kind of downtime or vacation time together. It’s rare when everyone is in the same place at the same time, so that is special when it happens.

What is a proud moment you’ve shared with your spouse? 

N: A remodel project that we worked on in Columbia. We tore down a house and started over. The finished product was beautiful.

T: When I received the Realtor  of the Year award from the Columbia Board of Realtors. She wasn’t formally recognized, but she was a huge reason I received the award.  I felt like we accomplished it together.