I recently learned the sad news that one of our community VIPs, HowardML had passed away suddenly. I know I speak on behalf of our VIP members and our staff in saying that we will all miss Howard dearly.
Howard was passionate about resolving issues in the community, he would keep me and my team honest and ensure nobody's focus ever deviated from fixing any issues being reported. He was articulate and generous with his wisdom, as well as his time. I know many of you reading this will have encountered Howard in the email boards and will have likely seen him in action reminding everybody of the importance of resolving the issue.
I admired his honesty and integrity and valued the time we got to spend together with his fellow VIPs getting to the root of problems raised on the forums and working out how to tackle them. He was also an important voice in shaping the VIP programme and has been key in welcoming and supporting some of our newer VIPs when they joined the programme.
My enduring memory of Howard will be the occasion where he raised a complaint, and we arranged a good will gesture on his account. Howard appreciated the money but didn't feel it was warranted for the complaint he raised. He chose instead to donate the sum to the covid-relief effort. That about sums up the person I knew through our interactions on the forum. If you feel so inclined, please consider making a donation to your charity of choice in Howard's name.
If you would like to share a message for Howard's family, please use the comment section so we can collect those messages and pass them onto his family.
Rest in peace Howard - the community will be a poorer place for your absence, but remains so much richer for the time you gave us.
