Sugar Ray Thomas
Horace Anthony Brown, popularly known as ‘Sir B’ is the personification of success, personal achievement and fulfillment. He is a friendly and humble Christian man, who sees helping others as an important facet of life. Among his many wishes, is seeing the further development of Stewart Town in St. Mary, where he has operated his business, Sir B Auto Parts and Accessories since 2013.
This multi-talented man balances being an entrepreneur and community server, with being a devoted father and husband. He is the father of eight children and is married to Hyacinth Brown for over 12 years.
Life began 56 years ago for Horace Brown in the community of Cauldwell, Hanover. He was the fourth of sixth children from the union of his parents, Madeline and Adolphus Brown. With his mother being a teacher and his father a farmer, Mr Brown noted that he and his siblings were very privileged.
“We did not know what it was like not to have something to eat,” he said, while noting that his father was a very hardworking farmer, who provided for his family.
He added that: “Our mom being a teacher, it was more about the books. We definitely realized and were taught that education was the vehicle that would take us wherever we wanted to go… We were a very close-knit family and we helped each other a lot.”
LOVE FOR SERVICE
Mr Brown’s love for service was inculcated from that early age as his parents played an active role in community development in Hanover.
His father was always helping to assist persons in areas such as employment, while his mother would write several recommendations for persons.
Mr Brown has been making his own mark in aiding the young and the old through his community work.
Through his membership of the benevolent and brotherhood society, Lodge Caledonia, where he has been ascended to the chair of the right worshipping master, he engages in several charity works.
These include Christmas treats for children in Pagee and other communities in and around Port Maria, health fairs for the children and elderly and also the offering of scholarships for high school children.
“In Stewart Town, I carry out a lot of mentorship work. Stewart Town is one of those towns that I personally would like to see more of the kids finishing school and moving on to university. I try to assist them in that or help them in some small way of going to school throughout the year,” Mr Brown pointed out.
Mr Brown, who is known throughout the area as ‘Sir B’, explained that he is also advocating for a police youth club in the area. “The police can be more connected with the citizens and it can be easier for the police to access the area,” he argued, while adding his support behind minister of national security, Robert Montague’s call for district constables being in every community.
“I believe this will help in community policing and they should also live in the area,” he remarked.
STEWART TOWN IS GREAT
“It is a great community.” That is how Horace ‘Sir B’ Brown describes Stewart Town. His love for the area is evident as he smiled from ear to ear as he talked about the area and its people.
“I am currently in dialogue with one of the banking institutions to have an ATM in the area. Wherever you have access to cash, the community will grow. It is one of the communities that never sleeps. It is a place where you can leave your car open and nobody will necessarily steal anything.”
In other communities, such as Boscobel, where he resides, Mr Brown aids families and persons who are not able, with monthly groceries. He is also a member of the Boscobel Citizen’s Association.
Since 1979, Mr Brown has also been a member of the African Liberation Movement, where he helps in teaching Black history and Black consciousness.
His Christianity is firmly solidified as he is a member of the St. Matthew’s Boscobel Anglican Church in St. Mary.
DETERMINATION TO ACHIEVE
The road to success for Horace Brown has never been easy, but with the solid platform laid by his parents, the sky was the limit.
He attended Pell River Primary School and later transitioned
to Green Island Secondary School (now High School). “I saw farming as very hard work with not much pay, so I wanted to do something different. I always liked business and from those days, you would have seen the Chinese around and you could have seen the lifestyle that was afforded to them in as a result of being in commercial business,” Mr Brown said, while reflecting on his youthful days.
He took the initiative and went to the Jamaica School of Business in Kingston in the late 1970’s and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.
Mr Brown admitted that it was difficult having to leave his family and not being able to communicate with them as often. Added to that, there were financial challenges, but his will to achieve allowed him to graduate on top of his class.
Mr Brown’s first job was at FC Swaby and Company, an auditing and accounting firm in Kingston. He spent one year there and then moved to work at L.E. Brown and Company in Pineapple, Ocho Rios for over a year. He also worked at Sunshine Jamaica Limited until 1985.
THE ENTREPRENEUR
“I always wanted to be my own boss, and from 1985, I went on my own. My first area being in transportation,” Mr Brown explained.
“I had a few buses on the Ocho Rios to Brown’s Town route. They had ‘Horace’ at the front and ‘Disco Choice’ at the back. We were very instrumental in bringing the school children from York Castle and St. Hilda’s.” He added that he was recognized by Alan and Dorraine (on RJR) for his buses transportation of children.
Mr Brown later moved on to work with JUTA Tours and became an executive of JUTA from 1998 to 2012. In 2006, he bought land in Stewart Town and erected a building where he has been operating his own business, Sir B’s Auto and Accessories. A supermarket and a church also have rented space on the building.
“Currently it (Sir B Auto Parts and Accessories) is a growing business. It is not a business where I would have had knowledge about before, but I am still learning,” Mr Brown admitted, while noting that he looks forward to hand over the business one day to his sons.
Having his business in Stewart Town, is something that Horace Brown said he doesn’t regret.
“I wanted to be an example that someone of a darker complexion can achieve success in business. Even though locating in Ocho Rios would have been a far better investment, I wanted to do something that would have benefited the black man and show them that it is possible to achieve.”
FAMILY MAN
Horace ‘Sir B’ Brown is the epitome of the phrase ‘Family Man.’
He has played a very active role in the life of his children. His union with his wife, Hyacinth has produced two boys: Michael and Sowande Brown. Michael is at St. Mary High School, while Sowande is in first form at Kingston College.
Sowande has been his pride and joy as he has been a trailblazer at such a young age. He was the Spelling Bee Champion for St Ann in 2014, the recipient of the terrific kid award from the Kiwanis Club of Ocho Rios and has excelled in his academics at Kingston College.
Mr Brown also has six other children, who have all been successful in their own right: Horace, Hugh, Trudy, Gavin, Collette and Ray Maxwell.
“I strive to structure my life for the long run and not the quick easy thing that is destroying many Jamaicans now as the lotto scamming and the cash for gold. My dad use to say regularly, ‘mother has, father has, bless the child who has his own’ and ‘by the sweat of your brow, you shall eat bread.’ I totally believe in honesty and that is why I have instilled these values in my kids and persons around me,” Mr Brown said.
When not busy in his role as a father, entrepreneur and offering his service to the community, Horace ‘Sir B’ Brown enjoys reading, going to the beach and watching action movies.
His message to fathers who have abandoned their roles in the lives of their children is to “be honorable in their role as a father and when that is done, the entire Jamaica, land we love, will be a better place, because the children will be less violent.”
