22 APRIL 2023 Y ou never know who you might run into at the gas station – neighbors, friends, classmates, sure, but the President of the United States?! It was January 2004 when a motorcade carrying George W. Bush pulled into the Sinclair station on 40th Street and Camelback. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were Secret Service all over the place carrying guns,” Jerry Howard, a long-time operator of the iconic garage and gas station, said. “There was an elderly lady at pump six, and she started crying out of respect. When one of my attendants took a picture and the flash went off, every rifle was pointed in his direction.” Howard has been looking after customers at Sinclair for 45 years, making him as easily recognizable as the station’s bright green dinosaur logo. “My customers are family. They have kept me here all these years. They’ve been my life,” Howard said with tear-filled eyes. Born in McNeary, Arizona, Howard’s family moved to the Arcadia neighborhood in 1963. He and his two sisters attended Hopi Elementary and Scottsdale High. He began working at a young age, delivering the Arizona Republic and then the morning and afternoon newspapers. Add in his schoolwork, and he had little time for sports. “We would pick up papers at the old Chevron station on 44th and Camelback, which introduced me to how a gas station runs. I started working there in high school and eventually moved with the owner over to Sinclair,” Howard said. “It’s funny because many people I delivered newspapers to as a kid later became my regulars at the station.” His list of loyal customers reads like a who’s who – elected officials, musicians, sports stars. He proudly shares that Barry Goldwater and Sandra Day O’Connor would only allow him to pump their gas. Senator Goldwater would greet him with, “Hey Jer, how you doing?” Glen Campbell, Alice Cooper and Paul Harvey were also regulars, and they occasionally had him to their homes to tend to their cars or “just to visit.” He admits he has learned a lot from his customers. “You get to know them, learn about their lives, and see how they conduct themselves, both the good and the bad. But I treat everyone the same, with dignity and respect,” Howard said. He’s seen a lot of changes in the business over the decades, from being able to pump people’s gas to today’s self-serve model, taking cash before credit cards were in vogue, and recently, the closure of the service bays. Howard never married – unless you count his devotion to Sinclair and its legion of customers. “I love what I do, and it’s about all the people and what they have done for me over the years,” he said. He wants to keep working for a few more years, and then it’s on to fishing at his regular spots at Lake Powell and Canyon Lake. “We’ll see how that goes. If I get bored, I’ll go back to work. My parents taught me to work hard, be honest and mind my Ps and Qs,” he said. Most people would agree that gas is a commodity and that you fill up wherever it’s most convenient. Those people may never have been greeted at the pumps by Jerry Howard, Jr. Jerry Howard I love what I do. It’s all about the people. Accelerating innovation What if you could access the labs, equipment and expertise of a tier-one research university? Startups like Atomera, a company making faster and more efficient semiconductors, use ASU Core Research Facilities to research and test new products. Arizona State University opens its doors to startups and large companies alike because their innovations directly translate into a new economy — more high-wage, high-tech jobs that benefit our entire state and position Arizona as a global leader. neweconomy.asu.edu “ This relationship with ASU is ... empowering This relationship with ASU is ... empowering innovation in semiconductors and enabling innovation in semiconductors and enabling Atomera to continue to do some of the world’s Atomera to continue to do some of the world’s most advanced research within the U.S.” most advanced research within the U.S.” –Scott Bibaud, president and CEO of Atomera –Scott Bibaud, president and CEO of Atomera Leveraging core research facilities g ld’s era

40th Street & Camelback 24 Hour Gas