A Talented Building Professional Who is Always There for Us!

The safety and comfort of our residents and staff is top priority for Essex Meadows. Tim Reynolds has dedicated his 32-year career at Essex Meadows to seeing that we remain state-of-the art.

As Essex Meadows begins the new year, we continue our “The Little Things” series recognizing Tim for his dedication to our community. He shoulders the awesome responsibility of our safety and comfort, day, and night, as well weekends and holidays with calm and resolute good nature.

Over the years he has overcome just about any challenge that a Plant Director could possibly encounter. He has faced record blizzards, week-long power outages, sprinkler pipe floods and a boiler room fire. He has overseen 30+ years of projects to include seven building additions, sewage treatment redesign, replaced and upgraded all HVAC components, roof repairs and replacements, the pavement, and a new generator, just to name a few. He has added and removed more walls and plumbing than can be recalled. Under his leadership, Essex Meadows earned LEED Gold certification which demonstrates excellence in all aspects of facilities management from the preventative maintenance programs to innovative projects such as solar and geothermal.

If you mention these accomplishments to Tim however, he will simply respond with a modest shrug and ponder how the time has gone by quickly. Indeed, he marks time with a justified pride in his family whom we all consider an extension of our Essex Meadows family. His two daughters have been employees and recipients of the Essex Meadows scholarship program. Lindsay has become a nurse with a family of her own. (Ask Tim about his grandson and he will quickly show you the latest adorable picture on his phone!) And Amanda, after receiving her master’s degree and given her stellar work in various roles at Essex Meadows, is now our Office and IT Director. His wife Nancy stops in on occasion to visit with their beloved pair of huskies and rescued pups. In the beginning of the pandemic, Nancy handcrafted masks for residents and staff.

The talent and experience that Tim brings to the community are important, but even more valuable is his dedication to Essex Meadows. “I cannot imagine managing Essex Meadows without the expertise and dedication of Tim” Jennifer Rannestad, Executive Director will often say. “I know I can count on him; he will find a way to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort no matter how difficult.” adding, “It is not just Tim that we rely on, he has developed an incredibly talented team of employees that are hard to find these days and they are willing to work here because they respect and like working for him.”

Cottage resident, Bill Chatman, recently wrote a letter of appreciation that sums up what Tim means to the Essex Meadows residents. In his letter he writes:

“Tim Reynolds, working on what I believe to be one of his Saturday’s off, spent an incredibly difficult 4 or 5 hours replacing our failed hot water heater. This involved not only disconnecting and reconnecting numerous parts of both the hot water and heating system, but also moving and relocating both the washing machine and dryer, and all sorts of other problems of which I probably know nothing, and Tim did it completely by himself.

This job and the timing of it was obviously above and beyond anybody’s job description or call of duty, yet Tim performed it completely alone, perfectly and without any hesitation. Tim’s devotion to duty and work ethic serves as a shining example to all our LCS Essex Meadows staff. We are indeed fortunate to have Tim with us.”