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OSCEOLA — The atmosphere at the Clarke County 4-H Fairgrounds Event Center Thursday night was nothing short of electric as Gov. Kim Reynolds’ friends, family and neighbors waited for Iowa’s first female governor to arrive.
“The enthusiasm is real,” said Ray Gasser of Adams County, who ventured out with his wife Elaine to congratulate Reynolds. “She’s the right one to be the first.”
The majority of people packing the event center knew Reynolds from school or during the 14 years she worked in the Clarke County Treasurer’s Office. Gasser know Reynolds from her time as a Senator.
“She’s great to work with,” he said.
One look around the event center was enough to drive the point home. Lines formed as people waited for a chance to give Reynolds a hug or a handshake, to wish her well and let her know how proud her community is to see her succeed. Many of those in attendance had first-hand experience working with Reynolds at one time or another.
“We were in Republican Women with her together for years,” said Sharon Dunfee. “She always had that wonderful bubbly personality. We pretty much knew she would do anything she set her mind to do. We all had a lot of fun together.”
“I think her tenacity is one of the great things about her,” said Joyce Neal. “And to always see that the job gets done and is completed — and completed right.”
Reynolds made an early impression on the community, rising up through sports in school and landing a job in the county courthouse where providing top-tier customer service helped her advance quickly in the ranks, eventually being elected Clarke County Treasurer.
“One of the first things I wanted to do was take that darn wall out that separated the two offices, because I thought if we took that wall down, we could work better together,” said Reynolds.
After getting permission — and $0 in funding for the work — Reynolds enlisted the help of family and friends in removing the wall, subsequently improving department efficiency and expanding the services available to the people of Clarke County.
“It’s crazy the things you can do in rural Iowa where people take care of you,” said Reynolds, and in Osceola, she has an overabundance.
Local Republican Mary Ellen Kimball has been a longtime supporter of Reynolds, serving as her representative on the County Compensation Board and then in various capacities as she advanced in politics.
“We admired each other; we worked well together,” said Kimball. “She’s everybody’s governor so she can’t play favorites, but,” said Kimball, “she’s someone who understands what we want in this area.”
The community came out in force Thursday to celebrate. Several local leaders and local businesses took part in the event and hundreds of people turned out to congratulate Reynolds and acting Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg on their new positions.
“Hopefully I can get through this without crying, which is probably not going to happen,” said Reynolds at the start of her speech. “From the moment I turned the corner, pulled in here and saw the cars I thought, ‘I love this county.’ I love the fact I was raised in rural Iowa and that you’ve always been there for me.”