Above: Reynolds & Rowella’s Tom Reynolds (seated second from right) and Scott Crane (wearing the apron) with their table guests at the 2018 RVNAhealth Spring Breakfast.
Relationships can begin in any number of ways, through friends, friends of friends, online apps, and of course, by happenstance and chance encounter. In the ‘olden days,’ it was not uncommon for a relationship to begin over a meal, where words and thoughts could be exchanged, and the parties could really begin to get to know each other.
Such was the start of the relationship between Reynolds & Rowella, LLP, a regional accounting firm, and RVNAhealth, a non-profit health services agency, which began gently enough over breakfast, and quickly developed into a serious decades-long partnership.
It was 2001 and Tom Reynolds, an R&R founding partner, accepted an invitation to the annual RVNAhealth Spring Breakfast fundraiser. Tom enjoyed a great morning with friends, colleagues, plenty of hot coffee and the opportunity to learn about and support the agency’s home healthcare services and wellness programs in the community.
“I had long heard about RVNA (now RVNAhealth) and was well aware of their excellent reputation in the community. “At the breakfast, I not only learned more about the organization, mission, and services, I saw firsthand the depth of fondness and respect that the guests and donors had for the agency and its team,” recalls Reynolds. “There was great energy in the room and it was contagious. One of R&R’s firm values is to ‘give back’ to our community and it was clear that RVNAhealth was an organization worth ‘giving back’ to.”
And thus, the match was made.
Embracing the RVNAhealth mission, Tom chaired our Audit Committee for 10 years, served on the capital campaign cabinet integral to constructing our 27 Governor Street headquarters, served two terms on our Board of Directors, and chaired the Development Committee. While still a Development Committee member, Tom has passed the RVNAhealth baton to Scott Crane, a fellow R&R partner who succeeded Tom as audit committee chair in 2016 and continues to serve RVNAhealth in that role. Their professional guidance and personal commitment have been truly invaluable to our organization.
“Over the years, RVNAhealth has had the good fortune to be the beneficiary of many highly intelligent minds and many exceptional businesses and firms who have shared their time, talents, and professional expertise for the good of our agency and community,” says MJ Heller, RVNAhealth Director of Philanthropy. The Reynolds & Rowella friendship has been truly impactful and we are forever indebted to Tom Reynolds for recognizing our value at the outset, and Reynolds & Rowella for their decades of partnership support.”
Founding partners Tom Reynolds, CPA and Frank Rowella, CPA.
But It’s Not Just Us!
RVNAhealth is not the only recipient of R&R’s generosity and talents. The firm, founded in 1985 and broadly recognized for its financial problem solving, is guided by four core values —find balance, give back, add value, show integrity.
R&R partners serve on many area boards, foundations and community groups, including the Keeler Tavern Museum, Ridgefield Sunrise Cottage, and Marine Veterans of Fairfield County and the firm is committed to addressing community challenges. A decade ago, R&R launched an annual “Day of Caring,” in which the entire firm participates in a single community service project together, performing such work as fixing playgrounds and painting fences, to providing vocational support and career mentoring. This team tradition continues today.
In addition to encouraging employees to serve their local communities, R&R also invests heavily in their team, through mentoring, professional development and leadership, and by actively creating an engaging, fun work environment for their employees. Amidst various group activities and team building events is their signature, annual “Mystery Trip.” Each year, a chartered bus whisks employees away for the day to an unknown destination within a two-hour drive from their offices. They are forewarned only of advisable attire and departure/return times. This fun, 20-year tradition, has become embedded in the firm’s culture to foster bonding and friendships outside of the workplace, and has included destinations the likes of The Big E, Ellis Island, Bronx Zoo, and Six Flags.
R&R’s efforts do not go unrecognized by their team and their partners. They have received Top Workplace recognition for the past four years by Hearst Connecticut Media and they are lauded by their clients and partners.
“Reynolds & Rowella leads by their example, by generosity, and by their excellence,” concludes Theresa Santoro, RVNAhealth President & CEO. “We are all stronger by association, and we are ever thankful for the day we met.”
