Longtime Tustin community volunteers Ed Reynolds and Tammis Berkheimer have been selected as Tustin Area Man and Woman of the Year for 2024.
The announcement was made at the annual Tustin Area Man and Woman of the Year (TAMWY) awards dinner and celebration on June 6. The event, held at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge, was attended by over 120 people, including city and county officials, previous TAMWY award winners and community members.

The TAMWY program has been held for more than 60 years. Tustin individuals are recognized for their dedicated work, leadership and outstanding volunteerism in the community. Nominations for the award come from previous winners or local nonprofit organizations. This year three men and three women were nominated for the award.

“I am stunned and humbled to be part of the legacy of individuals in Tustin who quietly go about their business improving lives and enhancing our community,” said Ed Reynolds.

Ed has called Tustin home since 1971. A graduate of Foothill High School, Ed received his degree in civil engineering from the University of Southern California, where he now teaches. While working in the offshore oil industry in Louisiana and the North Sea, he earned his master’s degree in engineering. After receiving his Harvard MBA, he worked in financing landmark privatized infrastructure projects, such as the Channel Tunnel, which connects London to Paris. Ed returned to Tustin as General Manager of Applied Geosciences to enter the “environmental industry.” The Reynolds Group, where he is President, has assessed and restored environmentally impaired real estate throughout Southern California for 36 years.

Ed is a passionate advocate for youth sports. He helped lead SOCAL Water Polo to national prominence, coached SOCAL’s Tustin girls’ teams to numerous championships and helped players earn over $20 million in collegiate scholarships. He was also a Board Member of USA Water Polo, helping it turn a surplus and win Olympic medals. He serves on many Boards of Directors, including the Construction Advisory Council for the Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange.

Ed has been an active and committed member of the Tustin Community Foundation for many years, guiding the annual grant process. He has focused the Foundation’s mission on Tustin’s brand and spotlighted Tustin’s volunteer groups.

Ed and his wife Karin have three grown children, Frank, Grace and Paul, all Foothill High School graduates, who live and work locally. They represented Tustin on the national and international stage in water polo. Ed continues to live, coach and give back to Tustin from his office in Old Town, where his legacy of leadership, service and generosity is felt across generations. He was nominated by the Tustin Community Foundation.

“I am so honored to represent Tustin and all the dedicated and hard-working volunteers who make Tustin great,” said Tammis Berkheimer.

Tammis has lived in Tustin for over 40 years and worked for the Tustin Unified School District for more than 30 years. Currently, she is a member of the TUSD Citizens’ Oversight Committee, a group appointed by the school board to oversee the expenditure of bond funds for school improvements.

Tammis is a familiar face at countless Tustin nonprofit events and is passionate in her unwavering support of local causes. She approaches every task with a “What can I do to help?” attitude, rolling up her sleeves and taking on any responsibility. Tammis’s willingness to go above and beyond, taking on even the most overlooked and unglamorous tasks, sets her apart as a true community champion. Her selflessness and reliability make her an invaluable asset to Tustin’s nonprofit sector as well as Tustin Unified schools.

Since the 1980’s, Tammis has volunteered in the schools, church and community events. She coordinated the Tustin Community Foundation’s Project Pajama Drive; supervised TCF’s Sip & Stroll in Old Town Tustin; is a referee at TCF’s Paper Football Challenge; a Tustin-Santa Ana Rotarian at Lobsterfest, Tustin Tiller Days and Tustin Chili Cook-Off; Treasurer for Dollars for Tustin Scholars; Treasurer for Soroptimist International of Santa Ana-Tustin; a member of the Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts’ Encore group and a volunteer at many other events.

Tammis embodies the spirit of service, generosity and leadership that make Tustin a better place for everyone. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family: husband Don, son Andrew and wife Raychel, daughter Laurel and husband Justin and her three grandchildren. She was nominated by the Tustin Community Foundation.

Ed and Tammis will become lifetime members of the TAMWY organization. They will also ride in the Tustin Tiller Days Parade as guests of honor on Saturday, October 4, and have their names permanently etched on a brick walkway in the plaza between the Tustin Library and Clifton C. Miller Community Center at the Tustin Civic Center.