The giving man

Henderson resident helps international communities

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In the 16 years since getting sober, life has been good to Brent Reese.

The founder and owner of Courage Trading Co., a Henderson-area importing business,

Reese has managed to create success for his business and his personal life, and in recent years also has found ways to support international projects, including an orphanage in Costa Rica and an elementary school in China.

He said his drive stems from a need to pass along the good things he has received during his life.

"It's in my nature now, but it's very important to recognize that many people do this, many people do things unselfishly to help others," he said. "I'm not the only one."

Reese said his business philosophy mandates that in every country he does business with, he finds a project that will allow his company to give back to the local community.

His personal philosophy goes one better, leading him to give unconditional acceptance, love and support to those that need it -- a sort of forward payment of the love and support he received during his own struggle to find the right place in life.

Sixteen years ago, in June 1989, Reese decided to change a life he said was marked with "brushes with the law and drinking and drug problems."

"In the first few years of sobriety, many total strangers and friends helped me turn my life around," he said. "I recognized early that they were doing this for free -- they were freely passing along what was given to them. I started to understand that, and I realized I had to pass those things along freely too -- hope, a pat on the back, support, time."

As Reese's life started to turn around, so did his world view.

The Courage Trading Company imports items, including pens and jewelry from China, Costa Rica and Oklahoma, then prints designs on them, such as the Rainforest Café logo or the Luxor's logo.

The merchandise is then offered for sale at gift shops. The company also designs ties, and is the second-largest producer of neckwear for the Men's Warehouse.

"My eyes started to turn from the heart of selfish and self-centered behavior," he said. "I slowly started to turn my view out to others and wonder, 'What can I do for them?' "

So, during a trip to Costa Rica in 2000, Reese visited the Hogar Vista del Mar orphanage outside of San Jose.

After a tour of the facility, which was established 125 years ago, and is "always on hard times," Reese decided to start contributing money to it.

"I import jewelry, some of it made using mud beads from that area," he said. "I toured the orphanage, and then I decided to give them a percentage of the company's sales on merchandise imported from Costa Rica."

In the first year of the program, Reese said he sent close to $6,000 to the orphanage.

Reese said the money he sends to the Hogar Vista del Mar has been used by the facility to build a computer lab with 18 computers, as well as to buy a van for transporting orphans to and from doctor and tutor appointments, and to build fencing around the 10-acre orphanage facility.

"The idea came to me to give something back," Reese said. "I love the country and the people, and I wanted to not just take, but to also give. You don't know the importance of doing something like this until you actually go there."

When Reese started importing goods from China in early 2003, he was ready to start another project.

With the help of Brownson Hsu, his Chinese business agent, Reese found the Shenglian Primary School in Chaozhou, in the province of Guangdong, China.

The school is near one of the factories that produces merchandise for the Courage Trading Company, and was in need of a new building.

"Brownson sent me an e-mail with a picture of the school, and it was literally falling apart -- the bricks were falling out of the walls," Reese said.

The school's original building had to be demolished and completely rebuilt, and during that process, Hsu and his wife decided to match Reese's donations to the school.

"Brownson sent me the floor plan for the school and there was no budget. They just started working," he said.

Then the contractor working on the school, who was a friend of Brownson's, agreed to supply the labor and materials for the Shenglian Primary School at cost.

"Brownson has 200 customers, and he said he had never heard a similar proposition, to help the community like that," Reese said. "The government supported the project, the contractor volunteered to work for no profit -- it all just took a natural progression, and doors kept opening."

Constructing the new 10,000-square-foot school took about 18 months, and it was completed in September 2004, with a final budget of about $50,000. Since reopening the school, Reese also has outfitted it with tables, desks and books.

Last May, Reese returned to China and attended a grand opening celebration for Shenglian Primary School.

"I got there and the marching band came out and performed, and there were firecrackers and a big celebration, and it was an unbelievable day," Reese said. "I cried when I saw the school in person. I thought, 'We really accomplished something here.' "

Reese said he also recently started importing jewelry from Colombia, and his next goal is to find a project in that country. He also recently started buying jewelry made in Oklahoma, and hopes to work with an American Indian tribe on a project.

In addition to his projects in foreign countries, Reese also is trying to help area residents in need by hiring non-violent felons and assisting them in meeting their parole requirements.

Two of his current employees are living in halfway houses and working to complete their parole sentences.

"I'm willing to take a risk, and I've done it for years," he said. "Some have been good and some have been bad experiences, but I'm willing to keep taking chances."

He said one of the most important aspects of helping those employees is giving them the flexibility to go to the meetings and appointments necessary in order for them to graduate from their recovery programs.

One of Reese's employees has been working at Courage Trading Company as a warehouse clerk for the past year, and recently graduated from a year-long early release program. She was incarcerated for illegal prescriptions.

"It was a very rigid program," said Violette, who declined to give her last name. "During the program, you have to have a full-time job and keep it for the full year, which thanks to Brent, I did."

She said the program included many random drug tests and court appearances, in addition to regular appointments with a parole officer and meetings.

"Brent was very good about supporting me going through everything," she said. "He knew about my past when he hired me. When I graduated, we had a cake and a party here."

For more information about the Courage Trading Company, visit www.couragetrading.com.