Published in the November 9 – 22, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Kathy Sullivan
Morgan Hill Downtown Association honoree Nancy Reynolds
Kathy Sullivan
The Morgan Hill Downtown Association board had little difficulty choosing our honoree for the Morgan Hill Community Foundation’s Philanthropy Celebration held Nov. 4. Drum roll, please. We picked the co-owner of The Candy Parlour … Nancy Reynolds.
Besides being one of our most active board members, she started and almost single-handedly ran Indie Market, a once-a-month street market for artisans during the summer. Add on her involvement with developing the pop-up park, the Staycation project and her ongoing presence and help volunteering hours at our nonprofit’s events and it’s easy to see why Nancy was the obvious choice as our philanthropist.
Her good deeds do not stop with the MHDA. Her volunteer hours spent with the Morgan Hill Historical Society is an excellent example of her dedication to our community. She became a member because she admired the core group of volunteers working to preserve local history. She offered to help them with marketing and event publicity. Among her many successful ideas was the Speakeasy: A Prohibition Party, which has for the past two years grown into a highly popular fun event taking people back on a trip to the Jazz Age.
Nancy’s biggest philanthropic endeavor might very well be her involvement with The Candy Parlour. After her husband, Chris, began considering what he wanted to do after working for years in Silicon Valley, he was influenced by seeing Nancy as a business owner. She had opened two successful salons. One was a full-service salon with a clothing boutique. Her second was more intimate with elements of art on display.
Chris’s then 10-year-old daughter, Becca, inspired The Candy Parlour. The Reynolds were discussing what type of business they wanted and where it might be located. Morgan Hill was where his daughter went to school. They noticed Morgan Hill was missing a safe place for young people in their teens to meet.
When The Candy Parlour opened five years ago, the Reynolds found themselves solicited to contribute to local schools and organizations. They were happy to help when possible but decided they could contribute more deeply by forming partnerships with organizations they felt strongly about. They choose to focus on helping the Morgan Hill Charter School, the Morgan Hill Historical Society and Spirit of Morgan Hill girls softball.
For more than five years, Chris and Nancy ran their business even though they have other job commitments. Nancy works as a Realtor for Sereno Group. Chris is a general home inspector. Their hours in these jobs have increased and they recently decided to close the downtown store. Nancy’s biggest concern was not getting the word out about the closing, and kids might come to the store and feel disappointed at its closure. She is a bit heartbroken to close but intends to keep active with downtown retailers to build the local business environment. She is excited for the changes coming downtown and will be passionate in helping keep downtown the kind of place all ages will enjoy.
Kathy Sullivan is a board member of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association. She wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.
