Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 29, 1992 TAG: 9202290326
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROANOKE OFFICIAL FETED ON LAST DAY
On his last day Friday as Roanoke's assistant city manager, they threw a party and said farewell to Earl Reynolds.Mayor Noel Taylor praised him as a man for all people and all seasons.
"Earl brings people together. He is a man of service, a man who likes to serve others," Taylor said. "He can relate to people. He is equally comfortable talking with business executives as he is with the disadvantaged."
Reynolds, assistant city manager for six years, will become Martinsville city manager Monday. He was the highest ranking black administrator in Roanoke.
Reynolds, 40, has worked for Roanoke for 14 years, including one year as human resources coordinator and seven as chief of community planning before he was named assistant city manager.
He was cited Friday for his work in helping create the Roanoke Neighborhood Partnership program, which enables neighborhoods to work with city officials to have a greater voice in decisions affecting them.
"He helped the Neighborhood Partnership on the road to success," said Lewis Peery, a member of the organization's steering committee.
Taylor and other city officials gave Reynolds several gifts, including a watch and a set of glasses bearing the city seal. Michelle Bono, the city's public information officer, said the full cost of the reception and gifts was paid by donations from city employees and Reynolds' friends.
A Roanoke native, Reynolds grew up in the Gainsboro neighborhood. During the summers 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.
Reynolds said he accepted the Martinsville post because it provided him with the opportunity to be a manager without having to break all ties with the Roanoke Valley and his family.
Although he was happy about the opportunity to become a city manager, Reynolds said it still was a difficult decision because of the ties to his hometown, where his father, mother and other relatives still live.
Reynolds was part of the team that was responsible for Roanoke's winning three All-America awards during his tenure. He also established Roanoke's first Office on Youth.
Reynolds, who once worked as a shoeshine boy in his father's barbershop, is a former winner of the Roanoke Jaycees' Outstanding Young Man Award.