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Reed, a 17-year-old Ottumwa High School student, makes decisions which affect more than just him and his friends: He is on the United Way board of directors, the Bridge View Center board and is a member of the Ottumwa Human Rights Commission.
And though some boards refer to their youngest voter as "the youth member," Reed said he still gets a full vote.
He said he wasn't trying to show off or make himself seem more important: He was a teen leader who wanted to make a difference. And he was willing to serve.
"It started as one [board membership] and it snowballed," he said.
Among his peers, he's on the local teen pregnancy task force, is vice president of student council and is on the yearbook staff.
Besides making decisions, he does volunteer work out in the world. He's a "Big Brother" with the Ottumwa chapter of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.
Though those positions won't hurt on a resume, and the expereince is teaching him a lot, he said he likes being involved in what's going on around Ottumwa, having his voice heard and practicing leadership skills.
"It's also an opportunity to make - not a huge difference - but a small difference in my community and to affect someone's life," he said. "By getting teens more invested in the community, maybe they won't want to move away."
The idea of young people leaving the city is a concern on his mind.
"I would love to spend the rest of my life in Ottumwa. But Ottumwa is not big enough to [offer] the options of career or money that a bigger city would offer," he said. "That is one thing that has added to my drive to see Ottumwa grow and prosper."
Even when he goes to college, he didn't want to leave Iowa. He plans to study business at the University of Iowa, then either go into business or perhaps study law.
"I don't want to venture too far. My family means a lot to me," Reed said.
In fact, he already gets business experience every weekend, working at his family's store, Kelly Reed Antiques, where he does a little bit of everything.
So will he be one of the educated young people who stays in town? It depends.
"It's sad to see people move away. My whole family is here. But Ottumwa has to have something to offer me in the way of a career."
The idea of being a community booster goes along with Reed's idea of leadership. He said high school would be a great place to learn leadership, but that is not a major focus there. It's too bad, he said, because getting involved and helping to lead an effort can lend "a more personal feeling" to a project or happening in Ottumwa.
"I may be wrong, but the way I see it, as we invest in the youth of our community, and make them want to stay here, you get more entrepreneurs opening businesses. They have families who need jobs and things for them to do. It can snowball into Ottumwa being a bigger place with more opportunities - at least in my eyes."
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