Melissa Reynolds Among Region's Most Influential Women in Business

Posted On: October 29, 2025

Melissa Reynolds, assistant director of Volusia County Public Library, has been recognized as one of 29 recipients of the Daytona Beach News-Journal's "Influential Women in Business" awards. Reynolds was honored Oct. 28 at a luncheon at the Renaissance Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. The News-Journal and its digital marketing arm LocaliQ have sponsored this recognition program for two decades, honoring more than 500 women across Volusia and Flagler counties for their outstanding professional achievements and volunteer work improving the community.

Reynolds' leadership focuses on advancing emergent and early literacy, ensuring children and families across Volusia County have the resources they need to succeed. With her support, the library has launched several innovative initiatives:

• Growing Readers Reading Challenge – A self-paced learning-to-read program for children in kindergarten through second grade that builds confidence through sight-word recognition, interactive activities, and online reading tracking.
• Raising Readers Reading Challenge – A self-paced, long-range literacy challenge for children in grades 3-5 that cultivates growing reading skills during a critical stage in a child’s literacy journey – when they progress from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Through a collection of age-appropriate short articles, children are encouraged to read at their own pace – building confidence, comprehension, and a lifelong love of reading.
• Reading Rocks – A seasonal outreach collaboration with Volusia County’s Parks,  Recreation and Culture Division, Lyonia Environmental Center, and City of Daytona Beach summer camps that provides mobile lending libraries and field trips to prevent summer learning loss.
• Books for Bright Beginnings – A partnership with Florida Department of Health in Volusia County that places mini-libraries in clinics, dental offices, and WIC offices, making books accessible to children from birth through age eight.

Beyond youth services, Reynolds leads library teams at the annual Veterans Services Stand Down event and supports the award-winning Social Workers in the Libraries program, including the Pedal Forward Project that provides refurbished bicycles to those seeking employment. She also champions the Acuity Business Pass program supporting local entrepreneurs.

Reynolds serves as a board member for NEFLIN (Northeast Florida Library Information Network), a regional organization that strengthens library services through collaboration, training, and resource sharing across Northeast and Central Florida.

"I view my work as a commitment to community building, collaboration, and service," Reynolds said in her nomination form. "Everything we accomplish at Volusia County Public Library is the product of a collaborative team effort."

Congratulations to Melissa Reynolds on this well-deserved recognition!