Ron Reichert attended Marian Catholic and Thornton Harvey High Schools. After graduation he went into the building trades, but his introduction to wrestling began in 1975 when his two sons joined the Oak Forest Warriors kids team and he became involved as a parent administrator. In 1975, he began volunteering with the Illinois Wrestling Federation Kids Division. In April of 1982, Ron began serving the wrestling community at the state level, when he was elected secretary/treasurer of the kids organization, a position he held until 1996. He also showed his support by participating in wrestling event at all levels and encouraging participation beyond the kids level. During his years as the IKWF secretary/treasurer, Ron accepted the position of executive director of the Illinois Wrestling Federation. The office he operated out of his home became the sport's central point in Illinois. All membership was processed out of this office, and most statewide events were organized there as well. The Illinois wrestling community knew they could make one call to one office and receive support and information at all levels of competition. Due to the structure changes and cooperative efforts encouraged by Ron at all levels of competition, Illinois has developed one of the top wrestling programs in the nation. Since 1982, USAW membership in the state has grown from over 3,200 to more than 10,000 members. USA Wrestling honored Ron as Kids Man of the Year in 1990. The Illinois Wrestling Federation Kids Division named him Grand Marshal in 1995. The IWCOA named him Friend of Wrestling in 1988 and honored him as the IWCOA "Man of the Year" in 1997. Ron was also inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 1999.