Tony Hullender was born and raised in Hamilton County, graduating from McCallie High School.  He served for 12 years in the U.S. Army, first as an enlisted soldier, then as an officer.  He had tours of duty in several locations, including Germany and the Republic of Panama. After leaving the Army, he attended the University of Tennessee Law School, funded in part by the GI bill. He graduated fifth in his law school class while balancing the responsibilities of being a husband and father of two children. After law school, Mr. Hullender and his family returned to Hamilton County and settled on Signal Mountain, where they have lived for 27 years. His wife of 38 years, Tina, was also born and raised in Hamilton County.  
Tony was a litigation attorney at the Chattanooga firm Miller and Martin and worked in the legal department of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, starting as the lowest-ranking attorney and rising to Senior Vice President and General Counsel, overseeing all legal matters. Most recently, Mr. Hullender served under two State of Tennessee Attorney Generals in the Medicaid Fraud Division, civilly prosecuting TennCare fraud.