Fare Thee Well!

JIM REYNOLDS: A GREAT BOARD MEMBER AND A GREAT HUMAN BEING.

Text by S. H. Sohmer

Jim Reynolds retired in 2007, after a very successful career as Director of Public Works in Northbrook, Illinois. Northbrook is a community over 100-years old and nestled in 13-square miles of the Chicago metropolitan area with over 33,000 dynamic, affluent, serviceoriented citizens. Jim managed a department of 58 full-time people, 4 permanent part-time staff, and 17 seasonal workers with an annual operations/ capital budget of more than $13.5 million.

As the Director of Public Works for thirty years, he worked effectively with people from diverse ethnic, socio-economic and educational backgrounds, as well as with an excellent management team including the Village Manager’s office, Development, Planning, Engineering, Police, Fire, Finance, Public Relations, Human Resources, Information Systems, the Village Board and various commissions, as well as citizens, contractors and consultants. Blessed with common sense, insight, intuition, and a strong work ethic, his approach to problem solving is straightforward, honest, practical and service-oriented.

Jim had extensive FEMA/DHS emergency management training and deployments assisting public agencies. He was the Village’s most senior department head and administrator; he was responsible for the planning, care, maintenance, operation and repair of the Village’s diverse and aging infrastructure with a replacement value of hundreds of millions of dollars.

This included: water production and distribution; sanitary and storm sewer collection/conveyance systems; streets including street lighting, signage, traffic controls, parkways, trees and sidewalks; buildings, grounds and commuter parking lots; snow and ice control operations; fleet/ heavy equipment maintenance; emergency and disaster preparedness and response; training and mentoring; and a host of other community support services.

All this experience allowed Jim to offer the Arboretum great leadership and vision during his service on the board which began in 2007, and soon included the position of Board Vice President. I would not have been at BTA without his strong support, and I benefited immensely from his wise judgement and counsel on many of the issues that needed mending at the Arboretum when I arrived. Jim and his wife, Kally, were among the first to welcome me to the Arboretum and even took my wife and I into their home for an extended stay when Hill House was under renovation. We could not have been made to feel more at home, right down to a sweet resident cat and the ‘book club of two’ that Sara and Kally immediately formed.

Now health issues require his resignation from the board. This must be a source of great regret for all those who have BTA’s best interest at heart. Leadership of such integrity, interest and ability is rare indeed.