Meet Your City Council

Posted Date: 11/14/2023

The year was 1972. Reed Petty had just been told the huge "programable calculator" the teacher brought into his high school math classroom could do many calculations but could not generate a continuous series of prime numbers.

As a teenager, he felt challenged to prove the teacher wrong – and he did. This experiment was his introduction to computer programming, which he loves. He had another opportunity to shine when he submitted a small patch of encryption-related code that was integrated into the core of the Linux operating system (kernel). Linux is the basis of all Android cell phones, and parts of which are present in the International Space Station and Mars Rovers – which he insists is nothing special.

In the Air Force, he worked as a "Technical Controller," sustaining communications infrastructures supporting various agencies in or near the Washington DC area. Later, he was hired into IT computer programming roles by Jones Truck Lines and Arkansas Freightways. After the purchase by FedEx, his responsibilities were expanded to include global IT operations and disaster recovery. He covered Asia, Europe, and the US.

Reed is glad he moved to Harrison in 1990 and loves the area. His behind-the-scenes personality has enjoyed quietly serving the community through the City Council, Rotary, Race Relations, FedEx Diversity Council, and as a District Commissioner for the Boy Scouts. 

 He earned a bachelor's degree at John Brown University, an MBA at Webster University, and a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, which he says with a smile accounts for his lack of social skills.

 Reed and Janet have been married for 42 years and have a grown son, daughter, and four granddaughters.