Donald W. Reynolds#Biography

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Reynolds was the son of Gaines W. Reynolds, a wholesale grocery salesman, and his wife, Anna Louise. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, he grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and got his first job in the newspaper business selling papers at the local railroad station.{{Cite web |last= |date=April 5, 1993 |title=Donald W. Reynolds; Media Group Founder |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-04-05-mn-19282-story.html |access-date=July 14, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |agency=AP}}

In high school, Reynolds decided he wanted to attend the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. He worked during high school and successive summers at a meat packing plant to pay for his studies. While at the University of Missouri, he was initiated into Pi Kappa Alpha. He graduated in 1927.{{Cite web |date=July 13, 2012 |title=Donald W. Reynolds – Missouri School of Journalism |url=https://journalism.missouri.edu/honor-medal-winner/donald-w-reynolds/ |access-date=July 14, 2022 |website=Missouri School of Journalism |language=en-US}}

Reynolds' first business venture was a photo engraving plant. He then purchased and sold the Quincy Evening News in Massachusetts, using the proceeds from that sale to buy the Okmulgee Daily Times in Oklahoma and the Southwest Times Record in Arkansas. Those two papers launched the Donrey Media Group. Operating mostly in small towns, the group grew to include more than 100 businesses, including newspapers, radio stations, television stations, cable television operations, and billboard companies. Perhaps his biggest success came with the ownership of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the largest newspaper in Nevada.

Reynolds interrupted his newspaper career to serve in the military during World War II, initially in military intelligence and, later, as the officer in charge of the Pacific and London editions of the "soldiers' newspaper," Yank, the Army Weekly. He attained the rank of Major, received the Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal during his military service, and returned to civilian status in 1945.

He focused his business acumen on businesses located in small but growth-oriented communities, and these communities often were the recipients of the grants by the charitable foundation he created.

Reynolds died on April 2, 1993, on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea, at the age of 86. A large sum of money from his business ventures went to the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Reynolds left three children on his death: Nancy, Donald, and Jonathan. Forbes Magazine noted that Reynolds's three children were to receive trust income of $50,000 a year for life, but would be left only $1 if they were to unsuccessfully contest his will. The bulk of the estate was left to The Donald W Reynolds Foundation.

Donrey Media Group, its subsidiaries and affiliates, owned the following broadcast stations:[https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Broadcasting-Yearbook.htm]. Broadcasting Yearbook Retrieved January 13, 2024.

• KFSA, Ft. Smith, Arkansas
• KFSA-TV, Ft. Smith, Arkansas
• KBRS, Springdale, Arkansas
• KOCM(FM), Facility ID 33904, Newport Beach, California (April 1981-
• KEXO, Grand Junction, Colorado
• KLDR-FM, Grand Junction, Colorado
• KOLO, Reno, Nevada
• KOLO-TV, Reno, Nevada
• KORK, Las Vegas, Nevada
• KORK-FM, Las Vegas, Nevada
• KORK-TV, Las Vegas, Nevada
• KGNS, Laredo, Texas
• KGNS-TV, Laredo, Texas

A number of buildings are named for Reynolds, including:

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• [http://reynoldswellness.net/ The Donald W. Reynolds Community Center] in Seminole, Oklahoma
• [https://www.paulsvalley.com/rec-center The Donald W. Reynolds Community Center & Water Park] in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
• [https://web.saumag.edu/reynolds/ Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center at Southern Arkansas University]
• The Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
• The Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House in Fort Smith, Arkansas
• The Donald W. Reynolds Center for Life Sciences at Hendrix College
• The Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR
• The Reynolds Center at Harding University
• The Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center at the University of Oklahoma,
• The Donald W. Reynolds Broadcast Center at the College of Southern Nevada,
• The Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas
• The Donald W. Reynolds YMCA in Warren, Arkansas
• The Donald W. Reynolds Alumni Center and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism
• The Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno
• The Donald W. Reynolds Center at the University of Tulsa
• The Donald W. Reynolds Community Center in Poteau, Oklahoma
• The Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business and Economic Development at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• The Donald W. Reynolds Science Center at Henderson State University
• The Donald W. Reynolds School of Architecture at Oklahoma State University
• The Donald W. Reynolds Technology Center at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in Okmulgee, OK
• The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington, DC.
• The Donald W. Reynolds Emergency Shelter and Recreation building at the Northwest Arkansas Children's Shelter, and
• The Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center at the Mount Vernon estate of George Washington in Virginia
• [http://www.baxtercountylibrary.org/ The Donald W. Reynolds Library] in Mountain Home, Arkansas
• The Donald W. Reynolds Center at Arkansas State University Mid-South in West Memphis, AR
• The Donald W. Reynolds Center for Health Sciences on the Arkansas State University campus in Jonesboro, AR{{cite web|author=Thomas Moore |url=http://asunews.astate.edu/CNHPReynoldsDed09.htm |title=News from Arkansas State University |publisher=Asunews.astate.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-12-25}}
• [http://www.donaldwreynolds.okpls.org/ The Donald W Reynolds Community Center and Library] in Durant, Oklahoma
• The Donald W. Reynolds Cultural Center at Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas, NV
• The Donald W. Reynolds Scouting Resource Center in Las Vegas, NV
• The Smith Center ( Reynolds Hall ) Performing Arts Center, Las Vegas, NV.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation continued his lengthy legacy of charitable giving through 2015,{{Cite web |last=Bowden |first=Bill |date=April 5, 2015 |title=Reynolds Winding Up Years of Giving |url=https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2015/apr/05/reynolds-winding-up-years-of-giving-201/ |access-date=July 14, 2022 |website=Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette |language=en-US}} funding programs for capital grants, aging and quality of life, cardiovascular clinical research, and journalism. In accordance with its articles of incorporation, the Foundation was designated to terminate rather than continue in perpetuity. Its board of trustees determined that the foundation would cease to make grants by the year 2022. In fact, the foundation liquidated its assets and closed its doors at the end of 2017.{{cite news |last=Bowden |first=Bill |date=2015-04-12 |title=Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Winding Up Years of Giving |work=The Washington Times |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/12/donald-w-reynolds-foundation-winding-up-years-of-g/ |quote=But by the end of 2017, the foundation that Reynolds established in 1954 will cease to exist. |accessdate=2020-01-17}}{{cite web |url=https://businessjournalism.org/2018/05/fred-w-smith-of-reynolds-foundation-passes-away/ |title=Fred W. Smith of Reynolds Foundation Has Died |last=Leckey |first=Andrew |publisher=Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business Journalism |date=2018-05-02 |accessdate=2020-01-17 |quote=Reynolds passed away at the age of 86 in 1993 and left proceeds from the sale of his Donrey Media Group of newspapers and broadcast stations to form a foundation that would give out grants to worthy causes until it closed its doors before 2022. It beat that deadline, closing its doors late last year. }}

• 1978, The Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame{{cite web|title= The Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame: Donald W. Reynolds |publisher= The Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame| url= https://okjournalismhalloffame.com/1978/donald-w-reynolds/#:~:text=DONALD%20W.%20REYNOLDS%20%281906-1993%29%2C%20one%20of%20the%20nation%E2%80%99s,His%20Donrey%20company%20also%20owned%20eight%20radio%20stations.}}
• 1985, Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business}}
• 2000, Arkansas Business Hall of Fame{{cite web|title= Donald W. Reynolds - 2000 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductee|publisher= Arkansas Business Hall of Fame| url= https://walton.uark.edu/abhf/donald-w-reynolds.php}}

{{Reflist}}

• https://web.archive.org/web/20141022112518/http://www.dwreynolds.org/Reynolds.htm
• http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/donald-worthington-reynolds {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226101112/http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/donald-worthington-reynolds |date=2013-12-26 }}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050830225609/http://www.dwreynolds.org/ Donald W. Reynolds Foundation]
• [https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/ca6476 Papers] 1945–1994 at the State Historical Society of Missouri

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Category:1906 births

Category:1993 deaths

Category:American mass media company founders

Category:People from Fort Smith, Arkansas

Category:Businesspeople from Fort Worth, Texas

Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit

Category:Missouri School of Journalism alumni

Category:People who died at sea

Category:Businesspeople from Oklahoma City

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:Journalists from Texas

Category:20th-century American philanthropists

Category:20th-century American journalists

Category:American male journalists

Category:Philanthropists from Arkansas