‘I just love to help people’

Lingle’s clerk-treasurer considers customer service, math among his passions

Crystal R. Albers
Posted 5/8/19

Lingle’s clerk-treasurer may have started in his new role a little less than two months ago, but he’s no stranger to Goshen County. Richard Reyes is an area native.

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‘I just love to help people’

Lingle’s clerk-treasurer considers customer service, math among his passions

Posted

LINGLE – Lingle’s clerk-treasurer may have started in his new role a little less than two months ago, but he’s no stranger to Goshen County. Richard Reyes is an area native.

Originally from Torrington, Reyes graduated Torrington High School, and attended and worked at Eastern Wyoming College, along with various other businesses and organizations throughout the valley.

“(Following EWC), I attended the College for Recording Arts in San Francisco, Calif.,” he said, adding he is a Beatles fan, and plays the guitar, bass, and keyboards. “My dad started me (on music), then I taught myself.

“People think music is just music, but it’s actually math,” Reyes explained. “You have a structured time – it’s numbers, yet feeling-wise trying to get that rhythm to fit, number-wise, it all has to fit – in a roundabout way … it’s math.

“The cool thing about (the College for Recording Arts), though, it was not just about the music, but also the business side of it, which ties over into … my career.”

To be sure, Reyes’ love for math and business has translated over to his work history, including his first job at the JCPenney Company, and longtime positions at Vandel Drug and Bank of the West.

His most recent appointment, clerk-treasurer of the Town of Lingle, puts several of his strengths into play.

“Being able to help, that’s just in my nature,” Reyes said of what drew him to the position. “I just love to help people, love the customer service industry and helping the community. I thought that this was something I’d like to do … plus the math
and finance aspects.”

Reyes officially started March 18, and he said reconnecting with members of the community is one of the highlights of the job for him.

“Talking to people, reconnecting with people in this community – when I worked at Vandel Drug, people from all over Goshen County went to that store … now I get to see them again,” he explained. “I also enjoy learning about the challenges of the municipality … it’s a different skillset.”

In his free time, Reyes has also made certain to continue to feed his passion for music.

“Years ago, I played in a band called Night Wind, here in town,” he said. “Now, I’m in Code Blue,” which frequently plays gigs in Goshen County and surrounding areas.

Reyes also enjoys golf, although he said he’s “not any good at it,” and has been married 35 years to longtime Lincoln Elementary kindergarten teacher Becky Reyes. The pair has one daughter, Alisa, who is married to Gerald, and expecting their first child in July.

“I want to truly thank the Lingle Town Council and the mayor for the opportunity to serve them and the Town of Lingle,” Reyes said. “I can’t wait to help in any capacity that I can in this community.”