Member Worker Profile:
Howard Brent

by Christy Articola

Howard Brent has been around Honest Weight for a long time. He remembers the original store on Quail Street, and he remembers breaking through its incredibly thick wall with sledgehammers to expand into the barber shop next door. When he first moved to the area in 1978 from points south, he must have asked “over two hundred people” to suggest a local “health food store” before he stumbled upon us — and he has been a dedicated member ever since. In the early days, Howard recalls, members paid a fee of $6 per year instead of buying a share, and cashiers regularly brought their children with them to work.

Things have changed a lot since then, but Howard Brent has had his hands in just about everything along the way. “I’ve never, ever missed my member work requirement,” he says, “That’s how much I love the Coop!” Throughout the years, Howard has worked in produce, as a cashier and at the service desk, and he currently is serving as vice president of the Board. In his current role, he holds a position on several committees including Governance, Special Events, Finance committee and Search (for a new location). He proudly admits that he “sticks [his] nose into everything the Board is doing!” Also, you can thank him for the food at the member meetings — he makes sure that it is ordered in advance and, with some assistance, picks it up and sets it up.

Howard was appointed to the Board in 1998 and his current term ends in April 2007. While working as a Board member, he has had a hand in many major changes. He introduced the idea of allowing the membersship (following Board approval) to have the final vote on the budget, a proposal that was later adopted. Finances are his specialty — Howard has spent some time as an effective “rubber check chaser” — and when he first joined the Board, he encouraged the Coop to pay off its outstanding $325,000 bank loan. It took about 14 months for the store to become debt free, and it have remained so ever since.

When not at the Coop, Howard works as a licensed plumber, a trade he has practiced for 47 years. Born and raised in New York City, he now lives in Guilderland with his wife Barbara. He loves spending time with his two children and two stepchildren, as well as collecting model trains and toys, watching movies and hiking in the woods (and staying up very late at night). Howard is also active with the Freemasons and is president of the Masonic Temple Association.

Howard says he does about 99 percent of the shopping for his family and that most of that shopping is done at Honest Weight. He loves our produce section and the deli’s variety of prepared foods that he can bring home to his wife. Our cheese department is also popular in the Brent household, and he has recently been enjoying the canned tuna and sardines as well. He loves shopping at the Coop — not only because he is so involved, but also because “it’s not just shopping, it’s a social event!”

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