Paula Reynolds, and Family.
Over the past several months, the City of Mill Valley has made a point to highlight some of the legions of local volunteers who have made an ongoing positive impact to the community.
That has included longtime Mill Valley resident Joan Murray, multi-faceted arts patron Vera Meislin and the remarkable contributions of Hugh Kuhn.
In March, Paula Reynolds is an oh-so-worthy honoree.
In 1986, Paula and Bob Reynolds moved into their first home in Mill Valley straight from New York City, completely sight unseen. Fast forward 30+ years, three kids, ever-more grandkids, successful careers and myriad honors, including Paula’s 2015 Mill Valley Business Citizen of the Year Award – they remain in that home. “It’s a good reminder not to sweat to small stuff,” Reynolds said at the time.
A self-described “oil brat” who lived several years apiece in New Jersey, Japan, Australia and London as a kid, and as a intrepid world traveler, Reynolds has no intention of leaving the town where she’s lived the bulk of her life. “I plan to be carried out of Mill Valley in a box,” Reynolds says with a laugh. But while Reynolds has no plans to move ever again, she has without a doubt been on the move over the past several decades.
A cursory glance at her history of volunteering in Mill Valley will induce exhaustion in the faint of heart: Mill Valley School District Trustee, Throckmorton Theatre Board Chair, Chair of the successful $18.6 million School Bond in 1994, Marin Academy Board, worked on committees for both the Community Center and the Library, Business Advisory Board Chair, Mill Valley Chamber Board Chair, The Redwoods Board and most recently, in an effort to seize the momentum of building and sustaining a successful local Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Co-Director.
“Words are not adequate to describe Paula Reynolds,” says Elizabeth Suzuki, former Mill Valley Chamber Board Chair. “She’s very erudite, but it’s her actions that are her hallmark. Whether it is tapping valuable talent to serve with her – and who can say no to Paula? – or knowing just who to approach to get something done, she’s always in motion, usually behind the scenes.”
A previous Spirit of Marin winner, Paula has a history of stepping into challenging situations and making a lasting difference.” That history has allowed Reynolds to garner a number of awards previously, the City of Mill Valley’s Citizen of the Year, Marin County School Board Trustee of the Year (2009) and Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award from the Marin County School Administrators Association (1998).
Those impacts include revitalizing the Chamber in the 2000s, leading the effort to adopt its first strategic plan, growing membership by 50 percent and collaborating with the City of Mill Valley on a multi-year Professional Services Agreement. Those results were the culmination of her work since 2010, when Councilwoman Stephanie Moulton-Peters asked her to chair the City-appointed Business Advisory Board to help revitalize the town’s local economy and make sure the business community had a “voice at the table” in policy decisions.
“In Mill Valley, it’s all about community,” Reynolds says of her work. With a dedicated team of board members and staff, the Chamber has more than 400 members.
When she won the Spirit of Marin Award several years ago, longtime Mill Valley resident said, “‘It is only appropriate that the “Spirit of Mill Valley” be honored with a Spirit of Marin award!” said Dennis Fisco, former Mill Valley Mayor and leader of many of the campaigns Reynolds has worked on over the years. “From the schools to the City to the Chamber, Paula has always been about all things Mill Valley by not just thinking of better ways to perform but by leading as an example to us all on how to dive in and get things done. Well deserved!”
With a persistence and and an enduring love for her community, Paula Reynolds is incredibly worthy of being honored by her community and the Mill Valley City Council!