Granddaughter continues family tradition at C. Arch Bay Company

Terry Reynolds, the only grandchild of the late C. Arch Bay, has made only a few changes to her grandfather's original offices at 300 S. Pershing. Photographs and framed news clippings about Bay, a former Springfield postmaster and real estate developer, still cover the walls in a testament to his careers spanning the latter half of the last century. In addition to his work as the postmaster and a developer, Bay also owned Springfield's Kent-wood Arms Hotel for about 20 years, Reynolds said.

Bay's desk has been moved to accommodate a conference table, and chairs have been rearranged, but the offices of C. Arch Bay Company remain much as they were when Bay ran the business.

"Paw-Paw died way too young," said Reynolds of her grandfather, who died nearly 10 years ago at the age of 84.

Reynolds said her goal is to keep C. Arch Bay Company growing and successful. Her professional philosophy is the same one taught to her by her grandfather pay for one property before buying another. Reynolds said she is not one to take big risks. She wants to "concentrate on overseeing the operation of the company to maintain and carry on the family business."

The company owns about 90 apartment units and 40 to 50 houses, as well as some retail space. Only two of the company's properties are outside Spring-field, and most of the real estate is in the center-city area, Bay said.

Many of the apartment units serve the needs of students at Southwest Missouri State University.

"As SMS raised its admission standards, the class of students who lease our apartments has changed," Reynolds said. "When parents come in and sit down to sign a lease, they're meeting you, the owner, face to face. There's a commitment to their child's education and fu-ture. We rarely need to evict a student."

Reynolds' focus is in the urban niche of real estate.

In order to continue growth of the company, she plans to branch out more into commercial property retail and shopping centers.

Eventually, she hopes to buy land and develop commercial property.

"I love my job. My passion for the C. Arch Bay Company is because it is family," Reynolds said. "Dan Gray, our broker and property manager, started with Paw-Paw as a bellhop at the Kentwood. Our bookkeeper was (Bay's) secretary when he was postmaster," she added.

Reynolds' grandmother, Virginia Bay, C. Arch Bay's widow, continued to drive herself to the company office every day until the age of 90, when it became necessary for Reynolds to go pick her up. Virginia Bay died in December 2001 at the age of 84, Reynolds said.

Reynolds herself began working for her grandfather as a switchboard operator at the Kentwood Arms Hotel when she was 15 years old. She held only one other position outside of C. Arch Bay Company when she worked as a teller at Great Southern Bank during college.

Her parents, Wayne and Barbara Barnes, own Sunnyland Tours and are not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of C. Arch Bay Company, but Reynolds discusses all major business decisions with them.

Although one of Reynolds' sons is majoring in business, Reynolds does not see signs of either of her two sons, or her stepson, who is in elementary school, demonstrating a desire to follow in her footsteps in the family business. But she's not worried about her present lack of an obvious successor.

"Who knows, a lot can change over the next many years. After all, Paw Paw worked till he was 84," she said.