Reed Bearden

Born and raised in Madison, I joined the Navy while in high school and returned home after serving as QM2 aboard USS Coontz – DDG 40, from 1974 to 1979. I sailed the North Atlantic with NATO forces and the Mediterranean Sea interdicting the Russian Navy. I crossed the Arctic Circle to earn my Bluenose. In the Navy I realized that Madison is a special place, notwithstanding the many ports of call I visited around Europe and the Caribbean. I set a goal to return and to graduate from UW-Madison and achieved my BA in 1984. I’ll always remember the faculty who mentored, encouraged and helped me readjust to civilian life. Post graduation I took my new wife (also a UW alum) to Atlanta, GA in 1985. I launched my career in business development with a small company, Scientific Games, that invented the ubiquitous scratch-off lottery ticket. I became senior director responsible for developing business proposals that expanded the US and internationally regulated lottery markets. In fact, we won contracts to startup 21 of 25 new US lotteries, including the Wisconsin Lottery in 1988. I retired on a high note shortly after producing the winning Mississippi Lottery startup bid in 2019.