About Matt Riley
Matthew Walter Riley is an entrepreneur and former journeyman sheet metal worker based in Red Oak, Iowa. He grew up on a century farm in Northwest Iowa and began his working life at fourteen, holding multiple jobs simultaneously while completing a vocational drafting program in high school.
Riley entered the sheet metal trade in 1997 with Berglund and completed a four-year apprenticeship through Sheet Metal International Local 45, achieving journeyman status in 2002. He joined Waldinger Corporation that same year and worked there through 2008. In 2007, while still employed in the trade, he acquired a floor-covering business, marking his transition into entrepreneurship.
Over the following years, Riley built a diversified business portfolio spanning construction, real estate, aviation, oil ventures, bullion holdings, property management, and financial note optimization. His ventures range from $500,000 startups to multi-million-dollar enterprises.
Beyond business, Riley has served with the Corning Volunteer Fire Department for ten years, rising to Captain. He is a Master Diver and former operational member and board member of the Midwest Regional Dive Team. He is a lifetime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, a mission pilot with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, a board member of the Iowa Aviation Promotion Group, and a licensed amateur radio operator participating in emergency communications through ARES.
Career Background
U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol)
BalCon
Waldinger Corporation
Berglund
Media
Press
Big ideas sound exciting. But most of them never leave the notebook. Matthew Walter Riley built a career by doing the opposite. He took practical ideas and turned them into working systems. He did it step by step. Over time, those systems shaped his businesses, his leadership roles, and his life.
Matthew Walter Riley grew up on a century farm in northwest Iowa, where hard work was part of daily life. When his father’s military service moved the family away during his formative years, Riley learned to be independent early. Sports became an outlet.
Matthew Walter Riley has spent his life building things that work. From sheet-metal apprenticeship contests to business ownership, aviation missions, and volunteer fire service, his career has spanned industries but has followed one rule: test assumptions.
For more than a decade, American workforce policy has pointed young people toward four-year degrees as the default pathway to stability and professional standing. Matthew Walter Riley has a different view, grounded not in ideology but in direct experience.
Matthew Riley’s career does not follow a straight line. It follows a working line. One shaped by early responsibility, hands-on skill, and a steady willingness to take on hard problems. From trade work to diversified business ownership, his story reflects how practical experience and long-term thinking can build real leadership over time.
Business owner, tradesman, and public-service leader Matthew Riley is raising awareness around the growing need for skilled trades professionals and volunteer emergency responders. Drawing on decades of experience in construction, business ownership, aviation, and public safety, Riley is highlighting workforce gaps that affect local economies and community safety.
Awards & Recognition
- Junior Olympic Skating State Champion, Iowa
- Junior Olympic Skating Regional Champion
- 5th Place, Junior Olympic Skating National Competition
- 1st Place, Sheet Metal Apprenticeship Contest, Sheet Metal International Local 45
- 2nd Place, Sheet Metal Apprenticeship Contest, Sheet Metal International Local 45
Licenses & Certifications
- Journeyman Sheet Metal Worker, Sheet Metal International Local 45, 2002
- Firefighter I and II, Iowa
- Open Water Diver
- Advanced Open Water Diver
- Rescue Diver
- Public Safety Diver
- Full Face Mask Diver
- Dive Medic I and II
- Master Diver
- Advanced certifications in underwater navigation, limited-visibility operations, boat diving, search and recovery
- U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Mission Pilot, multiple operational qualifications
- Licensed Amateur Radio Operator (Ham)
Boards & Memberships
- Midwest Regional Dive Team, Operational Member and Board Member
- Corning Volunteer Fire Department, Board Member and Executive Board Member
- Iowa Aviation Promotion Group, Board Member and Benefactor
- Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Lifetime Member and Volunteer Young Eagles Pilot
- U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol), Active Member and Mission Pilot
- American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Active Member
- Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Active Participant
Charities & Volunteering
- Corning Volunteer Fire Department, Firefighter and Captain, 10 years of service
- Young Eagles Program (EAA), Volunteer Pilot introducing youth to aviation
- Midwest Regional Dive Team, Public safety dive operations and technical recoveries
- Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Emergency communications and disaster response support
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