All the Rage
Newspaper Article December 9, 2004
By Virginia Roberson

You Ring, She Springs!

Her TV promos may be over-the-top camp, but Leah Hulan takes her business very seriously.

After serving in the military and becoming Miss Tennessee, this bond bombshell decided to use her beauty and brains to run her own bail bonding company. Due to her enormously successful marketing campaign (she started out door-to-door, passing out business cards and T-shirts to aghast residents in Franklin and Fairview), Grumpy's is now the largest bail bonding business in Williamson County.

So what's it like to be the front woman in such a controversial industry? During some rare downtime at her local gym (she keeps her cell phone by her at all times, even during workouts), Leah tells All the Rage about her unique trade:

(Rage:) What exactly is bail bondsman?
(Leah:) I'm really a glorified insurance policy for people who have allegedly committed crimes.

(Rage:) What is the most difficult part of your job?
(Leah:) Trying to find runners. The hard part is actually locating them. And bringing people in can be dangerous. Someone may be running from a serious crime that we don't even know about. Also, trouble with other bondsmen has been difficult. Competition in this business is ugly. But I just tell them to get out of my way, because I'm here to stay!

(Rage:) How did Grumpy's Bail Bonds get started?
(Leah:) My husband was doing ministry work in the Williamson County jail. During that time, he had to quit his full time job. Foir a year, we tried all sorts of small jobs, but nothing permanent. We were panicking and down to our last pennies. Then one day, Kevin comes home and says, "Baby, we're gonna be bondsmen." I said, "What's a bondsman?" Now I'm the owner. I do all the marketing and write most of the bonds, and I write and produce all the commercials. But Kevin's the backbone of Grumpy's. He sniffs out the runners and brings them in. He's my dog man!

(Rage:) What keeps you going in such a stressful business?
(Leah:) It's my mission to do this job well and to try and help people. I think Grumpy's is part of the overall solution in the judicial world, as opposed to being part of the problem. We try to hold people accountable for their actions in a compassionate way. A lot of times these people are panicked and their families are suffering. I try to comfort them while attempting to be informative about the judicial process. And not everyone charged with a crime is a bad person. I'd say about 80% are affected with a major addiction or some sort of dysfunction. My clients aren't all criminals. Most of them are people like you and me. They are human.

The Tennessean
The Williamson A.M.
Newspaper Article July 26, 2005
By Courtney Watson

Grumpy’s bond girl locks herself into TV Pilot

FRANKLIN - She’s a former beauty queen, an ex-military intelligence officer and a bail bondswoman who has become a countywide icon. Next, Leah Hulan could be a reality TV star.

Hulan and husband Kevin Davis, owners of Grumpy’s Bail Bonds in Franklin, will have cameras trailing them for 10 days in the next few weeks as they film a pilot for a Country Music Television series.

“It’s going to be fabulous for Franklin,” Hulan said. “It’s not just about bail bonding - they’re filming my life. SO if I eat at the One Stop (Café), they’ll have me talking to people there. If I go to Leiper’s Fork, they’ll film there.”

The idea began more than a year ago with Hulan’s little sister, an actress who regularly talked about her charismatic sister to her showbiz contacts.
“She was making fun of me to somebody who knew a producer and it sparked an interest,” Hulan said. “A producer flew in a year ago and followed us around for a day while we went to court and on recovery missions.”

Nashville producer and independent documentary filmmaker Dub Cornett pitched the series around and CMT showed interest in airing a test pilot.
“We’re guaranteed one shot on TV,” Hulan said. “If it’s great then they’ll order more. And I really feel like it’s going to happen.”

Hulan, a former Miss Tennessee who says she was once asked to pose for Playboy, has no problem with the idea of her life on film. Her husband, the business’s namesake “Grumpy,” could prove to be more of a challenge. “I’m kind of a natural,” Hulan said. “My husband is going to be the one who doesn’t like the camera. He took some convincing.”

Davis was won over after a few conversations with Cornett, Hulan said.
“(Cornett) really wants to bring out the good in people,” she said. “You know how some reality shows make fun of people? That’s not what he’s about at all.”

Cornett’s last reality idea did provoke controversy, though. In 2003, The Real Beverly Hillbillies, with its concept of transplanting real Southerners of modest means to Beverly Hills, never made it onto the air after rural nonprofits mounted a campaign against it.

Cornett could not be reached for comment by deadline, but Hulan said so far her show is generating only enthusiasm. “Even the president of CMT is getting excited about it,” she said. “They like my personality and how Kevin’s personality is such a contrast to me. They like the interaction with people. I think it’s going to be a really good thing.”

Camera crews got a glimpse of what might ensue in the next few weeks as they followed Hulan around during Independence Day earlier this month, when she dressed up as Daisy Duke.“They saw how people reacted to me,” she said. “Everywhere I went, people were like,’You bonded me out!’”

The 22-minute pilot [was] handed over to CMT about August and will air throughout the U.S. sometime in the fall.

BAIL BONDS OFFICE EXPANDS WITH LINEUP OF AMENITIES

Snack bar, fireplace, specialty sundries shop among amenities at two-story Grumpy's

FRANKLIN - When they talk about life in the big house, this couldn't possibly be what they mean. Just feet away from the Williamson County jail, a Franklin bail bonding company is planning a two-story, 2,973 square-foot facility complete with a full kitchen, inmate supply store and fireplace.

"I wanted the building to be a reflection of our company," said Leah Hulan, owner of Grumpy's Bail Bonding. "Jail is very sterile. I wanted to have a comfortable place for people to wait and maybe be pampered a little bit. And Franklin's a unique place, so I couldn't have any ragtag building." Hulan said she had been searching for the right piece of property on which to build the project for more than two years. But the plans didn't start out quite so grand.

"I definitely was planning smaller at the time," she said. "I guess I had no idea how much crime there was in the world. I didn't think we'd be doing as well we are."

Perhaps the most striking advantage of the business is its location. The former Metro-ready Mix site on Century Court is so close to the jail that Hulan said it will be the first thing offenders will see on their way in. "So every single person will drive right by our building, before they even call Mom or Dad, " she said. "It could not be more perfect for my business."

But she's not stopping there. The building will feature a variety of services and conveniences for those heading to or from jail, like the inmate supply store.

"One never plans to go to jail, " she said. "And things have to be a certain way. I've seen so many distraught family members running around trying to find things. They come back from Wal-mart with their little bag, and most of it gets rejected." Hulan's store will offer approved supplies like white shirts with no writing on them, clear writing pens, toothpaste in a tube, instead of a pump, and Magic Shave, a razorless shaving method. "I went to Wal-mart myself to look for all this stuff and it took me two hours, " she said. "So I figured I can offer approved supplies."

The building will house Hulan' private investigations firm as well as provide money orders and check cashing services. "I was amazed at how many people who go to jail don't have checking accounts," she said.

The kitchen will mostly be for Hulan and husband Kevin Davis, who often work long hours, but will provide soft drinks and snacks for patrons. Hulan also plans a play area for children. "If possible, we don't want them to see Mom or Dad coming out of jail, " she said.

Finally, there's a resource room to help those in trouble get back on their feet again. "We started out as an outreach, and as we get busier, it gets harder," Hulan said. "The new building will have a resource room available 24 hours a day, with listings for alcohol and drug treatments and different ministries. I really want it to be bridge for people who have made a mistake."

Security features include a built-in, time managed vault, a high wall that will circle the back of the building, and a bulletproof glass wall for what Hulan calls "unsavory characters." "I am a little bitty blond girl and I sometimes work 24 hours a day," she said. "I need to feel safe."

The land will close at the end of January, and plans for the building will come before the City Planning Commission at its Jan. 27 meeting. The building, which will be "Santa Fe orange" with accents of faux stone, won't come cheap. But Hulan has an advantage in keeping costs down. "I can't tell you how many construction workers I've bonded out," she said.