Full-circle moments always bring out the most exciting experiences. When it comes to Cody Reynolds, he has found happiness working back where his journey started.
Reynolds was born and raised in Winfield Township while attending Crown Point schools. After completing high school in 2009, he furthered his education at Indiana University. He graduated with a degree in both political science and anthropology.
In 2008, Reynolds believes he started to become more politically oriented.
“It really started off for me while helping work at a polling location for a school board race in Crown Point,” Reynolds said. “From that moment, everything was off to the races and more doors continued to open.”
The next several years kept Reynolds busy on a variety of levels. In 2010, he met the state treasurer and helped his reelection. He also did U.S. Senate races for multiple years in Indiana. Reynolds was contributing at such a high level, that he was even brought in by the U.S. Department of Education and worked multiple days a week at the White House.
By 2020, Reynolds wanted to return to his roots. In doing so, he feels that his decorated experiences helped prepare him for working in the community.
“I had a desire to get involved again at a local level,” Reynolds said. “I saw that there was a need to modernize township government, and that became my focus. Through all of my cumulative experiences, I felt that I had the ability to provide government services that are not only accurate and actionable but also effective and efficient.”
In January, Reynolds came into office with the Winfield Township Trustee. He describes how the township has worked diligently to help local families prosper.
“We’ve recently doubled the amount of days that we do our food pantry,” Reynolds said. “Our accessibility and hours have also increased. We’re helping about 37 families twice a month. It’s great to see how the community has responded to these adjustments.”
One goal for the Winfield Township Trustee moving forward that Reynolds hopes to achieve in the near future is a modernized approach.
“While we do already have a website, we’re always looking at ways to make it better,” Reynolds said. “We are trying to digitalize the application process for our township assistance programs to provide easier access for individuals. The goal here is to make things easier for the customers. We take pride in providing our services at the highest level possible.”
While the 32-year-old Reynolds has already been affiliated with some of the biggest political departments in the country, it’s given him a lot of time to reflect on why working for Winfield is his calling card today. He took chances that have paid off in getting him where he wants to be. He encourages those who have similar career aspirations to never deny a potential opportunity that could change someone’s trajectory moving forward.
“You have to always remain open-minded and never close the door,” Reynolds said. “While not everything is going to happen the way you want it to, the moments when you endure failure are often when you actually learn the most. Learn from it. There’s always something you can gain out of it to make a better decision next time and help yourself along the way.”
As for additional goals for Reynolds, he would love to discover a lost temple or walk the steps of Machu Picchu one day. When he was younger, Reynolds always had a dream of being just like Indiana Jones. Along with his admiration for learning about the Incas and the Aztecs, Reynolds has plenty of bucket list items that revolve around history.
Over the next few years, Reynolds plans to continue assisting the local area with the Winfield Township Trustee. He hopes that over time, they can find a way to increase the capacity of full-time fire service members to accommodate town residents. Reynolds has really enjoyed being able to share his experience with the township trustee with a common goal of creating beneficiaries in Winfield.