The Road Home with Trent and Tracy Shumard
Tracy Helard-Shumard with Trent and Brendan Shumard. Photos by Melissa Sanderson.
Humboldt-born Trent and Tracy Shumard might look familiar to you. Maybe Tracy sold you your home; maybe Trent sold you the car in the driveway. The chance that this couple with deep Humboldt roots knows you, or someone you know, is pretty high. When teenaged Trent picked up a rag at Roy’s Auto Center (10 W Fifth St., Eureka) in 1982 to earn some money, his first love was football, not cars. He absolutely loved playing in high school but was realistic about his dreams of a career. “I was too small to go pro.” The NFL’s loss is Humboldt’s gain, as Trent redirected his energies to the family business. Roy Shumard opened his namesake auto center in 1975 with the keys to just six cars. He raised his sons up in his growing business, making sure they worked their way up from rags to detailing, then on to sales and management. Any job that was there to do, Trent did it. “I made my first sale to my friend Jason, a Toyota four-wheel drive. He wasn’t my friend then,” noting that a car sale grew into a long friendship.
When Roy decided it was time to hand over the keys to the building and all those cars, he knew his sons were ready for the task. Trent, the CEO, and his brother Troy, the general manager, made sure their father knew Roy’s Auto Center was in great hands. And indeed, it continues to thrive. A second location at Fifth and A streets opened in 1999. Roy’s Auto Center recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, continuing the Shumard mission of community — Trent strives to keep the majority of auto loans locally financed.
In 1993, Tracy Helard-Shumard took a similar path with a family business when she joined Forbes & Associates (343 Main St., Trinidad), her aunt’s real estate agency. Sue Forbes mentored her niece, teaching her the business from the ground up. Within two years, Tracy went from a receptionist with a plan to obtaining her real estate license. She was pleased that her first listing was a McKinleyville house being sold by someone who knew Tracy growing up in Blue Lake. By 2002, she was named Humboldt Realtor of the Year. Eight years ago, Helard-Shumard, now a real estate broker, bought Forbes & Associates. She employs the same training acumen as Roy and Trent. “I don’t like herding cats or managing agents, so I trained my team to know the real estate business like I do.” Solid training makes for great customer service.
Trent and Tracy knew each other as teens, but their romance started when they ran into each other in 2001 at the Humboldt County Fair horse races. The lunch date they set that day eventually led up the aisle. The family grew with Trent’s son Brendan soon joined by daughter Angela and, later on, son Mikey.
Both Trent and Tracy serve to maintain Humboldt’s quality of life. Trent uses his love of golf to coach McKinleyville middle school students, encouraging a pursuit with little need for electronics. He also helps to keep youth team sports running as the McKinleyville Little League sponsorship coordinator. Tracy adds to the other side of the equation, serving as a trustee of the McKinleyville Union School District. “Not for the weak,” she chuckles about what is obviously a labor of love. Tracy has served old-school community pillars like the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, nonprofit organizations that help bind the fabric of Humboldt’s crazy-quilt life. Tracy’s service to the community includes feeding those in need at the Church of the Joyful Healer in McKinleyville, which provides meals seven days a week. “I serve on Thursdays, adults and high schoolers,” she said. “People don’t realize how many young people go hungry.” She wistfully adds, “One day I might start a foundation to stop the cycle in high school.” Solving problems through service is her stock in trade. Daughter Angela’s first exposure to public service was at a Kiwanis meeting — in her baby carriage.
Trent and Tracy are raising their family the Humboldt way. Son Brendan has already worked his way through rags, detailing, sales and management. “He’s buying now,” Trent says, sounding like the proud dad he is. Angela is on track to graduate early from Cal Poly Humboldt with an eye on law school. Both parents are in awe of the “badass” dancer daughter they raised who just got back from working with youth in the Philippines. Mikey is happy to swing Little League bats or cast a few lines on the river, when not playing video games, of course.
Humboldt worked its trademark magic on Trent and Tracy Shumard. Good-natured Trent grows thoughtful when asked to finish the sentence, “My Humboldt life is … .” He answers, “A dream come true. I’m pretty happy with my life and not sure I would change any of it.” Interviewed separately, Tracy says, “My Humboldt life is my family and friends, clients, and my community, of which I serve!” The two complement each other, just like their businesses that can find you a home and a family truckster to grace that driveway. If you don’t know Trent and Tracy by now, what are you waiting for?
Forbes & Associates
1807 Central Ave, McKinleyville
(707) 845-2448
tracyshumard.com
Facebook: forbesrealtytracyshumard
Instagram: forbesrealtytracyshumard
Roy’s Auto Center
10 W Fifth St., Eureka
(707) 443-7697
505 Broadway, Eureka
(707) 443-3008
roysautocenter.com
Facebook: RoysAutoCenter
Instgram: RoysAutoCenter