Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 11, 1992 TAG: 9202110287
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
ROANOKE LOSING REYNOLDS
Earl Reynolds, a Roanoke native who rose from sanitation worker to the city's assistant city manager, will become Martinsville city manager next month."We liked everything about him," Martinsville Mayor Allan McClain said Monday after a special meeting of Martinsville's City Council. "Our gain is [Roanoke's] loss. We're delighted to get him."
Reynolds, the highest-ranking black administrator in Roanoke, was chosen fromamong 147 applicants for the post. He will begin March 2 at a starting salary of$70,000.
McClain said Reynolds was selected because of his education, experience, knowledge of Virginia government and his accomplishments in Roanoke.
The Martinsville job has been vacant since George Brown retired last fall.
Reynolds said he accepted the post because it provides him with the opportunity to be a manager without having to move so far away that he would have to break all ties with the Roanoke Valley and his family.
"The location, timing and city are ideal," he said. "Martinsville has always had a reputation for an outstanding government. The council members are very progressive and they want to be on the cutting edge of [local government]."
Although he is happy about the opportunity to manage a city, Reynolds said it was still a difficult decision because of the ties to Roanoke, where his father, mother and other relatives still live.
"If I was going to become a manager, this was the time to do it - while I still had the enthusiasm," he said.
Reynolds, 40, has worked for Roanoke for 14 years, including almost six years as assistant city manager. Prior to that, he was chief of community planning for seven years and human resources coordinator for one year.
He is familiar with Martinsville because he worked nearly four years for the West Piedmont Planning District Commission, a regional planning agency based there, before he accepted the human resources coordinator's job in Roanoke.
City Manager Bob Herbert, who chose Reynolds for the assistant city manager's job, said he hates to lose him, but he considers it to be a good professional opportunity for him.
"In a way, it is the best of times and the worst of times. I feel almost like a proud father, but we're losing a very talented person," Herbert said.
"Any time that a talented member of our staff is recognized and hired by another city, I think it reflects well on our community and our organization," the city manager said.
Herbert said he wasn't surprised by Reynolds' decision because Reynolds had intimated that he would like to be the top man in a city.
Reynolds' departure from Roanoke comes less than two weeks after Mayor Noel Taylor, the city's first black mayor and councilman, announced that he will retire when his term expires in June.
Taylor said City Council members have mixed emotions to Reynolds' departure. They regret he isleaving, Taylor said, but they are happy that his abilities and skills have been recognized by another city.
"He has demonstrated his ability to work with people and bring them together. He is man for all seasons," Taylor said.
Taylor said Reynolds can work well with people at all social and economic levels.
"I am sorry to see him go, but it is a good move. We're going to miss him," said Councilman William White.
Evangeline Jeffrey, president of the Roanoke chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, echoed White's reaction. "It is regrettable that he's leaving, but I think it is an outstanding opportunity for him."
Reynolds, who grew up in the Gainsboro area of Roanoke, knows what it's like to be at the bottom as well as the top. During the summer while he was in high school and college, he worked as a city sanitation worker to help pay for his education. He also worked as a hospital custodian one summer, and shined shoes as a youth in his father's barber shop.
He has a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Fayetteville and two master's degrees from the State University of New York at Albany, one in urban affairs and the second in criminal justice administration.
In an interview after he was named assistant city manager, Reynolds said he didn't want to be held up as a black person who made it to the top through ambition and hard work.
"I've worked hard to be a professional person - not a black professional person," he said. "I was brought up to believe in myself as a person - not as a black person."
As assistant city manager, Reynolds has been involved in the major decisions of city government in the past six years. He has also been the chief budget officer, helping to put together the city's annual spending plan.
As chief of community planning, he helped oversee the development of "Roanoke Vision" - a new comprehensive plan for the city.
He worked closely with neighborhood groups on planning issues and the Neighborhood Partnership, a program he helped start.
Reynolds was part of the city staff team responsible for Roanoke winning three All-America awards since he has been with the city. He also established Roanoke's first Office on Youth. He also is a former winner of the Roanoke Jaycees' Outstanding Young Man award.
Herbert said he hasn't had time to think about replacing Reynolds, and he probably won't consider that until after city officials finish work on the budget this spring.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.