Jim Hunt remembered for his dedication to the produce industry
Jim Hunt remembered for his dedication to the produce industry
Jim Hunt Sr., owner of the New York produce distribution house D.M. Rothman Co. Inc., died May 9 at age 58. His son, James Hunt Jr., who works in the family business, said that his father had a stroke May 7 and died two days later. The death "was not an absolute surprise," said the son, because his father had suffered a slight stroke in 1999.
Mr. Hunt Sr., who was a former co-president of the New York Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Inc. in the Bronx, NY, was active in the business and had worked on May 6. He did most of the company's produce buying and handled the overall management of D.M. Rothman.
Mr. Hunt Jr., who is 28, said that his father entered the produce business when he joined his father's trucking business, Edward Hunt Trucking, in New York in the early 1970s. Mr. Hunt Sr. purchased the Rothman company in about 1982.
Matt D'Arrigo of D'Arrigo Bros. Co. of New York Inc., who is a current co-president of the Hunts Point Cooperative, said that Mr. Hunt did "a tremendous amount of work" for the market. "He was a fiduciarily minded manager who put his own business interests aside for the benefit of the market as a whole. That is not the easiest thing to do sometimes. He was very, very dedicated to the success and future success of this cooperative. While he was no longer president, he was active on the board, and his experience was a great help" to co-presidents Mr. D'Arrigo and Steve Katzman of S. Katzman Produce Inc.
Myra Gordon, executive administrative director of the Hunts Point Cooperative, said that Mr. Hunt became the market's co-president on June 30, 1998, serving in the position for a two-year term. "After he served as president, he was automatically nominated by the board to be first vice president, and he held that position until June 2004." Ms. Gordon said that he had been a board member since about 1988. He was a long-time chairman of the market's public safety committee. "From the point of view of the board, and I sat on the board all the years he was there, Jim was a tough negotiator, but he was extremely fair underneath his tough exterior," Ms. Gordon continued. "He treated everyone very fairly and he was very astute on financial matters. He was always on top of things from the fiduciary point of view."
In more recent years, the younger board members appreciated Mr. Hunt's "very, very good memory" in recounting relevant historical matters concerning the Hunts Point market, said Ms. Gordon. "We'll miss him. We'll really miss him," Ms. Gordon added. "I work for the market per se, but in the grand scheme I answer to the president, and Jim was very fair. He was a good cooperator and he cared about the market and what direction it was going. We ask people to wear two hats when they're on our board, and to turn their company hat backward when they're in the boardroom to do the best for the market. He was always one of the better fair-minded thinkers in doing what was best for the cooperative. That is a difficult thing to do."
She added that the late Steve D'Arrigo and Matt D'Arrigo and Steve Katzman are very much the same.
Mr. Hunt served on the board of the North American Perishable Agriculture Receivers organization in the 1990s during J. Gary Lee's nine-year tenure as president of that organization. Mr. Lee, who now focuses on his real estate development firm, Lee Organization Inc. in Baltimore, said, "Jim was a wonderful person. He had his whole spirit behind the NAPAR organization when I was involved, and he made a great contribution to it and to the national industry. I am very saddened [to learn of Mr. Hunt's death]. "With NAPAR, he was an active board member," continued Mr. Lee. "He came to virtually all the meetings and was a resource for me to ask questions on matters that impact the industry. He was always logical and had a common-sense approach to those issues. I was able to learn from him and use that knowledge constructively."
Mr. Lee continued that, whether NAPAR was addressing "pallet standardization or military produce procurement, Jim took a personal interest in everything, even though I think he didn't even do business with the military. He gave his time freely to really try to solve industrywide problems. There are not a lot of people who look at things in that grand of picture. I respected and admired and liked him as a human being. I am really sad for his family, and he still had a lot left to contribute to the industry."
In addition to his son, survivors include his wife, Catherine Hunt, two daughters, Lori Lange and Bridget Hunt, and two grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to Malverne Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 43, Malverne, NY 11565.
Mr. Hunt Sr., who was a former co-president of the New York Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Inc. in the Bronx, NY, was active in the business and had worked on May 6. He did most of the company's produce buying and handled the overall management of D.M. Rothman.
Mr. Hunt Jr., who is 28, said that his father entered the produce business when he joined his father's trucking business, Edward Hunt Trucking, in New York in the early 1970s. Mr. Hunt Sr. purchased the Rothman company in about 1982.
Matt D'Arrigo of D'Arrigo Bros. Co. of New York Inc., who is a current co-president of the Hunts Point Cooperative, said that Mr. Hunt did "a tremendous amount of work" for the market. "He was a fiduciarily minded manager who put his own business interests aside for the benefit of the market as a whole. That is not the easiest thing to do sometimes. He was very, very dedicated to the success and future success of this cooperative. While he was no longer president, he was active on the board, and his experience was a great help" to co-presidents Mr. D'Arrigo and Steve Katzman of S. Katzman Produce Inc.
Myra Gordon, executive administrative director of the Hunts Point Cooperative, said that Mr. Hunt became the market's co-president on June 30, 1998, serving in the position for a two-year term. "After he served as president, he was automatically nominated by the board to be first vice president, and he held that position until June 2004." Ms. Gordon said that he had been a board member since about 1988. He was a long-time chairman of the market's public safety committee. "From the point of view of the board, and I sat on the board all the years he was there, Jim was a tough negotiator, but he was extremely fair underneath his tough exterior," Ms. Gordon continued. "He treated everyone very fairly and he was very astute on financial matters. He was always on top of things from the fiduciary point of view."
In more recent years, the younger board members appreciated Mr. Hunt's "very, very good memory" in recounting relevant historical matters concerning the Hunts Point market, said Ms. Gordon. "We'll miss him. We'll really miss him," Ms. Gordon added. "I work for the market per se, but in the grand scheme I answer to the president, and Jim was very fair. He was a good cooperator and he cared about the market and what direction it was going. We ask people to wear two hats when they're on our board, and to turn their company hat backward when they're in the boardroom to do the best for the market. He was always one of the better fair-minded thinkers in doing what was best for the cooperative. That is a difficult thing to do."
She added that the late Steve D'Arrigo and Matt D'Arrigo and Steve Katzman are very much the same.
Mr. Hunt served on the board of the North American Perishable Agriculture Receivers organization in the 1990s during J. Gary Lee's nine-year tenure as president of that organization. Mr. Lee, who now focuses on his real estate development firm, Lee Organization Inc. in Baltimore, said, "Jim was a wonderful person. He had his whole spirit behind the NAPAR organization when I was involved, and he made a great contribution to it and to the national industry. I am very saddened [to learn of Mr. Hunt's death]. "With NAPAR, he was an active board member," continued Mr. Lee. "He came to virtually all the meetings and was a resource for me to ask questions on matters that impact the industry. He was always logical and had a common-sense approach to those issues. I was able to learn from him and use that knowledge constructively."
Mr. Lee continued that, whether NAPAR was addressing "pallet standardization or military produce procurement, Jim took a personal interest in everything, even though I think he didn't even do business with the military. He gave his time freely to really try to solve industrywide problems. There are not a lot of people who look at things in that grand of picture. I respected and admired and liked him as a human being. I am really sad for his family, and he still had a lot left to contribute to the industry."
In addition to his son, survivors include his wife, Catherine Hunt, two daughters, Lori Lange and Bridget Hunt, and two grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to Malverne Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 43, Malverne, NY 11565.
