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2014 Men of the Year Honoree: Tim Reese

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In 2009, Tim Reese was handpicked to be part of a team that opened St. Louis-based Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. first ever brand. The move to Springfield was a return home of sorts.

Reese’s connection to the Edwards name dates back to the mid-1980s when he joined A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. as a financial adviser. Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. was formed in 2008 by Benjamin F. “Tad” Edwards IV after his family’s 120-year-old company, A.G. Edwards Inc., merged with Wachovia Corp. in 2007. Not long after, Wells Fargo & Co. bought Wachovia.

By the time Reese left Wells Fargo in 2009, he had served as senior vice president and assistant branch manager. His move to Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. stemmed from a desire to return to a familiar company working for people with whom he had a history and knowledge of how their business model works. He opened the Springfield branch with fellow A.G. Edwards’ alum Michael Petiford.

 “Opening the first branch office of Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. here in Springfield has since led to the opening of 44 additional branches in 22 states, and the momentum continues,” says Reese, managing director of investments and co-branch manager.

Outside the investment world, Reese counts events in his personal life among his most important.

“It is a work in progress, but my part in the raising of two college-age daughters is my proudest achievement,” he says. “Despite my periodic parental failings, they are each on a trajectory to achieve professionally and personally more than I ever will. In terms of pride, what could match that?”

Reese is involved at King’s Way United Methodist Church, where he was an integral part of a successful capital campaign, albeit one that started on unsure footing. While serving as chair of the finance and trustee committee, Reese’s expertise and leadership guided the church through some difficulties that required rebuilding the financial reporting.

“Due to the contributing work of many, at the end of the review process, I led a capital campaign that funded an immediate deficit, caught up some deferred maintenance and provided further funds for debt reduction,” Reese says. “Please understand that I take no personal credit for what God accomplished here but feel gratitude that those skills I was given were put to use in a way that rebuilt momentum and optimism in our community of faith.”

In addition to lending his expertise to the church, Reese is on the board of trustees for Drury University, his alma mater. He also has served as president of Drury’s alumni council and on several Drury advisory boards. Reese has volunteered for the CoxHealth Foundation, Habitat for Humanity’s A Brush with Kindness, Ozarks Food Harvest, Help Give Hope and The Kitchen Inc.’s Rare Breed Youth Services.

However, Reese is quick to downplay his efforts.

“Working one’s way through an organization to a position of chairperson or president is not leadership,” he says. “Achieving a perfect result is not leadership.”

Reese is generous in his praise for the role other people have played in his growth as a leader.

“In the various organizations where I have been asked to lead, I have benefited immeasurably from the charity of others,” he says. “Any personal success will ultimately be reflected only in my ability to pass that sense of gratitude and hope on to those that follow.

“It’s just what one does when he or she believes that we are created to be thoughtful stewards of the great blessings we are given.”[[In-content Ad]]

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